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# Run to D1 title game another step in the right direction for Bishop Guertin girls volleyball
- URL: https://www.nh-highschoolsports.com/run-d1-title-game-another-step-right-direction-bishop-guertin-girls-volleyball/
- Published: 2017-11-08T21:37:31.000Z
- Updated: 2017-11-08T21:37:31.000Z
- Description: When the practices got underway for the 2017 fall season, Abby Savard wasn't entirely sure what to expect from her Bishop Guertin High School girls volleyball team. The Cardinals were two years removed from a trip to the Division I championship match, and their record had improved in each of Savard'
- Author: Joe Marchilena
- Tags: Division I, Bishop Guertin, championship, girls volleyball, Hollis Brookline, NH High School Sports Insider, playoffs, slider, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-08-18 04:44

When the practices got underway for the 2017 fall season, Abby Savard wasn't entirely sure what to expect from her Bishop Guertin High School girls volleyball team.

The Cardinals were two years removed from a trip to the Division I championship match, and their record had improved in each of Savard's first three seasons as the head coach.

But gone were six seniors, including four starters, and knowing what other teams in the division were returning, Savard wasn't sure where Bishop Guertin would end up. She just knew she was going to have a lot of fun coaching the Cardinals.

"At the beginning of the year, I told the girls, there’s something special about this team," she said. "Something different and they proved that."

Bishop Guertin's record improved again, as the Cardinals (18-4) earned the No. 3 seed in the D1 tournament, and for the second time in three years, they reached the final, falling to Hollis Brookline last Saturday, 3-1.

Like the Cardinals did in the regular season against HB, they won the first game, but then, things started to come apart for Bishop Guertin. The Cavaliers, who were in the finals for the third year in a row, flexed their volleyball muscles and rolled to wins of 25-13 and 25-10 in the next two games.

"I don’t know why we shut down like that," Savard said. "I don’t know the answer. Maybe we just got scared or it was the pressure, I don’t know. The last one, I just said play and have fun. We almost looked like we weren’t having fun.

"There were moments of greatness (in the first game) when we believed we could do it, and had the confidence to do it, but unfortunately, in that pressure situation, there were little things that didn’t go our way. It was harder to come out of that."

Although the division appears to be gaining depth every season, Bishop Guertin is in a good position to be a contender again in 2018.

The Cardinals lose just three seniors, although one of those, Mariana Gomez, did a little bit of everything all over the floor for Bishop Guertin. Also graduating will be Neena Vassil, who was also a big contributor up front, and Elise Roy.

But there is a talented group of juniors returning, including Julia Pascucci and Paola Matos, who gained the experience of playing in a championship game.

"I don’t think I expected to go this far," Savard said. "It’s a testament to the girls. I don’t take credit for that. It’s them. It’s the passion and the desire they bring, which is why we improve every year. I think we’re moving in the right direction."