Greely volleyball battles past Gardiner in cross-class showdown
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Greely’s Ellie Desorbo focuses as she bumps the ball against Gardiner on Tuesday in Gardiner. (Rich Abrahamson/Staff Photographer0 Purchase this image
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GARDINER — A first set that couldn’t have possibly had less breathing room Tuesday evening did not go the way of the Greely volleyball team.
The Rangers bounced back in the next two, and when a resilient Gardiner team fought back in the fourth, Class B Greely still found a way to close out a 3-1 (24-26, 25-12, 25-15, 25-23) victory in a high-profile cross-class showdown with the Class C Tigers.
“It was all grit,” said Greely coach Autumn Vargo. “Gardiner is a team we hadn’t seen, so it took us a little bit to figure out their hitters. Once we did, I thought we were really able to settle in and battle.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
The opening set was even as could be. Neither team led by more than two points the entire way, and Gardiner’s four-point run after trailing 11-9 was the longest of the set. After the teams alternated 11 straight points late in the set, the Tigers (10-3) won two in a row to take a one-game lead.
The next two sets, though, went swimmingly for Greely (11-1), the fourth-ranked team in the Varsity Maine poll. Tied 2-2 in the second, the Rangers scored 20 of the next 25 points to tie the match. Then, after Greely sided out trailing 7-4 in the third, freshman Lilah Rosenfeld served 10 straight points and the Rangers notched another double-digit win.
Gardiner, seventh in the Varsity Maine poll, fought back in the fourth set, winning seven of eight points after Greely took a 9-8 lead. Yet the Rangers responded with another run spurred by Avery Enos’ serving to take a 19-17 lead, and after Gardiner battled to pull ahead 23-21, Greely hit back with the final four points to seal the victory.
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“We just made sure to not get in our own heads, and we kept supporting each other and cheering each other on,” Rosenfeld. “We’re practicing better together and understanding how we play as a team and the support we need.”
WHAT IT MEANS
• Greely notches its 10th straight victory to snatch back the top spot in Class B from Washington Academy. The Rangers have not lost since falling to Class A Cheverus, the No. 2 team in the Varsity Maine poll, in the second match of the season Sept. 8.
• Gardiner showed mettle against a team from a higher class. Coach Bill Boardman could not have been much happier about his team’s performance, after it delivered the first blow, scored six of seven points late in the third set and forced Greely to claw out of a late deficit in the fourth.
“We made our fair share of mistakes, but to fight and to compete like we did against one of the best teams in the state, that was awesome,” Boardman said. “We talked in the huddle and in-between sets about how they didn’t give up. That’s what this team is all about: They don’t ever, ever give up.”
UNSUNG HERO
Greely’s Maddie Hussey. Enos, Anabelle Talley and Alena Tierney put up the gaudy numbers for Greely, but Rosenfeld also spoke highly of Hussey, whom she called “a big help” in the middle. Vargo also extolled the play of Hussey and the rest of the Rangers’ middle blockers.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
“We’re coming off playing Cony, who is having a down year, so to go from that to this, back-to-back, is a little rough sometimes. It’s been a rollercoaster of a week in terms of the opponents we’re playing, but I thought they responded well. I’m real happy.” — Bill Boardman
STAT LEADERS
Greely: Anabelle Talley (21 kills, three aces, two blocks, five digs), Avery Enos (three kills, 13 assists, two aces), Alena Tierney (one kill, 14 assists), Maddie Hussey (four kills, two blocks)
UP NEXT
Greely: vs. Lewiston (11-1), 1 p.m. Saturday
Gardiner: at Camden Hills (6-6), 5:30 p.m. Friday
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Tagged: Gardiner Tigers, greely rangers
Mike Mandell came to the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel in April 2022 after spending five and a half years with The Ellsworth American in Hancock County, Maine. He came to Maine out of college after. More by Mike Mandell
