BILLERICA — Volleyball is a game of runs … and the run the Ipswich High Tigers have been on for the last four years may never be surpassed.
Using a couple of their trademark long service runs in the third and fourth sets, Ipswich pulled away from Bellingham for a 3-1 victory in the Division 4 state championship match Saturday afternoon at Billerica High School.
The 25-19, 22-25, 25-16, 25-15 victory delivered Ipswich’s fourth straight Massachusetts state volleyball championship, its second straight perfect 23-0 season and, incredibly, its 51st consecutive match win overall. The team’s seven seniors will now have a championship ring for every finger on whichever hand they choose to wear them.
“Our senior record is (89-3), so we really don’t know what it feels like to lose. And we don’t want to find out what it feels like, either,” senior captain Clare Buletza said. “That pushed us all season.”
Though Bellingham (20-4) was the No. 1 seed and Ipswich was ranked second, the Tigers had a decisive edge in experience. After the teams traded wins in the first two sets, the match could have been hanging in the balance when the Blackhawks made a mini-run to get within two at 17-15.
That’s when Buletza served up six straight points to put Ipswich on its way to a pivotal third set win.
“I adjusted where I was standing and that made all the difference,” Buletza said of a subtle change in her serving technique before that third set. “We just didn’t give up. We never do.”
The fourth set saw the Tigers race out to a 5-1 lead with senior captain Addison Pillis dominating the net front, as she did all afternoon. Jenny White and captain Frannie Hertz, also both seniors, had their share of spikes from the opposite and right sides, respectively, and the Tigers used a 6-1 run midway through the frame to take total control before a long Bellingham serve on the third championship point set off Ipswich’s celebration.
“Our message was be humble, be aggressive and go out there and earn it,” said Ipswich’s first-year head coach, Brian Reed. “Play one point at a time and always focus on the next point. Our girls are very good at dealing with those high pressure points.”
Buletza finished the day with 18 kills to go with more than a dozen digs as Ipswich shined on service return. Early in the match, Pillis was an absolute force standing next to fellow senior Avery Brown (8 kills).
There were times when Bellingham simply could not get the ball over the arms of the 6-foot-2, Colby College bound Pillis. She was credited with three solo blocks plus 15 kills while frequently leaping to the correct side from her spot in the middle to block a given Blackhawk spike, something she attributed to the Tigers’ diligence in film study.
“We’d watched a lot of film, knew who their best players were and were really focused on the pins,” Pillis said. “Bellingham is an incredible team, but in the end it felt like it was our game to win. We wanted it really badly.”
There were plenty of long points with the ball returned across the net a half-dozen or more times between the two best teams Massachusetts has to offer in Division 4. There was no shortage of respect between the programs, who also met in the 2023 state final with the Tigers prevailing.
“It was unbelievable volleyball to watch,” said Reed.
Val Nolan and Mia Milani got going for Bellingham in the second set, leading to a strong closing run and a 25-22 victory. It was the first set the Tigers had dropped in the postseason, but the veteran-laden squad wasn’t about to panic.
“We just needed to play a little smarter and remember we can only control our side of the court,” said Buletza, who will play volleyball at Wesleyan next year.
Alex Marino, Ipswich’s senior setter, handed out 40 assists and kept the Blackhawks’ blockers at bay by never telegraphing where she might go with any given set. Senior defensive specialist Emily Hannibal picked up 15 digs as well.
The on-court communication and chemistry Ipswich used to win 69 of the 79 sets they played this fall was evident for all four of them in their last one together in front a throng of thrilled Tiger fans on Saturday.
“It’s really easy to click when you’re all best friends away from volleyball,” said Buletza. “Getting to play this season with my best friends that I’ve been playing with since middle school? I really don’t have the words for how awesome it was. We pushed ourselves to get here, and I’m so proud that we did it.”
In fact, no team besides Ipswich has never been Massachusetts Division 4 state volleyball champion — D4 was created in 2021 when the statewide format was adopted/ The Tigers are a perfect 20-0 in tournament matches since then.
“We wanted to do it,” echoed Pillis, “but most of all we wanted to do it together. We love playing with each other.”
When leadership, work ethic and skill come together, history can happen. That’s exactly what’s led to unprecedented success on the volleyball court for Ipswich.
“They’re all great kids, straight-A students,” said Reed, “and they have a drive and a desire that you can’t teach.”