SOUTH PORTLAND — The No. 9 Thornton Academy volleyball team won the first two sets in a Class A South preliminary round showdown, but No. 8 South Portland would rally to take the next set.
The Golden Trojans would rebound from the third set loss to take the fourth game 25-23 and punch their ticket to the Class A South quarterfinals.
“I think this was a great win. I’ve seen this team get better every week that we’ve played. I’m proud of their success and I can’t wait to see what we do Saturday against Falmouth,” said Thornton Academy head coach Corey Huot.
Thornton won the first two sets 25-5 and 25-13, before South Portland took the next set 26-24.
The Trojans dominated the Red Riots in the first set. Sarah Casey and Johnna Scott both had seven service points to secure the victory for Thornton.
During the second set, Emma Cianchette served up six point to give the Trojans another win.
The Red Riots would turn the tide in the third set for their first win. Kaleisha Towle produced South Portland’s first lead of the night at 4-3 as she won three straight points. The lead would soon be answered when Olivia Howe served up five points and created a 15-15 tie. South Portland’s Maria Degifico broke the tie as she scored four points.
The game would become tied again 23-23 when TA’s Laura Fortier served up six points. This time South Portland’s Grace Rende would break the tie and steal the game after earning two points to create the final 26-24 score.
“South Portland is a mentally tough team. They’re well coached. As you can see by how they came back in that first game and how they competed in the other games,” said Huot.
In the fourth set, there would be another 23-23 tie but this time the Trojans would come out on top.
Degifico served up five points to give the Red Riots the lead during the fourth set. The Trojans would trail behind South Portland until Amelia Pellerin went for six straight service points and produced the final 25-23 score.
“I think they played for each other. When times were tough, they didn’t give up on each other — they fought. They made smart plays and adjustments when they needed to. They wanted it tonight,” said Huot.
Fortier set a school record with 23 kills to lead the Trojans. Howe had 41 assists and Johnna Scott added nine kills in the win.
“Liv Howe runs our offense. She’s only been playing for two years and I think her command of what she needs to do, where she needs to be settles us down. During timeouts, she’s rallying the team and yelling at them saying what they need to hear. Johnna and Lauren have just been offense for us. Their somebody we can rely on,” said Huot.
Thornton will travel to No. 1 Falmouth on Saturday for the quarterfinal.
— Sports Writer Sienna Barstow can be reached at sbarstow@journaltribune.com or at 780-9018. Follow the Journal Tribune Sports Department on Twitter @JournalTsports.
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