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Andover downs Central, heads to Division 1 North final

Thursday, November, 11 By Dave Dyer
Staff writer

ANDOVER — Sarah Arvidson and the Andover volleyball team were, pure and simple, relentless last night in the Division 1 North semifinals.

Which was exactly what they were planning and, given their opponent, felt was a necessity.

The Golden Warriors were, after all, facing arch-rival Central Catholic, and they remembered what happened last year.

Central, now 17-5, was the only team to win a game in any match this year against the unbeaten Warriors (21-0), losing 3-1 earlier in the season. The Raiders swept Andover three times last year, twice by 3-1 scores, the final coming in the Division 1 North final.

“We definitely remembered that and our goal was to make it 3-0,” said Arvidson. “We didn’t want to let down and let them get back in it because then you don’t know what can happen. We were really focused on going all-out and winning in three games.”

Mission accomplished.

The Warriors routed Central 25-13, 25-13, 25-16 to advance to tomorrow’s 7 p.m. North finals at Central Catholic against Reading (20-3).

Central only held two brief leads, early in the first two games, and didn’t score more than two straight points until the third game, when it twice put together three straight points.

And it wasn’t so much a case of Central playing poorly as Andover being overwhelming.

“They were dynamite tonight,” said Central coach Gannon Paris. “I give them a lot of credit. You could see their depth ... they were hitting out of every position. They didn’t have any weaknesses.”

Indeed, while Arvidson led Andover in kills with six, Moira Cronin and Elise Brogan both had four and even setter Annie Ye (17 assists) had three. Brogan, meanwhile, was immense at the net with seven blocks and Jillian Pengeroth had a pair.

The Warriors were particularly effective with their serves. Sophomore Marcela Familiar-Bolanos served nine straight points in the first game, which included three aces, and she finished with 16 points and five aces. And she just set the tone.

Lauren Murtagh had six straight service points in the third game and she and Ava Bakhtyari both had three aces on the night.

“We had a lot of trouble with their serves and that impacts your passing,” said Paris.

All in all, it was tough for Andover coach George Sullivan to find something to complain about.

“I was worried that we’d get too nervous, but the kids played very well, about as well as we’ve played all year,” said Sullivan. “You can see how well rounded we are this year.”

In that respect, the Warriors remind Paris of his club last year, when its only loss was in the Division 1 state finals.

“They have the same kind of experience we had and the same kind of depth,” he said.

As for his club, Paris stressed how far it came after graduating four all-league starters and losing another starter who transferred.

“It’s hard for the team to think of that now, but we really came a long way,” said Paris. “I certainly won’t judge them by tonight.”

Central will only graduate two starters, Corrine Gosselin and Kendall Desrosiers, but they’ll be big losses.

Gosselin led the Raiders in kills with eight while Desrosiers tied junior Hunter Tuck in service points with five.  

Additional stories:

• Track star Cronin finds her groove in volleyball