Gorham volleyball tops Scarborough in 5 sets to win 4th straight Class A title
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Gorham’s Abbie Stevens hold the Gold Ball after the Rams beat Scarborough 3-2 to win their fourth straight Class A volleyball title on Saturday in South Portland. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
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SOUTH PORTLAND — In the Class A volleyball final’s tensest moment, Gorham coach Emma Tirrell looked toward the Rams’ student section and implored an already fevered group to get even louder. They obliged, and Tirrell returned to the bench, laughing.
One point later, laughter was replaced by jubilation. Gorham won its fourth straight volleyball title, overcoming a first-set defeat en route to taking down Scarborough, 3-2, at Southern Maine Community College.
It’s another Gold Ball for the Rams. And this one couldn’t have been harder earned.
“These seniors have never lost a playoff game, and this would have been their first loss,” Tirrell said. “It was extremely special for them to round this out. I don’t know how many players can say that they won four state championships, ever. And it was wicked special, because most of our roster is seniors.”
Gorham, which became the first Class A volleyball team to win four straight titles since Greely from 2003-08, dropped the first set 25-21, then won the next two, 25-18 and 25-16. But the Rams were pushed to the all-or-nothing fifth set when Scarborough pulled out a 25-22 win in the fourth.
In an all-too-familiar theme, the Rams raised their game with the pressure on. They took a 10-7 lead, then won five of the last six points after the Red Storm evened the score at 10-10.
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“It’s phenomenal. I’m so proud of all my teammates,” said senior setter Liana Edwards, who finished with 36 assists and eight kills. “It’s crazy to go to four state championships in a row, all throughout high school. I think it’s such an accomplishment.
“Each time we played Scarborough, we went to five sets. Obviously the game could go either way, but I think we just proved again that we’re the top team.”
With the four-peat in jeopardy, Gorham got a kill from Luna Button (nine kills) and Scarborough sent a return into the net, putting the Rams ahead 12-10. A Calli Juhring kill brought the Red Storm within a point, but a long Scarborough return and Abbie Stevens’ 27th kill of the match brought up match point.
Scarborough called timeout. Tirrell pumped up the fans.
“If Gorham is up 14-11 in the fifth set, I trust 10 out of 10 times that we put that game away,” she said.
And the Rams did, in fitting fashion. Edwards, the two-time Varsity Maine and Gatorade Player of the Year, hit a serve toward the back of the court that hit off Scarborough hands and fell to the floor for the winning point.
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“Two years ago, we played at SMCC and I was serving on (match) point, too,” said Edwards. “What a coincidence. It’s an amazing feeling. I have no voice.”
The Rams met an opponent that was up to the task. Scarborough got 20 kills from Caleb Atwood, and their duo at the net of Juhring (14 kills) and Lexi Cowie (12 kills) proved formidable, even with starting hitter Elena Pijunovic out after getting injured in the semifinal win over Cheverus.
“For not even our starting lineup to take them that deep into the fifth set, it’s just a testament to our team,” Scarborough coach Nicole Petherbridge said. “Our mentality was not ‘What happens if we lose,’ it was ‘How fun will it be to win.’ When we play with that mentality, we’re unstoppable. I think you saw that in the fourth set.”
Gorham, however, didn’t cave after being pushed to the brink.
“We’re known as the ‘fifth set queens.’ We like to go all the way,” said senior libero Adyson Hutchins, whose defense, along with serves from Kasey Plaud (six aces), helped carry Gorham through. “It’s great that we can overcome it. We have the practice. … Our coach always tells us to keep our heads up, and keep believing in each other.”
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Tagged: gorham rams, scarborough red storm
Drew Bonifant covers sports for the Press Herald, with beats in high school football, basketball and baseball. He was previously part of the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel sports team. A New Hampshire. More by Drew Bonifant
