CAPE ELIZABETH — Cape Elizabeth and York went into their the Class B volleyball semifinal Wednesday night with a vast disparity in postseason experience.
The Capers are seeking their third state championship in five years, while York had only one playoff win in three years at the varsity level.
On Wednesday night, top-ranked Cape Elizabeth showed its experience with a near-flawless performance in a 25-14, 25-16, 25-6 victory.
For the fourth-seeded Wildcats, nerves showed against the Capers, winners of 32 of their 33 matches over the last two seasons.
The defending champion Capers (15-1) will face No. 2 Yarmouth at 6 p.m. Saturday at South Portland High School.
“York is a really good team – they keep the ball in play and make you earn every single point,” said Cape Coach Sarah Boeckel. “But I think we came in really focused, as focused as I’ve seen us in a few weeks. We were ready to get the job done.”
The Capers have lost only four sets all season, three in a defeat against Class A state finalist Falmouth, and one in a 3-1 win over Windham.
“Making it back to states has been our goal all season,” said senior hitter Bridget Heggie, who tied with Megan Connelly with a team-high seven kills. “We had some ups and downs this season, but at the beginning of the season we wanted another Gold Ball.
“We are losing 12 seniors – it is my senior year, too – so we wanted it for (the seniors). We want to end (our careers) with a bang, for sure.”
York (10-6) couldn’t carry over its momentum from its quarterfinal win against Gardiner, though the Wildcats did give the home team a scare in both the first and second sets.
Early in the first set, neither team could grab more than a three-point lead until Cape’s Aerin Manning served seven straight points for a 16-6 advantage. York misfired on four kill attempts and had two double hits on sets.
Emma Parrotta got three points back with her hard serve, recording two aces, but the set ended with three straight points on Julia Torre’s serve – one when York hit the net, one on a Heggie kill with no blockers in front of her, and an ace when two York players let the ball drop.
“Our girls were a little nervous. We have never been to the semis before, we have never been in a playoff game (until this year),” Wildcats Coach Suzanne Bradley said. “I think nerves got a little bit of the best of us. And once you (make a mistake) the first time, it gets in your head.”
In the second set, two Jaya McClure kills off sets by Corina Page (game-high 17 assists) gave the Capers a little breathing room at 19-16. Manning put the game away with six straight service points – three of them aces.
“We pride ourselves in tough serving, tough defense and not giving points away,” Boeckel explained. “If you get a point (against us), you have earned it.”
The Wildcats have a bright future ahead of them with only two seniors. They were led by juniors Sophie Trafton (eight assists), Parrotta (six kills, three blocks, five aces) and Abby Orso (four kills).
“There was a lot of back and forth volleys this time,” said Bradley, whose team lost 3-0 to Cape earlier in the season. “We proved we can play with them, but just not for the long haul yet.”
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