ITEM PHOTO BY KATIE MORRISON.
Swampscott’s Michelle Connor tips the ball over the net as Saugus’ Jenna Rusconi leaps off the ground.
By Mike Alongi
SWAMPSCOTT — Despite missing its top two outside hitters, the Swampscott volleyball team was able to notch a 3-0 win over the Saugus Sachems at home on Monday afternoon. The Big Blue turned it on in the service game, getting great performances from junior Claudia Mazargolis (11 service points), junior Maisie Vasquez (nine service points and six aces) and sophomore Katelyn O’Keefe (five aces), among others.
“We struggled a bit today, but we got it done,” said Swampscott coach Chip Emery. “We were missing two of our top players and there was a bit of confusion on the court that we had to work through, but we managed to do it.”
“I thought we played well today but we just had a few too many errors,” said Saugus coach Patrick Bemis.
Swampscott battled to a 25-22 win in the first set, but got off to a slow start. Their hits weren’t clean and there were multiple unforced errors, but the Big Blue managed to get by with a close win to go up one set.
In the second set, things almost got away from Swampscott early on. Saugus (0-13) went up 7-1 to start the set and it looked like the Sachems were gaining a strong foothold. But a quick timeout from Emery appeared to get Swampscott on track. Coming out of the timeout, the Big Blue started serving the ball well and battled it all the way back to a 13-13 tie before junior Toyah Pass smacked a kill to give Swampscott the lead. The Big Blue then went up 19-15 before Saugus ran off four straight points to tie it again. But the Big Blue wouldn’t let the set get away and went on a 6-3 run to close it out, capping the set with a big-time kill from Taylor McBurney to win it 25-22.
Swampscott took that momentum right into the third set. Freshman setter Cassidy Ryan (nine service points, eight aces) went on an impressive run of six straight aces to put the Big Blue comfortably out in front.
“The serving was huge for us,” said Emery. “I’ve got a couple of girls who serve the ball very well, and that really got our momentum going once we started serving better.”
In the blink of an eye, the Big Blue were up 16-4 and cruising to a win. Saugus went on a run late to bring the score to 17-9, but the Swampscott momentum was too strong to overcome. After a kill from Ryan, the set ended in a score of 25-13 and the Big Blue took the match.
With the win, Swampscott is now 7-7 on the year and in a prime position to make it to the state tournament. That’s quite a progression for a team that went a combined 7-27 over the previous two seasons.
“We’re certainly moving in the right direction,” said Emery. “We made it a goal before the season started to make it to the tournament, and now with three more wins we’ll reach that goal. We just have to go out there and keep working hard and stay consistent.”
The Big Blue will be back in action tomorrow afternoon when they take a trip to Winthrop High to face the Vikings.