By Josh Perry || HockomockSports.com Managing Editor
NORTH EASTON, Mass. – Prior to Sunday afternoon’s Div. 2 tournament opener against No. 33 Archbishop Williams in the Nixon Gym, Oliver Ames coach Chelsea Cunningham was reminding her top-ranked team that its perfect (20-0) record in the regular season gets reset for the playoffs. Everyone starts over again at 0-0.
After a 10-day break between matches and a dominating regular season in which the Tigers only dropped four sets total, Cunningham wanted to make sure that her team avoided complacency now that the stakes are much higher.
No concern needed. The Tigers were finally playing with their full complement (after injuries kept some key rotation players out for the past few matches) and each of them contributed to a 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-9) victory that sends last years’s D2 runner-up back to the Sweet Sixteen.
Cunningham said, “I think they know it’s win or go home and the fact that we’re at home and we’re lucky that we’re able to host three matches, do you want to lose at home or do you want to stay winning? There’s an atmosphere here and being able to set the tone.”
If Archies harbored hopes of pulling a massive upset, OA dashed them right from the opening point. The Tigers won six of the match’s first seven points and held leads of 11-3 and 19-5. It was business as usual for a team that is aiming for a return to the final.
OA’s depth on the front line was on full display with juniors Chelsea Wagner (10 kills) and Taylor Donohue (14 kills, 10 digs, and four aces) firing on the outside and classmate Claire Kenny getting points in the middle. Junior setter Lyla McDonough (34 assists) was spoiled for choice and spread the ball around to get everyone touches early in the match.
Following a service error that made it 11-4, Wagner came right back with a kill, freshman Lyla Yurrita had a block, and Donohue powered a shot through the Archies block. Donohue added another blast two points later, this one assisted by junior libero Molly Milliken (17 digs) after a scramble.
Kenny followed with a kill in the middle and Milliken dropped in an ace. Donohue was able to squeeze a shot inside the back line for a point and senior Angelina Romeiro added a nice swing on the right side. Wagner added a well-place, cross-court shot to ease OA to an early 1-0 lead.
The Tigers were also playing well along the back row, as Evan Casey, Kerryn Cairns, Milliken, McDonough, Wagner, and Donohue all managed to deal with an array of awkward shots from the Bishops.
Cunningham explained, “They were only setting the middle and we had to reset our defense that way. We knew it was either going to be a tip or a dink or a deep push. We’re pretty deep on the bench defensively so it’s nice to be able to say we want to see something else and everyone rises to the occasion.”
Archies kept things tighter in the second set, although the Tigers led almost from the start. A nice tip from middle Avery Valicenti got the Bishops back within two (7-5), but a strong run at the service line from senior Lindsey Solomon opened up a six-point cushion for the hosts. Donohue would end a little run by the Bishops with another smash down the middle.
Chloe Kippenhan tried to give the underdogs some life with a kill, but Kenny answered with one of her own and dropped in an ace on the next point. After a pair of diving digs from McDonough, Romeiro came up with a rally-ending swing to make it 17-10.
Milliken came up with another clutch dig to set up Wagner for a blast and McDonough was able to push one down the line for another point. The setter would close out the second with an ace and OA was in total control.
OA never took its foot off the pedal, despite making several changes to the rotation in the third. Trailing 3-2, Donohue went on a run at the service line, delivering a pair of aces and getting a couple kills from Wagner to score seven straight. Archies would cut the lead back to 13-6, but then the Tigers rattled off 10 in a row.
Senior Ella Broadmeadow had an ace during the run, Donohue was unstoppable on the outside with five more kills, and Yurrita continued to impress in the middle with a big swing.
All in all, it was a very comfortable afternoon and a good way to ease into what could be a long tournament run for the title favorites.
“Each time they called a timeout, I used it to my advantage to reset the mindset that the ball is coming back over the net,” Cunningham said. “Just being able to respect the opponent no matter what and we need to earn our points, let’s not just rely on them.
“We reminded them this is our gym, we play our way, and remember that each point.”
Oliver Ames (21-0) will host No. 16 Hingham in the Sweet Sixteen on Tuesday at 6:00.
