CAPE ELIZABETH — The York Wildcats weren’t about to let history repeat itself.
Two weeks after letting a two-set lead slip away in a loss, the ninth-ranked Wildcats returned to Cape Elizabeth Middle School to take on the eighth-seeded Capers in a Class B preliminary round playoff match. Again, they took the first two games with relative ease.
But this time, York didn’t let Cape Elizabeth get back in the match and instead, closed it out in straight sets – 25-10, 25-16, 25-21 – to advance.
The Wildcats improved to 8-7 and will make the long trip to top-seeded, undefeated Washington Academy in East Machias for Saturday’s quarterfinal round.
“The girls weren’t going to let that happen again,” said York Coach Suzanne Bradley. “They were really focused and came together as a unit. It all worked tonight. It was awesome.”
The Capers (8-7) got the first two points of the match, but the Wildcats quickly pulled away and went up, 20-8, as Maya Babcock had a nine-point service run, then aces from Nora Dowling and Brooke Roe gave York the early advantage.
“It was really important to get out to that fast start,” said Dowling. “It got our confidence up.”
If the first game wasn’t dominant enough, the Wildcats scored the first eight points of the second set and while Cape Elizabeth countered with five straight, York again steadily pulled away to seize command.
But the Wildcats knew they weren’t home free, Sure enough, the Capers made them work in the third game.
A pair of kills from Ava Daviault helped Cape Elizabeth take a quick 9-2 lead, but the serving of Jillian Holland and Bella Parrotta brought York even at 10-10. The Wildcats then erased a 12-11 deficit with five straight points, highlighted by a pair of aces from Dowling where she took something off the ball and the Capers couldn’t react to the slower movement as the ball fell to the floor just in front of the defenders.
“They couldn’t get to the short balls, so I figured I should keep doing it,” Dowling said.
Cape Elizabeth had one final run to pull even at 19-19, but a block from Hannah Cleary put York ahead for good and the Wildcats finished it off with a kill from Roe, followed by a point where the Capers couldn’t return the ball.
“We came here tonight knowing we needed to win,” Dowling said. “We weren’t going to let them come back again.”
The Wildcats didn’t face Washington Academy during the regular season, but did manage to beat the Raiders during the preseason.
“Our record I don’t think shows how good this team is, so I’m hoping we can surprise them. We’ll be ready,” said Bradley.
Cape Elizabeth only graduates three seniors and looks for a deeper run next fall.
“We know the better team won tonight,” said Capers Coach Sarah Boeckel. “York came in mentally and physically ready and we didn’t recover from that.
“We’ve had a young team on the court together all season. I’m psyched most of them are coming back.”
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