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North Reading stunned by Millis

Saturday, November, 15 By Mike McMahon
Staff writer

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.

Most of the mistakes were caused by a vicious Millis attack from all angles of the floor.

It was quite a late-season run by Millis, which went just 11-8 in the regular season.

“It’s hard, but I told the girls that there is no shame in being the second-best team in Massachusetts,” head coach Keri Forrest said. “Millis did a great job, their coach did a great job, and they forced us into some mistakes. I told my girls that I was very proud of them. I just told them that it wasn’t in the cards for us. Millis has good hitters all over the floor, so they can score from anywhere.”

There were times when the Hornets, whose loss in the title game was just their second all season (along with a regular season defeat at the hands of Melrose), seemed to dominate.

Taylor Dyer covered large parts of the court and Nicole Cecchini and Kirsten Morrison were forces up front and on the back row when the Hornets got into their groove.

In the second game, Millis didn’t have its first lead until the 47th point, when they took a 24-23 edge before closing it out on the next serve. North Reading squandered an early-game eight-point lead.

“We really wanted to get to a fifth game,” Forrest said. “I thought that if we made it to a fifth game, it would be in our favor. We have played in some of those fifth-game, high-pressure spots this year and have done well, outside of our loss to Melrose.

“But after trailing 2-0, if we can take the next two, we have that momentum. We just weren’t able to get there. I’d say, compared to how we normally play, today was an A- or a B+, but give Millis credit, they deserved it.”

Once again, the Hornets led much of the fourth game. Trailing 17-16, Millis tied it on a smooth serve by Stephanie Gove, and took the lead on the next point.

During the back-and-forth final points, the Hornets got some game-saving double-team blocks by seniors Alison Friberg and Lauren Mozzone, but it wasn’t enough to stop the momentum from swinging in Millis’ way.

“Millis was just the better team today, that’s it,” said Forrest. “That’s all there is to it.”