BIDDEFORD — Top-ranked and unbeaten Biddeford fell behind in the second set on Thursday night, but rallied to win and sweep No. 5 Bonny Eagle 3-0 in the state Class A volleyball semifinals.
The Tigers improved to 17-0, winning in three sets (25-20, 25-8, 25-15) for the 16th time this season to take the match. They will play Scarborough in the state final.
“The biggest thing I told them in the second set, was to get back to basics and trust each other,” said Tigers Coach Ruth Shaw.
After jumping to a 5-0 lead and holding on to win the first set 25-20, the Tigers lost their rhythm in the second, and the Scots took full advantage.
After Bonny Eagle took the lead, Biddeford tied it five times before pulling ahead 8-7 off an Audrey Kaminski kill.
From there, Biddeford sophomore Danielle Emerson followed up with three aces; Charlotte Donovan had two kills; and Kaminski added two more kills and a winning drop-in shot as Biddeford powered ahead to an 18-8 lead.
“In the first set we got a little nervous. But in the second set, we started talking more to each other,” Kaminski said. “We got those aces from Dani, and it lifted us. I think this prepared us for Saturday.”
Down the stretch in the second set, Donovan had a flying dive to make it 19-8 and Kaminski served the final six points – she added back-to-back aces to give Biddeford the set, 25-8.
In the third set, Biddeford rolled to an 8-2 early lead off three aces by Laura Perreault. And later on, Kaminski added back-to-back aces to push the Tigers to 14-7.
Bonny Eagle junior Kaitlyn Bartash came up with a kill and a block to help the Scots pull within three.
But Biddeford junior Baylor Wilkinson stepped up at the net with two back-to-back blocks down the stretch to put Biddeford up 22-13, and the Tigers rolled to the win from there.
Emerson finished with seven aces and a kill; Kaminski had four aces and three kills; Donovan had four kills and two aces; and Wilkinson added four blocks.
For the Scots, Bartash finished with three blocks and three kills; and senior middle Anna White added four blocks as Bonny Eagle finished the season 10-7.
It was the farthest the nine-year program had advanced in the Class A playoffs.
And Coach Kelley Champagne, who founded the program, was proud of how a school with no feeder program played against the state’s top seed.
“I have never been more proud of this team,” Champagne said. “It was nice to see they didn’t fold after they lost the first set. They came out aggressively in the second set.”
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