In 2016, Brunswick High School fielded its very first girls volleyball varsity program. As expected, there were struggles, as the Dragons failed to win a match.
On Tuesday, the Dragons downed Lake Region, 3-1, taking the match 25-17, 25-23, 19-25, 25-21, to improve to 5-4, good for fourth place with five matches remaining.
“I am having so much fun this year. It is nice to win,” said Brunswick junior Sophie Katz, who served her team to a win with a game-high 11 aces along with three kills. “Even when we got down, we kept our energy up.”
For head coach Kaili Phillips, season two has been about taking what was taught last year and implementing those skills on the court.
“They are working really hard. We have some new players, which has given us some energy, and our jayvee program is really strong. We practice together and work together. It is one program and we are growing together,” Phillips said.
Against Lake Region, the Dragons struggled with the service game of Laker Melissa Bonenfant. The Lakers trailed 5-3 in the first set before Bonenfant stepped to the service line and ran off six straight points for a 9-5 Lakers lead.
“Their sense of urgency sometimes is not quite there sometimes,” said Phillips. “A point or two in volleyball is OK, but not five or six. Then you get into trouble. We needed to stop those runs. A match can get away from you.”
Brunswick dug back in, using an 18-5 run to take control, and a kill by Morgan Johnson ended the first set.
The second set began well for the Dragons, as Katz found her serve to give Brunswick a quick 4-0 lead.
Lake Region refused to go away, using three kills from Lindsey Keenan and another strong service run by Bonenfant to claw back in. Trailing 14-12, Phillips called a timeout, and her team responded with a solid run.
“I think there were particular things that the opposing team was doing that I couldn’t get across to them while they were out there,” said the Brunswick coach. “I just wanted to call the timeout at the right time, and that allowed me to tell them what we needed to do.”
Leading 23-22, Katz sent a solid serve across the net, and a Lakers error on set point gave the Dragons a 2-0 lead.
Lake Region responds
The visitors took control of the third set by using a 7-0 spurt behind the serve of Autumn Tremblay for a 12-5 lead. Brunswick again clawed back, drawing to 23- 19 on a kill by Kathleen Trapp.
However, the Lakers won the set when Savannah Silke served an ace.
There was no stopping Brunswick in the fourth set. Trailing 8-5, Trapp brought her team back with solid serves, including a pair of aces.
Later in the set and tied at 14, three straight service winners by Tahlya Edgerton gave the Dragons a 17-14 lead, and Katz put Lake Region away with a pair of aces as Brunswick pulled away.
For senior captain Mackenzie Burrows, this year has seen her Dragons take that next step — from a struggling first year program to a playoff contender.
“We started out with not many people knowing how to play volleyball. Now our program is pretty good. We are playing more as a team, and there is a lot of capability on this team,” said Burrows, who had seven kills and three aces in the win.
“Even today when we struggled, we stayed positive. We need to talk to each other better, understand where everyone is at on the court,” added Katz, who finished with three kills and served a game-high 19 points.
Other standouts for Brunswick were Trapp (five aces, three kills, two digs), Johnson (four kills) and Colleen McKearney (two kills), along with Emma Dorr (two digs) and Ashley Alexander (two digs).
Keenan had a team-high seven kills for Lake Region, which fell to 3-4.
Brunswick 3, Lake Region 1
At Brunswick
| Lake Region | — 17 | 23 | 25 | 21 | ||||
| Brunswick | — | 25 | 25 | 19 | 25 |
Lake Region — Lindsey Keenan, Cheyanne Bell, Maggie Luce, Autumn Tremblay, Melissa Bonenfant, Olivia Thompson, Kayal McLean, Savannah Silke, Madison Morse, Libby Poitras. Brunswick — Sophie Katz, Mackenzie Burrows, Gabby Diaz, Tahlya Edgerton, Kathleen Trapp, Ashley Alexander, Michelle Sarber, Trinity Turcotte, Emma Dorr, Morgan Johnson, Colleen McKearney. Records — Brunswick 5-4, Lake Region 3-4. Up next for the Dragons — Thursday at home vs. Greely, 6 p.m.
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