BIDDEFORD — After winning its first four matches of the season in straight sets, the Biddeford volleyball team took the first two sets against Greely last Thursday before dropping the final three in a heartbreaking loss.

On Tuesday against Yarmouth, the Tigers again got off to quick start. But in what could be the start of a worrying trend, again they were unable to keep the momentum going against a quality opponent.

After cruising to a 25-14 win in the opening set, Biddeford took a 23-21 lead in the second, but was unable to finish it out as the Clippers won four-straight points to even the game.

It turned out to be a major momentum shift as Biddeford sputtered out and a young Yarmouth team only got stronger down the stretch, effectively neutralizing the Tigers’ potent hitting tandem of Jocelyn Moody and Kendra Cote and using strong serving from the entire lineup to take the final two sets 25-16, 25-12 and win the inter-class matchup at Tiger Gym.

It was the second-straight loss for the Tigers (4-2), who after winning their first 14 sets of the season have dropped six of their past seven.

“We started playing a little timid after the second set,” Biddeford assistant coach Chantelle Tourigny said. “They were thinking about it a little too much instead of having fun and playing. That’s just something we’re going to work on.

“They were thinking too much about the outcome rather than just going point by point. Once you start doing that, and not enjoying the process, you’re not going to win.”

Yarmouth (3-1) won the Class B state championship last season, but graduated nine seniors off that team. With just one returning senior and several newcomers to the varsity setup, Tuesday’s win against a Biddeford team expected to contend for the Class A title this fall is a major step forward for coach Jim Senecal’s team.

“We felt going in like we would be an underdog but we had a chance,” Senecal said. “Our kids, once they got game two, they started to get a little more confidence and feeling really good about themselves. I was very happy about that. This was a huge step for us.”

Biddeford shot out of the gates behind the strong play of Cote and Moody, who totaled two kills apiece in the match’s first 10 points as the Tigers opened up a quick lead in the opening set and never let it go.

“We reminded them that (Biddeford) started the same exact way against Greely,” Senecal said of his team talk after the opening set. “Biddeford, when they have the momentum, they’re very hard to beat. But if they lose that, sometimes then you can take advantage of that situation. We stole the momentum back in game two, and we were able to kind of wear them down.”

Senecal showed off his team’s impressive depth by playing a total of 11 different players in four different rotations to keep everyone fresh, a tactic that started to pay off in the second set as the Clippers took advantage of six Biddeford errors in a span of 11 points to open up a 17-10 and then a 20-14 lead.

The Tigers then hit back behind the strong serving of Bri Collard, two kills by Cote and a string of Yarmouth errors to take a 23-21 lead. But with a two-set lead only a couple of points away, a Cote service error, followed by a kill from Alison Clark and back-to-back aces from Andrea St. Pierre, closed out the set for the Clippers.

The third set was again on a knife’s edge until Yarmouth’s pinpoint serving again took over. With the teams tied at 14-14, St. Pierre hit consecutive aces and Rachel Chille followed with three in a row soon after as the Clippers won 11 of 13 points to close out the set and take a 2-1 match lead.

The fourth set then went much the same way. With things even at 10-10, a service error by the Tigers’ Kayla Fournier was followed by a run of 12-straight points for the Clippers ”“ including four aces from Kenzie Sheehan and two kills by middle hitter Heather Clark ”“ to effectively end the match, with a service error by Cote ”“ who totaled a match-high 15 kills, but just one in the fourth set ”“ ending things.

After totaling just one ace in the opening set, Yarmouth rolled off 23 over the final three sets ”“ including 10 in the fourth ”“ to take control by winning easy points.

“We tell our kids that it’s OK to miss serves,” Senecal said. “We tell them to be aggressive, because we want aces and service points. That’s what we wanted to do tonight.”

“It’s tough. The younger you are, the more you think about what just happened rather than focusing on the next point,” said Tourigny. “What happened in the past doesn’t affect whatsoever what’s going to happen in the future, but as soon as you start thinking, ”˜Oh my God, she’s on her eighth serve,’ it’s hard to get that out of your head.”

Emily Parker led the Clippers with 10 kills, while Alison Clark added eight and Heather Clark chipped in six.

Moody had eight kills and 11 digs for Biddeford, while Fournier recorded 17 assists and Cote five blocks. The Tigers compiled 12 aces but also made 23 total errors ”“ their most in any match so far this season.

“(Yarmouth) served fantastic, and they were scrappy,” Tourigny said. “There were a ton of points that we would have won against other teams, but they stuck with it, and they got it back over the net. They forced us to make mistakes, and most of the time, we did.”

— Staff Writer Cameron Dunbar can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 323 or cdunbar@journaltribune.com.