Volleyball: Westbrook succumbs to MDI, but looks better every day

WESTBROOK—The newly-minted Westbrook volleyball squad suffered a straight-sets defeat vs. visiting Mount Desert Island on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 14.

“We had some great sets, some great hits,” Westbrook head coach Nancy McAdam said, asked what her girls did well, despite the loss. “We’ve struggled with receiving the serve, and I think we did a really good job today – we’ve improved every game so far. That’s what we’re looking for.”

The Blazes dropped the first set 25-15, then the second 25-8; to stay alive in the match, they needed to take the third set. They started out looking good, too, going up 3-0 on a trio of rapid-fire aces by Margo Fletcher.

Margo Fletcher returns for the Blazes. Adam Birt / American Journal

The Trojans surged after that, however, tallying the next nine straight points. Across the remainder of the set, MDI oustripped Westbrook to the tune of 16-7. Final tally: 25-10. The Blazes did score their last two points on two more aces – by Ariana Alcide – and so ended on something of a high note.

“[MDI has] a few girls who just have incredible serves,” McAdam said. “It seemed like they had great accuracy with their serves.

Westbrook slid to 0-2 on the loss, having also dropped their first match of the autumn (vs. Bonny Eagle) in straight sets. Still, McAdam is proud of her girls’ progress, and of their staunch positivity. After all, for a team in its first year on the varsity circuit, defeats are likely. But nobody needs to hang her head or give up.

“I think they’re doing great,” McAdam said. “I tell the girls all the time that I’m just so proud of them for being out there and staying positive. We may not have won our first two games, but we’ve never backed down. We’ve just stayed fearless, and that’s all that I can ask for from them this year.”

McAdam took a moment to applaud a couple of her girls. “Ariana had a great, great game. Our libero, Margo, she did great. She stepped up a lot in the back row, receiving those serves. I always see all of the great in all of the girls, so it’s hard for me to pick them out one-by-one. But Abbigail Maxfield had a great game too.”

Westbrook travels to Sanford on Thursday, Sept. 19, and Cheverus a day later. The Spartans currently occupy last place in Class A, at 0-2, while the 0-3 Stags sit in 12th in the same class. The Blazes are members of Class B; for the time being, they rank 14th.

“We’re excited,” McAdam said. “We’re getting better every day. Every game. We’re learning from our opponents, we’re not just losing to them. So we’re optimistic every time we take the court that something better is going to fall into place for us.”