The numbers are clear: On Friday afternoon, Newburyport played the toughest game that any field hockey team in the state can accept.
No word of a lie.
Because the Clippers made the trip down for a road game at undefeated Dover-Sherborn, which a few hours earlier maintained its No. 1 overall ranking in Division 3. But even more than just being No. 1 in their bracket, the Raiders also possess the highest MIAA power rating of any team across all four divisions. Their mark of 4.8718 is slighty better than Division 1’s top team, Lincoln-Sudbury (4.8509), and far exceeds the rating of the No. 1-ranked teams from Divisions 2 (King Philip: 3.4600) and 4 (Cohasset: 3.0194).
So Newburyport quite literally scheduled the best.
And in facing that type of adversity, the Clippers hung tough and even found the back of the cage in a 6-1 setback. It’s a result that everyone — from senior captains Lottie O’Brien and Blaire Fox, to Ari DeRosa, Brooke McCarron, Reese Beauparlant, Kendall Martyn and Clara Thompson — can be proud of.
Both preparing the Clippers (7-2-0) for playoff competition, while also acting as a reminder for how much they can still grow. The Clippers themselves are the No. 11-ranked team in Division 2, and will next host Rockport on Monday.
Good non-league win for Newburyport volleyball
Lori Solazzo has made good use of her non-league schedule.
The veteran Newburyport volleyball coach knows that she has a great team this year, and wanted to challenge her group outside of the Cape Ann League. The Clippers have already taken on Masconomet and Marblehead this fall, as well as a Melrose team that is currently ranked No. 4 in Division 2.
And on Thursday night, it was a trip out to Wakefield.
But that unfamiliar foe didn’t prove to be a problem for Newburyport, which rolled to another 3-0 sweep by set scores of 25-19, 25-22 and 25-22. Ava Bailey had a tremendous all-around game with 11 kills, 3 blocks and 3 aces, and elsewhere it was Gabby Vigeant providing 10 kills and Ellie LeDuc chipping in 7 kills.
Newburyport (11-1) is closing in on a CAL Kinney title, and is still ranked No. 2 in Division 3.
Important draw for Pentucket and Triton field hockey
We’re starting to get into crunch time here, and Friday’s rivalry CAL field hockey match carried some major playoff implications with it.
Pentucket: No. 40 in Division 3.
Triton: No. 32 in Division 4 (currently the last team projected in).
So a loss for either team would have been tough to deal with.
Luckily, neither had to experience that reality.
Both sides had their fair share of chances, but when the final buzzer went off, Pentucket and Triton had battled to a 0-0 draw. Junior goalie Molly Morris made 5 more saves for the Vikings (3-6-2), who continue to receive strong play from Marin Magee, Jersey Giordano, Riley Dinsmore and Maggie Rennick. Meanwhile for Haylie Gagnon, Erin Hicks, Tessa Crowe, Avery Wellen and the Panthers (3-6-2), they’ve now gone 3-2-2 over their last seven games.
Pentucket volleyball running out of runway
It’s safe to say that the Pentucket volleyball team is tired of seeing Ipswich.
On Thursday evening, the Panthers made the trip over to High Street, and suffered their second 3-0 sweep to the Tigers over the course of a week. Then looking bigger picture for captains Valerie Ridgley, Emma Burkinshaw, Michaela Gabardi, Ellie DeRosa, Devyn Walsh, Genevieve D’Angelo and the team, they’re running out of real estate to make the playoffs.
Following the setback, the Panthers (2-7) dropped to No. 46 in the latest MIAA Division 3 rankings update. They now have seven matches left in the regular season to either improve that rank enough, or get back to a .500 record to automatically qualify.
Triton volleyball hangs tough against two strong foes
The final results weren’t there over the weekend, but the Triton volleyball team still played two competitive matches.
It started on Thursday, when the Vikings welcomed in CAL for North Reading and fell by a 3-0 sweep (25-15, 25-16, 25-15). Emma D’Andrea was all over the stat sheet with 4 kills, 2 aces and a block in that one, Janey LeBlanc had 7 digs and 3 kills, and Kayla Sanders chipped in 3 digs, 2 kills and a block.
Then just 24 hours later, Triton fought for three competitive sets against visiting Salem before eventually falling, 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-23). Oliva Basile had a monster game with 24 assists, and LeBlanc led the way with 13 kills and 3 aces. Then elsewhere for the home team, D’Andrea had 8 kills with 2 blocks, while both Phoebe Hertigan and Charlotte Wilson had 4 digs.
The Vikings (3-10) came in at No. 41 in the latest Division 4 power rankings, and will next host Ipswich on Tuesday.