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One step short of perfection

Saturday, November, 15 By Mike McMahon
Staff writer

HUDSON — It serves as another step up the ladder for the Central Catholic volleyball program, but that doesn’t stop the pain.

The Raiders were swept by Medfield, 25-18, 25-18, 25-14 in the Division 2 State final yesterday afternoon, marking the only blemish on an otherwise flawless campaign.

The Raiders (22-1) never seemed to get going. In the first game, even when Central had the serve, it was on the defensive against Medfield’s ferocious attack.

When the Raiders did make plays — such as big kill attempts from Maggie Hillman and Katie Zenevitch, the Warriors were able to come up with digs, leaving Central frustrated for points.

“We did enough to prove that we belong, unfortunately it wasn’t enough to take home what we were looking for,” said head coach Gannon Paris, whose team advanced to its first state final appearance in the program’s 13-year history. “But, I’m happy with the effort, how can a coach not be? Those girls proved themselves. Medfield, anything they did, they were sharp doing it.”

The Raiders follow up last season’s state semifinal appearance by taking another step towards the ultimate goal.

“The accomplishment was huge,” Paris said. “I told the team after the game that this is something (coaching volleyball) that I’m going to be doing a long time, and this is an experience I’ll never forget. Last year, we made some noise but this year we were there with anyone. To go from a few years ago, just being happy to be .500, to this, I’d rather be here.”

The Raiders righted the ship in the second game, but still seemed overwhelmed by a Medfield attack that came at all angles.

“Our serve receives were a bit of an issue,” said Paris. “If we could have received better we might have been able to stay in more of a flowing offense. When we dumped over to them their hitters were able to get smashes, but we really weren’t with theirs. They controlled the play. They were attacking and we were retreating. If we ware able to attack more, it might have evened it out.”

Heading into the third game, Paris yelled from the bench, “All we can do is fight!”

The Raiders nodded to their coach, and stormed out to an early lead. After some back and forth play in the middle of the game, things turned Medfield’s way at the 27th point.

Trailing 15-11, Katie Zenevitch made what appeared to be a point-saving move. The 6-2 junior went left to right on a ball that few others would have had a chance at, but as she went for a soft touch over the net, with the Medfield defenders back on the floor, the ball dipped towards the court and landed out of bounds by a few inches.

Medfield (23-2) then went on a five-point run, making it 20-11. Soon after, the Warriors were celebrating their third state title in the last four years.

After the match, an emotional Raider squad embraced, some leaving the court for the final time.

“It’s tough, but I told them what was once told to me,” said Paris. “I said that I’m not going to judge them on what happened in the game. I’m going to judge them by how they feel at 3:30 on Monday afternoon. If the girls are missing this team, and missing being a part of this team, then it’s a great team and something special.

“If this season is over and the girls just go on to the next season without missing it, then maybe it didn’t mean so much. But, you look around, you look at these tears and I think you’ll see that it means something to them.”