Lenox Falls in Division 5 State Semi-Finals
WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Top-seeded Hopedale used its strength at the net to earn a four-set win over Lenox on Wednesday in the Division 5 State Semi-Finals at West Springfield High School.
Phoebe Carroll had 17 kills and helped Hopedale maintain a strong block along with Savannah Sene and MacKenzie Viens as they earned a date in the title match against Smith Vocational, a 3-1 winner over Pioneer Valley Christian Academy in Wednesday’s other semi-final.
The fourth-seeded Millionaires battled back from a narrow first-set loss to even the match but were worn down by Hopedale’s power in the 25-23, 15-25, 25-12, 25-17 decision.
“We haven’t really been challenged like that,” Lenox coach Anna Nealon said. “We’ve had Greylock and tough matches, but nothing like this. We haven’t had a challenge this big. And we were rocking with them well. We kept stealing their energy. But, at one point, we just kind of let it down.
“We were trying to get around [Hopedale’s front line] as much as possible. We switched up our lineup a tad bit, just to see if we could intimidate those girls a little bit more. It worked a little bit, we just couldn’t manage.
Lenox got the first big momentum swing of the night when Leanne Maschino (four kills) served a pair of aces in a four-point run on serve that gave the Millionaires a 6-1 lead.
But after a side out, Hopedale wiped out that run with a seven-point run that saw Carroll put down three kills and joined with Sene on a double block to help give their team a 9-6 lead.
Lenox fought back to eventually take a 21-19 lead. But after a side out, Hopedale got kills from Madison Buttonow and Sene to go ahead and never trailed again in the set.
It went down big in the second set, though, when Lenox’s Sara Isby (eight aces, six digs) delivered a nine-point run on serve to put the Millionaires ahead, 15-4.
“She had, what, eight aces?” Nealon said. “She went from serving the ball out every single point to getting eight aces in a game. She’s killing it. I just love that girl.”
Later in the set, Maschino put down a kill and Evelyn Julieano (15 digs, nine kills) served an ace in a four-point run to get to set point at 24-13. Hopedale fended off two set points before it was whistled for a rotation error that gave Lenox the set and a 1-1 score in the match.
In Set 3, it was Hopedale’s turn to take a commanding lead, getting nine points on Josalyn Moyer’s serve to go ahead, 16-2, and never looking back.
Lenox went toe-to-toe with the favorites in a must-win fourth set, pulling within two points at 17-15 on an ace by Claire O’Brien (seven kills, seven digs). But Hopedale got a tip at the net for a side out, and Daisy Everett served three straight points to put her team ahead, 21-15.
Lenox ran out of time to make another run before Hopedale was able to put away the match.
It was a disappointing finish for the Millionaires (21-2), especially seniors like Grace Julieano, who finished with a double-double (23 assists, 10 digs). But first-year coach Nealon was focused on what Lenox accomplished this fall, not how the season ended.
“This has been the most incredible season Lenox has ever had,” she said. “Even if we lost tonight, they should be so incredibly proud of themselves. They rocked it. They killed it.
“Every single one of them deserves a spot on this team. They earned it, and they absolutely killed it.”