HAMPTON – Emily Pitfick had 39 assists and six digs as the seventh-seeded Winnacunnet High School volleyball team beat No. 10 Concord, 3-1 on Wednesday in a Division I first-round matchup.
“It’s a great milestone for our program,” Winnacunnet coach Casey Flanagan said. “We haven’t had (a home playoff game) in a while. So that was phenomenal, just as a program milestone to have that moving forward and growth.”
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Individual set scores were 25-20, 25-18, 26-28, 25-13.
“I think for us, winning this match was just maybe proving a point to ourselves that we can compete with high-level teams, which we have all season, but we haven’t been able to close it out against high-level teams,” Flanagan said. “So being able to do that tonight was great.”
Winnacunnet improved to 13-6 on the season, and will visit No. 2 Bedford on Friday in a quarterfinal contest. Bedford beat Winnacunnet, 3-1 on Sept. 14.
“I think our confidence right now, we’ve been doing a really good job at just focusing on our game, focusing on ourselves, focusing one day at a time, one match at a time,” Flanagan said. “We’ll be ready to get after it tomorrow at practice to be able to give our best shot at Bedford on Friday.
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“(The league) has been very competitive all year,” Flanagan continued said. “It’s anyone’s year, truly. And I think for us, it’s just about taking it one day at a time until it’s over.”
Winnacunnet senior Nora Simmons had 19 kills, two aces, four digs and three blocks in the win.
“She was able to terminate the ball well for us from the outside,” Flanagan said of Simmons. “She had great service pressure and kept the ball up defensively and on serve receive. She added some blocks in there too. So, she was an all-around contributor for us.”
Mia Botnick added seven kills, two aces and six digs for the Warriors, while Kendra Caulmare had 12 digs, three assists and two aces.
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No. 5 Exeter 3
No. 12 Londonderry 2
EXETER – Exeter survived a five-set battle against Londonderry to advance to the Division I quarterfinals.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Exeter coach Mike McDonnell said. “A lot of people were talking about Londonderry like they were the most dangerous team in the tournament as a 12 seed, and I can’t disagree. We had to work for it.”
Senior captain Payton Strandberg had eight kills on 14 attempts for the Blue Hawks.
“She was phenomenal,” McDonnell said. “We needed it, and she showed up for it. We needed every bit of it.”
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Junior Lily Dale had 17 assists and four aces, Jasmine Winham added 15 assists and seven service points, and senior captain Bria Healy collected 19 digs.
Exeter will visit No. 4 Bishop Guertin on Friday in the quarterfinals. Guertin advanced with a 3-0 win over No. 13 Nashua South. Exeter beats Bishop Guertin, 3-2 on Oct. 15.
“We have some familiarity with (Guertin),” McDonnell said. “I think we’re going to have to play our best game in order to beat this team.”
No. 11 Dover 3
No. 6 Nashua North 0
DOVER – Ayla Raynor had 12 kills and six aces as Dover upset Nashua North in a Division I first-round game.
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Individual set scores were 25-19, 25-21, 25-21.
“We’re excited about the win,” Dover head coach Whitney Carrier said. “We were prepared and confident tonight. We talk a lot about how anything can happen in the playoffs and how it is a time for a reset and they showed that tonight. I am proud of the way they played and how they gave the extra effort until all three sets were won. Credit to Nashua North for being a great team this season and not letting up either. Both teams played hard until the end.”
Grace Kelly added 11 kills and four aces for the Green Wave, while Rylen Marchione had six kills and two aces.
Dover (10-9) will visit No. 3 Pinkerton on Friday. Pinkerton advanced with a 3-0 win over No. 14 Goffstown.
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No. 2 Washington Academy 3
No. 3 York 1
LEWISTON, Maine – The Wildcats saw their season come to an end with this Class B semifinal loss at Lewiston High School.
Individual set scores were 22-25, 25-16, 25-18. York finished with a record of 11-5.
No. 6 York 2
No. 3 Greely 1
CUMBERLAND CENTER, Maine – Junior Ronan Avery, on an assist from Nate Rosen, scored with 1:14 remaining in regulation to lift York to this upset in a Class B South quarterfinal.
“Gosh, Ronan has scored some incredible goals for us, and this one was definitely that,” York coach Julie Johnson said. “There was still 1:14 left, and the game was such an even battle that it felt like we couldn’t celebrate too much because Greely is really tough. It was relief maybe for a second, and then realizing that we had to still finish the game off.”
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Greely had one final opportunity after York committed a foul approximately 40 yards from goal with 12 seconds remaining. Greely sent everyone forward, including its goalkeeper, for the ensuing free kick, but the Wildcats held on.
“It definitely went until the last second,” Johnson said. “But our defenders and our keeper (Orrin Culp-Dechant) were amazing tonight.”
Johnson praised Culp-Dechant, who made 12 saves, along with defenders Tyler Moores, Robert Dickson and Declan Moore.
York will host No. 7 Cape Elizabeth in a Class B South semifinal on Saturday. Cape Elizabeth advanced with a 3-2 win over No. 2 Fryeburg Academy.
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“We’re happy to be hosting,” Johnson said. “We’re excited.”
York struck first in the second half when Owen Kastalay scored following a scramble in front of the net off a corner kick.
Greely responded with less than five minutes remaining when Ethan King scored off a corner kick to tie the game, 1-1.
No. 9 Winnacunnet 2
No. 8 Windham 0
WINDHAM – Winnacunnet head coach Nick Rowe didn’t feel like his team simply survived its Division I first-round playoff game Wednesday.
The Warriors earned it.
David Cuceo scored both goals and goalkeeper Jed Ziolkowski made six saves, including a late penalty for Winnacunnet which advances to the Division I quarterfinals.
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“I actually felt like we didn’t survive. I thought we outplayed them,” Rowe said. “We got our first goal pretty early, and then another one right before halftime. So, a good 2-0 lead going into the half, and then we just kept things simple.”
Cuceo scored twice in the first half. Cal Cook and Cael Gaspar picked up assists on the goals.
“(Cuceo) just has been so consistent all year, especially in the air,” Rowe said. “We get a free kick in a dangerous area, and we bring David up on the backside and put the ball in, and he just finds a way to get to it. Same on the corner kick. Just ball whipped in and he finds a way. Finds a way to get there.”
Windham had an opportunity to cut the deficit in half on a penalty kick with approximately 7 minutes remaining, but Ziolkowski made the save to preserve the shutout.
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“Jed was huge,” Rowe said. “Totally a team effort. Everyone played well. We moved the ball well in midfield, had a lot of chances, absorbed their pressure, didn’t break.”
Winnacunnet will face top-seed Nashua South on Saturday.The teams did not meet during the regular season.
“Obviously getting to the tournament, you’re fighting for your lives,” Rowe said. “They haven’t played us; we haven’t played them, so I think there’s some opportunity there. We’re going to prepare the next two days and look at some film, look at some stuff, and just take it one game at a time.”
No. 2 Bedford 7
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No. 11 Dover 0
BEDFORD – Dover goalkeeper Ronan Tullis had nine saves for Dover in its Division I first-round loss.
No. 13 Pittsburg/Canaan 1
No. 4 Newmarket 0
NEWMARKET — Pittsburg/Canaan scored an early goal and made it stand, holding off Newmarket in a Division IV first-round game.
“They scored a very early goal and then settled back and defended well for 75 minutes,” Newmarket coach Andrew Dawson said. “I’ll have to go and watch the video to get an accurate count, but we must have taken 25 shots to their maybe one or two after they scored.”
Newmarket repeatedly generated opportunities, but some attempts were stopped by the Pittsburg goalkeeper and others narrowly missed the target.
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“Some on target and some just missed, but none went in,” Dawson said. “Their keeper also played well.”
Despite trailing for most of the match, the Mules continued pressing for the tying goal until the end.
“My team battled right up to the final whistle and never gave up,” Dawson said. “The irony is we probably played some of the best soccer we’ve played all season but just couldn’t find that final touch.”
Avery Szelog and Dimitra Zygouri were among Newmarket’s standouts, while Sofia Bellamente was in goal for the Mules.
No. 8 Plymouth 1
No. 9 Oyster River 0
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PLYMOUTH – The Bobcats finished their season with a record of 5-8-4 after this Division II first-round loss.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Wednesday Tourney Roundup: Winnacunnet, Exeter, Dover, York all see wins, advance
