LYNNFIELD — In a battle between the top two teams in Division 4 volleyball Monday night, the Lynnfield Pioneers came up just short by a score of 3-2 in a five-set thriller against Cape Ann League foe Ipswich at home.
Lynnfield fell by set scores of 21-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-18, 15-17.
“I really thought we had them all the way up to the end,” said Lynnfield coach Brent Ashley. “In the end, it just came down to them having a few more upperclassmen and a little bit more experience in those tough situations.”
Lynnfield got off to a blazing start in the first set, jumping ahead 5-0 in the early going. But Ipswich battled all the way back to tie things at 7-7, and the two teams traded shots back and forth for the next several points. But Ipswich gained a foothold and jumped ahead 17-12, holding off a late Lynnfield rally to take the set 25-21.
The second set was truly a back-and-forth affair, with seven ties and eight lead changes throughout. Eventually, Lynnfield jumped ahead 22-15 and coasted to a 25-17 set win to tie things up.
Ipswich controlled a large part of the third set, at one point taking a 22-16 lead. But Lynnfield never quit, scoring seven unanswered points after that.
When the Pioneers tied things up at 22-22 and subsequently took the lead, the roof nearly came off the gym.
But Lynnfield couldn’t sustain the momentum, as Ipswich scored three straight points coming out of the timeout to take the set and go up 2-1.
Lynnfield was not deterred by the poor close of the third set, and the Pioneers came right back in the fourth with some fire. After Ipswich jumped out to a 4-0 lead to start, Lynnfield rallied back and eventually took the lead. The Pioneers stretched that lead to 22-17 at one point, before easily coasting to the 25-18 set victory.
The Pioneers took all of that momentum into the fifth and final set, jumping ahead early and really putting the pressure on Ipswich. But the Tigers responded, and before the Pioneers knew it the score was tied 14-14. From there, Ipswich’s experience showed through, as the Tigers scored three of the final four points to win the set, 17-15, and take the match.
Lynnfield (14-3) returns to action Wednesday evening ( 5:30) against rival North Reading for Senior Night.
“It’ll be great to honor our seniors and get them a bunch of playing time in the game Wednesday,” said Ashley. “We have two games left and we’re looking forward to closing out the season on a good run as we head into the tournament.”