Nashua South girls volleyball remains undefeated by holding off Pinkerton (video)

NASHUA - It's a big week for the Nashua High School South girls volleyball team.

Coming off a huge road win at Spaulding on Monday, and with a Battle of the Bridge match against Nashua North on Thursday, the Panthers had to keep it together for another tough match Wednesday night against Pinkerton.

And while South didn't have its best, it was able to persevere when it mattered most, battling back against the Astros in each game to get a 3-0 win and remained undefeated in Division I. Game scores were 25-21, 26-24 and 26-24.

"They were a little slower than I’ve seen," South coach Wayne Siejkowski said. "We generally have a very fast offense and we work really hard in transition. Teams can have a hard time adjusting to that speed. (Wednesday) we were a little slow. I love the fact that they were able to grind it out and win the tough points when they needed to, to walk away and still maintain the record we have."

Catherine Covert led the Panthers (9-0) with nine kills and four blocks, while Brianna Henderson had eight kills and two aces and Kara Kelliher added eight kills.

Pinkerton (6-4) got six kills and three blocks from Brooke Kane while Amanda Graves had 14 digs and Lily Heywood had five kills.

"They worked really hard and came out intense and motivated," Pinkerton coach Todd Royce said. "I thought they passed the ball very well. Nashua has some very good hitters, and I thought they did a nice job at the net trying to deal with some pretty big hitters coming from the other side."

After dropping the first game, the Astros got in front early in the second and were able to maintain a lead until South put a few points together to go up 14-12. But Pinkerton hung around, and eventually went back in front, 19-18.

The teams traded the next couple of points, with South going up 23-22 before Pinkerton came back to lead 24-23. The Panthers won the final three points, behind the serving of Anna Campbell to take the second game.

"I talk to them all the time that no matter what happens, the rally is only worth one point," Siejkowski said. "You can’t go up and have a great hit, and have it score four points. You have to work, and even if you fall short, it’s one point. It’s definitely good for them, character-wise, for them to fight back and stick it out."

South took an early lead in the third game, but Pinkerton returned the favor, coming back to take a 9-8 lead. The Astros went up by as many as four points, including 20-16, before the Panthers were able to close the gap.

Despite South's efforts, Pinkerton was able to hold on to the lead, again going in front 24-23, but again, the Panthers won the final three points, to close out the match.

"We kept the games close," Royce said. "The girls battled throughout the whole thing. I was happy with the way they played, and that they were right in the match. Nashua was a little bit better."