By Josh Perry || HockomockSports.com Managing Editor
BILLERICA, Mass. – All season, the combination of junior outside hitters Taylor Donohue and Chelsea Wagner has provided Oliver Ames with one of the state’s most dynamic attacks. Saturday morning at Billerica High, facing championship point, the duo delivered once again to lift the Tigers to a first state title.
Donohue received the serve with a pass to junior setter Lyla McDonough, who looked to Wagner on the left. Nearly a year to the date after OA lost in four sets in the final against Westboro, Wagner rose up and blasted a shot down the line, dropping it into the back corner to secure a thrilling, come-from-behind 3-2 (22-25, 22-25, 25-16, 25-14, 15-11) win over No. 7 Wayland.
The Tigers had been calling this season “the revenge tour” and that swing was the exclamation point at the end of a perfect (25-0) season.
“We came out scared the first two sets but we looked at each other and said we’ve worked too hard for this all year, we need to finish,” Wagner explained. “We wanted it so bad. Nerves and emotions were high but we’ve been to a fifth set and we know what we need to do.”
It was an especially poignant moment for Wagner, who mentioned that she wasn’t able to return the serve on Westboro’s final point a year ago. Now, she was scoring the final point to clinch OA’s title.
“It felt amazing,” she said. “Being able to return that and get a kill on the last point meant the world to me. I’m so happy that I could do it for the team.”
Donohue added, “It was revenge tour for her too. Seeing her get it back with all that we’ve learned in practice and all that we’ve been working on, it was really good to see her get that last point.”
The Tigers swept 20 of the 25 matches they played this fall, only dropping seven sets combined. Having a pair of hitters who control the net regardless of the rotation has been a major factor in OA rampaging through the season.
OA coach Chelsea Cunningham said, “They’re lights out. I cannot think of a better lineup with both of them, knowing that one of them is consistently on the outside…and we have a chance at a kill. That makes us full of confidence all the time.”
McDonough, who finished with a career-high 57 assists in the final, including the 1,000th of her career, said, “It makes it so much easier for me to just know that I can put the ball there and I know they’re going to do something good with it. They’re going to put it down.
“I really give them all my trust and really relied on them to put that ball down and get us all the points that we got.”
Donohue, Wagner, McDonough, libero Molly Milliken, and middle Claire Kenney all play on the same club team. Their off-court friendships help build the on-court chemistry.
“Being able to rely on her is the best feeling ever because I know she’s going have my back when I don’t swing in the front row and she’s going to get us points and I can get us points on defense,” Donohue said of Wagner. “She’s literally my best friend.”
Wagner agreed, “When one of us is in the back row, the other is in the front row and ready to take on all those sets and those points. I trust her with my life and I know that she’s going to put her all into it.”
Communication is key for the two star hitters. When one is on the front row, the other is ready to call out the right angle to take on the swing or to provide a confidence boost after an error. That support system makes both players better and allows them to come through in the biggest moments.
“When I’m in the back row,” Donohue said, “I’m like you have one blocker up, you have cross, you have line, you have deep line and she’s always there for me too. I know she’s not playing in back row but she still sees those open spots whether she’s on the bench or on the court.”
Wagner added, “We communicate a lot on the court, telling each other the open spots and when we’re tipping and we’re scared I can go to her and say, I trust you and I know you can get those kills so swing away.”
Over the past 364 days, OA has been focused on this moment. The Tigers have put all of their efforts to not only getting back to the state title game, but bringing home the trophy. It didn’t look good early in the match, but they stuck with it, got into a rhythm, and turned the match on its head.
For the two good friends, there is no better feeling than winning the title together.
“It feels amazing and it’s really a reflection of what we do in practice and really we wanted it so bad,” Donohue said. “Words can’t even describe it.”
“The revenge tour is complete,” Wagner remarked. “Undefeated, it feels amazing. We knew that we didn’t want to feel how we felt one year ago and we did everything in our power to make sure we won.”