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One down, four to go for the Division 1 state championship. Those are the numbers that the Winchester High girls volleyball team and its Round of 32 playoff winners are looking at right now.
The Red & Black (20-1) started the postseason as the seventh seed in the final power rankings, and then proceeded to shutout North Andover (10-11), the 26th seed, 3-0 in the new WHS gym on Thursday night, Oct. 30, to begin the road to the state title with another dominating performance. Newton North has been the only team to figure them out so far, when it won a 3-1 decision back on Oct. 17 in Tiger country. The earliest that they can avenge that loss is in the Elite 8.
But first things first, Coach John Fleming’s team christened the new gym the right way with a postseason win.
“It was great to finally get into the new gym and play a game,” said Fleming. “Having a state tournament (match) there was very exciting, instead of at the McCall (Middle School). The gym is amazing, and I think the girls would agree that it was worth the wait to get in there. This is a facility that could host the state semifinals or even the finals down the road.”
Fleming admits that there was probably some “nervous excitement” to play that first athletic event in the new gym, not to mention it was also the team’s first state tournament game.
“We eventually settled into the (match), and started to pick things up toward the end of the first set. From that point on, we were playing at a higher level.”
The coach then mentioned that junior Defne Mergen did “a great job in distributing the ball to our hitters, which really kept North Andover guessing.”
Her classmates Hazel Lovins (10 kills) and Maddie (9 kills), and senior captain Johanna Melhorn (8 kills) were able to find some space to finish efficiently throughout the match, according to Fleming.
“North Andover is a good group that will be even better next year, but our serving didn't allow them great opportunities to get their hitters going,” Fleming added.
“It was definitely a great way to start the tournament and make some history at the same time in the new gym, but the road will be much more challenging from here on out,” he continued. “Our expectations are the same as last year, and that’s to compete from the first point to the last one to give ourselves a chance to move on to the next round. At this point of the season, it’s only about being two points better in the final set (than your opponent).”
The Winchester girls are now resting up over the weekend between practices, of course, to get ready for their Sweet 16 matchup between either Needham (15-2, 10th seed) or Haverhill (7-9, 23rd seed). They are scheduled to play their Round of 32 contest in Needham on Saturday, Nov. 1, at 4 p.m.
The winner will then come to the new WHS gym on Monday, Nov. 3, at 5 p.m. to take on the dominating Red & Black crew.
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News last November.
