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HUDSON — North Reading players lined up on the service line, all in disbelief, as underdog Millis was awarded the Division 3 state championship plaque.

After dropping the first two games, North Reading mounted a comeback, but the Hornets fell victim to some costly mistakes as the Mohawks took the crown 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 25-21.

SUDBURY — With North Reading leading 25-24 in the fourth game, every member of its student section was holding up one finger to signify “just one more point.”. Within seconds, those students were storming the court, looking to hug the nearest Hornet player. The defending state champion Hornets defeated Frontier 27-29, 25-19, 25-19, 26-24 in the Division 3 state semifinals. The Hornets (23-1) now move on to the state championship game Saturday against Cinderella Millis (16-8), noon at Hudson High. “The girls played their butts off, from the backline to the front,” said coach Keri Forrest amid a wild celebration between coaches players, parents and students. “It was a little bit of luck but also a lot of hard work.” Frontier took the opening game 29-27 in a back-and-forth battle of the two rivals, who’ve met late in the postseason each of the last four years. The turning point of the match came in Game 2 when North Reading’s Adrianna Doyle came to serve and brought the Hornets back from a 15-12 deficit. Soon it was 20-15 Hornets and they held on 25-19. Doyle provided some fine serves which Frontier had difficulty answering, including two aces. North Reading took the with lead with another 25-19 win in the third game. Elizabeth Sutera, who made several clutch kills, put North Reading in position to serve out the match with a 24-24 tie. Frontier couldn’t return either of Taylor Dyer’s last two serves and that started the wild celebration. With Frontier’s gifted eighth grader Cassidy Stankowski’s wicked jump serve, North Reading knew it wouldn’t be easy. And, of course, it wasn’t as the previously unbeaten Red Hawks, who won Division 3 state titles in 2005 and 2006, battled to the end. “Nichole Cecchini (26 digs) played unbelievable, she wasn’t afraid of anything,’’ beamed Forrest. “We had been working on defending that all week because that (jump serves) is definitely their strength.” Sutera led the Hornets with 11 kills while returning Eagle-Tribune All-Star Alison Friberg led with 28 assists. “I really don’t know what to say, this was just an exciting game,” said Sutera. “Frontier is one of our biggest rivals and it feels great beating them 3-1.”

ANDOVER — North Reading’s volleyball team had a wakeup call yesterday afternoon, but the alarm delivered the proper message. The defending Division 3 state champion and No. 1-seed Hornets dropped the first game to Notre Dame Academy of Tyngsboro, 25-21 in the North finals at Andover High School, before charging back  to win three straight, 25-15, 25-15, 25-21. North Reading (22-1) advances to the state semifinals Thursday at Lincoln-Sudbury at 7 p.m. against the West winner, which very well could be Frontier. North Reading beat Frontier in the state finals last year after losing to it the previous two years. “It seems like the season is not complete unless we play them (Frontier),” said North Reading coach Keri Forrest. That hardly seemed like a certainty in the first game, during which the Hornets made a number of unforced errors. But Forrest and two-year Cape Anne League MVP Alison Friberg were not overly concerned. “It (first-game loss) made us realize that anything can happen, that we’d better start playing better,” said Friberg. “But I wasn’t that nervous about it because we weren’t settled in and I knew we could play better. If we had played well and lost, then I would have been worried.” Forrest felt the same way. “I said to my assistant coach that I really wasn’t worried,” said Forrest. The turning point came early in the second game with the game tied, 5-5. Sophomore Kirsten Morrison served six straight points to put the Hornets in front for good. Except for a couple of letdowns in the fourth game, North Reading was in control the rest of the way. Playing like a young Stephanie Mayne, who is now a sophomore at UMass Amherst, Morrison led the Hornets in kills with 12 and aces with six while finishing with 16 service points. “As a freshman, she (Morrison) was good, but she has really come alive,” said Friberg. But Morrison had plenty of help at the net. Elizabeth Sutera checked in with 11 kills and Katherine Mazzone added eight kills and led in blocks with 15. At one point, in the third game, Taylor Dyer (team-high 21 digs), Morrison, Sutera and Mazzone took turns getting  points with kills. “Too many weapons,” said Forrest. “I keep telling them to mix it up and Alison does a great job setting them all up. She’s our quarterback and when she’s setting up different people, and we’re on a roll, we’re tough to beat.”

Alison Friberg tallied a team-high 14 assists and 21 service points as No. 1 North Reading drubbed  No. 4 Nazareth 25-6, 25-11, 25-11 in the Division 3 North semifinals. Kirsten Morrison and Adrianna Doyle each had four kills for the Hornets, who take on No. 6 Notre Dame Academy in the Division 3 North finals on Saturday at 1 p.m. 

North Reading blasted St. Mary's in the Division 3 North quarterfinals 25-9, 25-12, 25-15. Kirsten Morrison (9) and Elizabeth Sutera (7) combined for 16 kills for the defending state champions. Alison Friberg chipped in with 20 assists and 22 service points.

Defending CAL champ North Reading closed the season out on a high note with a 25-15, 25-7, 25-14 victory over Stoneham. Lauren Mozzone led the way with seven kills and two blocks. Alison Friberg added 15 assists, and Kirsten Morrison had 14 service points with seven aces.

The North Reading girls volleyball team improved to 14-1 thanks to an impressive all-around performance by Adrianna Doyle (10 kills, 22 service points, three aces). Also doing some damage against Reading was Nicole Cecchini, who racked up a game-high 40 digs.

The North Reading girls volleyball team recorded win No. 13 on the season, besting CAL rival North Andover 25-19, 25-20, 25-21. Nicole Cecchini (26 service points, five aces), Kirsten Morrison (10 kills) and Alison Friberg (29 assists) led the Hornets.

Learning from lossAfter winning the first two games, defending Division 3 state champion North Reading's girls volleyball team lost its first match of the season, 3-2 to Division 2 power Melrose but head coach Keri Forrest was far from depressed with the setback.  "It was a great match, and we can learn from this," said Forrest. "They exploited some weaknesses we weren't used to and we can work on them now."Kirsten Morrison had nine kills and had 16 service points for the Hornets (9-1).

North Reading cruisd by Wilmington, sweeping them 25-9, 25-13, 25-16. Kirsten Morrisson led North Reading with 5 kills and 5 aces. Alison Sriberg notched 19 assists. Casey Denofrio was solid on the attack for North Reading as well.