Losing isn’t always a bad thing, at least not the way Winnisquam volleyball Coach Mike Livernois sees it.
After a somewhat surprising 9-0 start to the season, the Bears finally succumbed to Moultonborough in an incredibly narrow 25-22, 25-23, 22-25, 20-25, 15-12 loss.
“We’re playing with one returning starter. We’ve had to put a whole new team together on the fly,” said Livernois, whose squad lost a lot of talent from last year’s D-III runner-up team. “I expected there to be some bumps in the road.”
Winnisquam (9-1), who had only dropped four sets all season entering Monday’s match and hadn’t lost more than one set in a single contest, lost two close sets to start the evening, thanks to strong serving from Moultonborough (8-3), which kept the Bears off-balance.
Winnisquam’s inexperience started to show in the second set when the Bears had 19-16 and 22-19 leads, but they couldn’t put the Panthers away.
“We’ve lost a couple of sets (this season), but this was the first time we were down from 2-0 in a match,” Livernois said. “We didn’t close that second set and that really put us behind the eight ball.”
Thanks to the well-balanced efforts of the team’s lone returning starter, sophomore Talia DeBlasie (33 assists, seven digs, five kills), the only two seniors on the roster, Nicole Matcheski (20 digs, 15 kills) and Kerry Boyle (eight digs), Shannon Goodwin (18 digs, 11 kills), freshman Meghan Harmon (six kills, four blocks, four digs), Aubrey St. Onge (23 digs, six assists, three aces) and Maddy Skeats (13 digs, two blocks, two kills), the Bears won the third and fourth sets, 25-22 and 25-20.
Winnisquam was up 10-8 in the fifth set, but once again failed to close.
“We had too many service errors. They were just a little off tonight. All the little things add up to big things,” said Livernois.
“I was pleased with how they fought back,” Livernois added. “Everytime you play someone, as long as you learn from it, losing isn’t a bad thing. I like playing a close game. You learn a lot from them.”
Concord 3, Londonderry 0
Key players: Concord – Lauren Hatch (17 kills), Caitlyn Shea (28 assists), Brenna Vandersea (9 digs)
Highlights/key moments: The Tide remained undefeated with a 25-16, 25-15, 25-19 victory over the Lancers.
Coach’s quote: “Londonderry played well for a team without a win this season. This highlights the competitiveness of D-I volleyball in New Hampshire.” – Concord’s Jonathan Flower
Records: Concord 11-0; Londonderry 0-12
Gilford 3, Oyster River 1
Key players: Gilford – Karly Sanborn (27 assists, 13 digs), Stevie Orton (23 digs, 9 kills), Cynthia Gagnon (25 digs, 9 kills, 3 blocks), Maddi Currier (21 digs, 7 kills), Maggie McNeil (16 digs, 5 kills), Sydney Holland (11 digs), Lexi Boisvert (3 kills)
Highlights/key moments: The Eagles had 112 digs and used a solid defensive effort to defeat the Bobcats, 25-20, 13-25, 25-17, 25-22.
Coach’s quote: “This was our best defensive game of the season. Three Gilford players (Gagnon, Orton and Currier) had career-high defensive performances to stop the powerful offense of Oyster River.” – Gilford’s Joan Forge
Records: Gilford 9-1; Oyster River 5-4
John Stark 3, Pelham 0
Key players: John Stark – Sarah Wagner (7 kills, 3 blocks), Piper Maclean (great passing and serving), Cassidy Gilman (6 kills, ace), Nicole Yelle (18 assists, 5 aces)
Highlights/key moments: The Generals overcame a slow start to win the first set, 25-19, and used strong back row passing and serving to control the final two sets, 25-15, 25-13.
Coach’s quote: “Good effort from every player tonight. We’ll need to bring our A game for Wednesday’s match at Milford (6-3).” – John Stark’s Jeff McClellan
Records: John Stark 9-1; Pelham 2-8
Mascenic 3, H-D 0
Key players: H-D – Kristina Stevens (6 blocks, 3 digs)
Highlights/key moments: The Hillcats lost to the third-place Vikings for the second time this season.
Records: Mascenic 8-1; H-D 2-9
Inter-Lakes 3, Epping 0
Key players: I-L – Jordan Durand (8 kills, 11 points, 7 digs), Jessalyn Brown (20 assists, 8 points, 8 digs), Sarah Seeley (10 digs), Emma Wheeler (8 kills, 2 blocks), Rebecca Otis (12 digs)
Coach’s quote: “It was a nice win on the road for the Lakers in straight sets.” – I-L’s Randy Mattson
Records: I-L 7-2; Epping 5-4
Kearsarge 2, Goffstown 2
Key players: Kearsarge – Brad Underhill (2 goals), Bo Underhill (assist), Levi Wilson (8 saves), Sam Lick (defense)
Highlights/key moments: Goffstown scored early on a header off a corner kick for a 1-0 lead. Kearsarge tied the game, 1-1, with Brad Underhill’s goal off a set piece from Bo Underhill. Goffstown scored with 10 minutes left in regulation, but Brad Underhill netted his second goal with 20 seconds left to force overtime.
Coach’s quote: “It was our fourth double-overtime game of the season and third that has ended (in) a tie. The all around effort of the team and leaving every ounce of energy on the field makes me very proud of them. The longer the games go on the more we wear teams down. I was very happy with my team’s all around performance.” – Kearsarge’s Matt Burch
Records: Kearsarge 1-7-3; Goffstown 9-2-1
Prospect Mtn. 9, Franklin 0
Key players: Franklin – Gio Lemon, Garrett Pelletier, Lindsey Borges
Highlights/key moments: The Tornadoes lost a tough match to one of D-III’s top programs.
Records: Prospect Mtn. 9-3; Franklin 0-11
John Stark 1, Lebanon 0
Key players: John Stark – Brooke Shatney (goal), Cara Easter, Sara Nikias and Aria Ulmer (midfield)
Highlights/key moments: Shatney scored the lone goal with eight minutes left in the match, despite controlling the pace of the game with 20 shots on goal.
Coach’s quote: “The Generals dominated play, controlling all aspects of the game.” – John Stark’s Heather Doucette
Records: John Stark 10-1; Lebanon 3-8
Conant 3, Bishop Brady 2
Key players: Bishop Brady – Maddie Boyer (2 goals), Sam Will (defense)
Highlights/key moments: Freshman goalkeeper Hannah Constant was strong in her first varsity start. The Orioles took an early 2-0 lead but the Giants tied the match, 2-2, by halftime.
Coach’s quote: “Although we came out very flat to start the game, (we showed good determination) to fight back and give ourselves a chance to win the game. We fought hard to tie it, (we) just couldn’t capitalize on a few good shots in the second half.” – Bishop Brady’s Andrew Mattarazzo
Records: Conant 7-4; Brady 3-7
H-D 5, Newport 2
Key players: H-D – Bridgette Winters (2 goals, assist), Izabella Warren (2 goals), Morgan Racine (goal), Taveya Ortiz (2 assists), Madeline Parisi (assist), Emily Gibson (midfield), Kianna Carter (defnese), Melissa Veitch (9 saves)
Highlights/key moments: Racine scored her first varsity goal less than a minute into the game, but the Tigers tied the game four minutes later. Winters scored before halftime and Warren scored seven minutes into the second half. Warren and Winters netted their second tallies later in the second half to secure the win.
Coach’s quote: “I was happy to see the girls overcome a sloppy, slow first half and play with control and poise the second half.” – H-D’s Susan Else
Records: H-D 10-2; Newport 4-6
Field Hockey
Hopkinton 3, Stevens 2, OT
Key players: Hopkinton – Lyndon Flanagan (2 goals), Lilly Hoffman (goal), Carley Kanter (strong all around game), Lily Tobin (defense), Isabel Tobin (defense), Clara Walling (defense), Emmy Campbell (8 saves)
Highlights/key moments: Flanagan scored the game-winning goal with 4:31 left in overtime.
Coach’s quote: “The girls worked hard and they worked together which gave us the win.” – Hopkinton’s Kate Hohenberger
Records: Hopkinton 6-5; Stevens 8-2
John Stark 4, Conant 0
Key players: John Stark – Mercedes Camacho (2 goals), Olivia Fatcheric (3 assists), Rebecca Wetherbee (goal), Kasey Aubin (first career varsity goal), Raelyn Roberts (assist), Melina Jackson (shutout)
Highlights/key moments: The Generals put a lot of pressure on the Orioles in the first half, but struggled to finish that with a goal until Camacho blasted a shot to the back of the net with 17 seconds left in the half. The Generals scored three second-half goals while not allowing a single Conant shot on goal after halftime.
Coach’s quote: “The Generals played with a lot of energy today. In the second half we really dug in and made some strong field hockey plays with an aggressive defense.” – John Stark’s Dennis Pelletier