Faced with adversity, the Perryville volleyball team turned to a trio of seniors who had been in similar situations. Coach Matt Borrelli credited his captains with steadying the ship after the Panthers dropped the first game against Bohemia Manor Wednesday and then the leaders helped Perryville withstand a furious Eagles rally in game four. The result was a 17-25, 26-24, 25-16, 25-22 Panthers victory in a region semifinal game in Chesapeake City. Perryville hosts North Dorchester Friday afternoon at 5 p.m. in search of a seventh straight region title and 11th in program history. The Panthers are seeking their first state volleyball title.
It's the sixth straight season Perryville knocked Bo Manor out of the playoffs. As usual, it was not easy. The Eagles stormed out to a strong start and took the opening game. "Especially after we dropped that first set it looked like we were really kind of off balance and Bo was just in rhythm," Borrelli said. "They were playing great in that first set. And really my three captains – Bea (Muscella), Hailey (Jones), and Brooke (Reynolds) – they went through the playoff process with us the last three years. And they pulled the team aside and they said, 'Look, we didn't play well in the first set, but we're going to roll in the next three.' And they were right. And they really calmed down the team. I think their experience calmed down the rest of the team and helped us win those next three sets." "I was concerned but volleyball goes best three out of five for a reason so [if you lose one], come back and try to win the next one," said Jones. The Panthers made some changes to get on track. "We adjusted all of our defense," Jones said. "We shifted to the left more because that's the way that they hit. Outside, we practiced deep corners but shifted in line so we had to shift our defense. Middles had to hit more to the left because Bo Manor is so good at blocking. Everything that we put down was being blocked so we had to adjust where we hit." Ahead 22-14 in game four, Perryville seemed poised to close out the match. Then Bo Manor rallied for eight straight points to tie it. "I was sweating that out," Borrelli said. "That was a crazy comeback that they had there, forced me to call both timeouts. Again, my captains were just reassuring the team, [saying] 'Stay with it. It just takes one to break their momentum'." Said Jones. "When they scored eight in a row it was kind of nerve-racking but I had to have faith in my team. I always have faith in my team. States, regionals, we've done it before. We kind of just get in the swing of things and once we have the momentum I know that we can finish it." The Panthers were able to finish it and advance to Friday's region final. A letdown would seem likely, but Borrelli will once again turn to his senior leaders. "It's almost inevitable because this game was so intense," the coach said. "Again, we'll just go back to practice and we'll stay focused. Our goal is three more games from now and that's going to be our goal. That's our goal every year. We'll get back to work [Thursday] and we will not have a letdown because our captains won't let it happen." Rebecca Holman paced Perryville with 16 kills and seven blocks. Alex Leslie provided nine kills and Muscella collected nine kills and 10 digs. Jordan Carr contributed 38 assists, 11 digs, and four kills. Jones led the team with 18 digs and five aces. Reynolds recorded 16 digs and three kills. Melissa Savin supplied eight digs. "I need to congratulate Bo Manor," said Borrelli. "That was one heck of a game. They are an amazing team. They have a great coach. They have great players. Their setter Zoe is fantastic. Cassie Jordan their middle is amazing and their two outside hitters Morgan and Delaney did a great job. Megan Horsey their libber is fantastic. They have an amazing team and I just want to congratulate them on a fantastic season. They are a great team and we're just thankful that we were able to get a victory over such a strong team." Perryville defeated Havre de Grace 25-9, 25-9, 20-25, 25-11 Monday, November 6. Muscella notched a team-high 13 kills and Leslie added nine. Reynolds chipped in seven spikes. Comments are closed.
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