The Johnston girls’ volleyball team tried not to look too far ahead during its match with Masters on Friday afternoon, but that was easier said than done with defending D-III champion Central up next.
Still, while there some mildly tense moments, the Panthers got it done with a 3-0 sweep, only truly being challenged in a 25-23 third game that sealed the victory.
The sweep was Johnston’s third in a row to start the year, as it now sits at 3-0 in Division III-North, tied with Central for first place.
The Panthers were scheduled to take on Central Wednesday, with results unavailable at press time.
Masters fell to 2-2 with the loss.
“They lost a couple of players [from last year], but they came back,” said Johnston head coach Greta Lalli. “She’s a phenomenal coach, for sure. My girls came out and they dominated. They knew what they had to do and they dominated.”
Johnston won the first game 25-18, and cruised in the second game 25-16. It overcame a late 23-22 deficit in game three, winning the final three points of the match. Katherine Rocha served the last two points, both of which went for aces.
Dana Desmarais led the way on the stat sheet with five kills and seven aces, while Francesca Gaudiana had seven kills. Angela Gallucci had six kills, Alexa Tavares had nine aces and Katerina Athaide added six aces.
“I am thrilled,” Lalli said. “They are fighters. I’ve been with most of them since their freshmen year. They’re so strong.”
The first game moved quickly for the Panthers, who jumped out to a 6-1 lead and never trailed, eventually winning the game with four straight service points from Desmarais.
In the second game, Masters led 1-0 and 2-1 and never again. At 7-5, Johnston won seven consecutive points, with Tavares doing a lot of the work from the service line. She had four aces during that span. Gallucci also had a block.
Serving was key all night for the Panthers, who did make 11 service errors but made up for it with a slew of aces from nearly every player who stepped to the baseline.
“Since the beginning, always, every year, I focus a lot on serving,” Lalli said. “To me, it’s the most important thing.”
Masters never really closed the gap, getting only as close as seven points the rest of the way. An ace from Desmarais ended the game.
The third game went slightly differently. Masters took a lead at 6-5, and extended it all the way out to 10-5. Three times Samantha Fayard served the ball and it never came back over the net.
Johnston continued to trail from there, but always stayed within striking distance. Masters’ largest lead was five points at 19-14, and the Panthers quickly trimmed that deficit after a timeout by winning the next three points.
Still, they trailed 21-20 before getting hot. Gaudiana won a point at the net to tie the score and Desmarais followed that with a kill and Johnston’s first lead since 5-4. A hitting error on the Panthers tied the score at 22, and a net violation gave Masters the lead back at 23-22.
But the Warriors committed a service error to knot the score at 23, and Rocha stepped back to the service line. Her first serve went toward the opposite baseline and landed in for an ace, setting up match point. Her next serve was shorter and couldn’t be returned, ending the match.
“In the third game, they pulled it together,” Lalli said. “That’s what’s most important to me – if you’re down, and they have the mental strength and the physical strength to move forward and win.”
Rocha, a senior captain who has been seldom used over the past couple of years, was inserted as a setter for a large portion of the match, and she handled those duties without a problem. She also served well, including her game-ending aces.
“She’s not a starter, and I kind of threw her into a setting position,” Lalli said. “She’s never played it before. She performed. She didn’t crack under pressure. She was just fantastic.”
Next on the schedule was Central, which is not only the team that won the D-III title last year, but the team that rallied late in the championship match to deny Johnston the crown.
The teams will meet twice this season.
Following the Central match, Johnston will play at winless Mt. Pleasant Friday at 5:30 p.m.
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