By Ryan Lanigan || HockomockSports.com Editor
STOUGHTON, Mass. — Since the moment last year’s state final ended, Oliver Ames has been building toward another shot.
On their road back, they haven’t lost since.
The Tigers have done it with the same formula every match: rock solid defense, a variety of offensive weapons, and relentless effort.
On Wednesday, that combination delivered again as top-seeded Oliver Ames swept Hockomock League rival #5 King Philip, 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-12) to book a return trip to the Division 2 state championship game.
“This is their revenge tour,” OA head coach Chelsea Cunningham said. “They’ve been planning this since we were in that classroom [at Billerica High School] one year ago [after the state final], and they never wanted to feel like that again. And they meant it. A lot of teams will come in and say it. They’ve kept their focus on this. This has been on our whiteboard in the team room — like, we’re going back. We went one game at a time, took everything, positives and negatives from every match, to be able to craft how we were going to get here. And they’ve done nothing but stick to their work.”
The Tigers were met by a game Warriors squad at the start of the match. Unsurprisingly, the two squads went back-and-forth for the first half of the set. OA had a couple of small two or three point runs, and then King Philip took its turn. The result, a slim 11-10 lead for the Tigers.
But like OA has done to teams all season, they just kept coming. A tip from junior Taylor Donohue (16 kills) preceded a kill off the block from classmate Chelsea Wagner (15 kills), and then one from junior middle Claire Kenny. Earlier in the set, Kenny had a big block and senior Evan Casey floated a short serve just over the net and down for an ace.
After a service error, OA came back with three straight points including an ace from Kenny and a big block from freshman Lyla Yurrita shortly after junior setter Lyla McDonough made a terrific save on a ball flying out of play and OA’s lead was suddenly 17-11.
Another block from Yurrita kept the momentum with the Tigers and then senior Lindsey Solomon toed the service line, dropping in a pair of aces around a kill from Donohue as the lead ballooned to 22-14. KP battled: a kill from senior Cece Kilroy, who earned her 500th kill earlier in the set, a perfectly placed tip from junior Amie O’Neil, who then teamed up with senior Alli Cleasby for a block to get within six at 23-17. But Donohue, who usually swings from the outside or the right side, popped up with a kill from the middle and OA sealed the set win after a KP hitting error.
OA’s balance and depth was on full display in that first set. McDonough (26 assists) was responsible for setting up the majority of the Tigers’ kills and junior libero Molly Milliken (21 digs) was super steady defensively, helping OA get into its offense seamlessly.
“Everybody contributes and that’s what makes us such a great team,” Kenny said. “It’s not one person winning the games. It’s all of us contributing together. Lyla knows that we have such a strong offense and that she can rely on setting anybody. She knows whoever she sets, they can work with it no matter what.”
Cunningham added, “Any point of those six rotations, we’re comfortable. We have learned to adapt to whatever we have to do, with whoever is out there, knowing who connects well, knowing we can switch it up. The trust, you can see it on the court. If they make an error, they acknowledge each other right away to move on, and they do it. Volleyball is a game of mistakes. We try our best to make less of them, and we came out on top of this game, which is great.”
OA played from ahead for the entire second set, though it was hard to fully pull away from KP. Early kills for Donohue and Wagner sparked the Tigers, though Kilroy landed three early kills, including a great shot down the line to keep pace.
But once again, OA just kept going with its relentless play. Yurrita found a hole in the defense, Donohue landed a kill after a long back-and-forth rally, and Solomon had an ace. A kill from KP sophomore Molly Sweeney off a set from classmate Charlotte Bailey brought the Warriors within five at 13-8, but in a blink, OA’s lead reached double digits. Kenny dropped in a tip, McDonough had an ace, Donohue and Wagner each had a kill, and senior Angelina Romeiro went up and put down a block on a loose pass as the advantage peaked at 19-9.
The Warriors refused to go quietly though. Senior Cece Mullen set Kilroy for a kill out of a timeout, OA had a hitting error, and then Mullen got a deep free ball pass to hit the line after a nice dig from Mya McCormick. Kilroy had two more kills and O’Neil, after a nice dig from Caleigh Shore, put one down from the middle as KP crawled back into it at 21-17.
“We never really had control at any point of the match,” King Philip head coach Kristen Geuss said. “There’s a reason why they’re undefeated. They’re a phenomenal team, kudos to them. They’re a really great team. I thought we played well in the first set, just couldn’t keep up with them in the next two sets.
“I’m really proud of my team. I admire how hard they’ve worked. They’re practicing six days a week and they haven’t had a day off — they’re tired. We had to work super hard for all our points. It’s almost like we have to play perfect to beat a team like that. We wanted to see what we could do, and we got this far, it was really fun.”
Yurrita had another block, Solomon had another ace, and Donohue another kill, as OA closed out the second, 25-18.
OA put any thought of a comeback away pretty early: the Tigers won 11 of the first 13 points for a commanding lead. Romeiro rolled in a kill, Donohue had two aces, and Wagner found a gap to land a roll shot. Sweeney had a block and Bailey dropped in an ace to cut it to 13-7, but the Warriors didn’t win consecutive points the rest of the set.
“If you watch the first match we played [KP] two months ago, we’re both completely different, and I had a completely different lineup and so did [KP],” Cunningham said. “You don’t know what to expect and you prep as best as you can. You still have to show up prepared. We scrimmaged Needham and Franklin, and now playing Canton and KP, that’s the level of play we want to be at.
“This group is so smart. They’re able to reflect immediately and adjust if they have to. They adapt, they talk, they communicate. And like I said, the trust is unmatchable right now. It’s fantastic. This is the best group I’ve had to date.”
Oliver Ames will look to finish off its revenge tour in the Division 2 state championship right back at Billerica against #7 Wayland on Saturday.
“It’s very nerve-wracking, obviously, but also so exciting,” Kenny said. “We’ve been here before so we know what to expect, and we’re all very eager to claim that title this year.”
