It’s official: Pentucket volleyball has entered the next level of contender.
A year ago at around this same time, the Panthers earned a victory over Essex Tech that raised some eyebrows. It wasn’t so much a “Wow, they could go on to win a state championship!” sort of win, but one that sent a clear message to the rest of the CAL: The Panthers (6-12) were no longer the basement of the league, and they used that momentum to finish off — at the time — their best season ever.
But Monday night was something different entirely.
Pentucket earned by far its biggest win in program history, winning three ultra-competitive sets to sweep Lynnfield, 3-0 (26-24, 26-24, 26-24). The Pioneers have won the CAL a league-high eight times since 2012, were in the Division 4 semifinals two years ago, and made a pair of state championship games during the mid-2010s back when Frontier Regional was a powerhouse in the state.
So, yeah, Lynnfield is a legit volleyball program with actual history.
It’s a program that beat the likes of Newburyport earlier in the year.
And on Monday night, the Panthers swept them.
“It was truly back-and-forth all night,” said Pentucket coach Kelly Lyons. “One thing we finally did well: When we got down several points, we fought back. The old team would have laid down and quit, but these girls fought their way back in each set.”
Mia Bartholomew had 8 kills and 3 service aces, while Brie Brancato added 3 aces and 12 assists for Pentucket, which now boasts a 6-1 record. Last year’s six wins were more than the program had combined from 2019-22 (4), and now the Panthers have matched it before the calendar has switched to October.
Again, we’re not saying to start planning the championship parade around Groveland.
But Pentucket volleyball is a serious contender to win a CAL title, and is positioning itself to make some noise come the Division 3 tournament.
Foley on fire for Newburyport
Olivia Foley has been a menace on the volleyball court this fall.
The senior captain kept her dominant season going on Monday, recording 17 kills with 3 blocks to lead Newburyport to a 3-1 win over North Reading (21-25, 25-19, 25-19, 25-13). Fellow captain Laney Schwab added 9 kills for the victorious Clippers (5-3), and Gretchen Boelke served up 4 aces.
Kohan powers Triton golf
This might sound familiar to local golf fans: A “Kohan” leading Triton to a win.
No, former three-time Daily News MVP Cael Kohan (2018-20) didn’t find a time machine to come back and dominate for the program once again. Instead, it was his younger brother, sophomore Cullen Kohan, posting 28 Stableford points to lead Triton to a close win over Lynnfield on Monday, 142-138.
Both Greg Muse and Josh Monteiro added 26 points for the Vikings, and John Perley was right behind with 25.
Felzani scores, Pentucket draws
Thanks to a goal from senior captain Abbie Felzani, the Pentucket field hockey team was able to earn a 1-1 draw against a talented Lynnfield squad on Monday.
Clippers downed by North Reading
The Newburyport field hockey fell behind early, and couldn’t climb all of the way back in a 3-2 loss to North Reading on Monday.
Trailing by two at halftime, The Clippers (5-1-2) got a goal from Olivia Wilson off a pass from Morgan Fields to cut the lead in half. A Hornets’ tally was quickly countered by Wilson’s second of the game with just over two minutes left, but the Clippers couldn’t find the equalizer over the final few seconds.
Royals cursed?
It’s not a trend that anybody wants to be on the wrong side of, but the Georgetown boys soccer team has now lost its last three games by the same 3-2 score. Monday’s latest setback came to Salem Charter, with the Royals (1-6) getting goals from Bryce Hodges and Zach Pinkham off assists from Aidan Beqiraj and Benicio Parra.