Eagles soar into playoffs with win Blanchard’s serving keys Ellsworth

ELLSWORTH – What was already a crucial volleyball match to get into the playoffs took on all the feel and atmosphere of the playoffs for the Ellsworth Eagles Wednesday afternoon.

The Eagles looked ready to fly away from visiting Bucksport after winning the first two games at Katsiaficas Gymnasium, but after the resilient Golden Bucks won the next two to knot things up, it was wing and a prayer time.

Junior Kayla Blanchard provided the answer to that prayer as she served at an astounding 97 percent (32-for-33) with six aces to lead the Eagles to a 25-16, 25-15, 18-25, 21-25, 15-12 victory.

“Sometimes I have my off days, but usually I do pretty well,” Blanchard said of her serving prowess. “I just don’t think about it. If you think about it too much, you get ahead of yourself and get out of rhythm. I just dribble it twice, throw it and go.”

She also had a season-high seven kills plus three digs. Ironically, the only serve she missed was her last one, with the Eagles leading 13-9 in the deciding game. She did, however, serve for the first four points in the same game.

The win, coupled with Washington Academy’s win over Machias, sends the 6-8 Eagles into postseason play for a second straight year.

“We needed this. I believe this propels us just ahead to give us the seventh spot,” said Ellsworth coach Mike Kelley. “This is our third five-game match, but the first we’ve won this season, so it gives us some momentum.”

The Golden Bucks finish their season at 4-10.

“I just told them I wanted to play three more games and they decided to do just that,” said Bucks coach Ron Gross when asked what he told his team after they lost the second game.

Bucksport jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third game, but the score was fairly tight until Bucksport ran off four straight points to take a 17-8 lead – its largest of the day. The Bucks equaled that later in the same game at 21-12.

“Our serves and our movement got a lot better, and that made them play,” said Gross. “When you make the other team play, good things can happen.”

And bad, if you’re Ellsworth.

“We just got ahead of ourselves,” said senior Sarah Marckoon, who was 12-for-15 serving with 15 assists, four kills, and four digs. “We were standing still and started thinking about things too much when things got away from us.”

The Eagles regrouped after the fourth game, got refocused and rode Blanchard’s service to change momentum.

“That fourth game especially, everybody was missing their serves except Kayla,” Kelley said. “But we also had some big plays from some of the younger girls, so that was big for us too.”

Freshman Paige Martin had a key kill in the fifth game.

Senior Abbie Allen turned in a solid overall effort by serving 8-for-12 with three aces, notching eight kills, and making two assists.

Bucksport was led by senior Nyesha Cooke, who was 9-for-14 serving along with 12 digs and three kills. Sophomore Kelsey SanAngelo was 11-for-11 with 10 digs, Monique Goodin was 20-for-20 with three digs and two assists, and Meghan Cooper was 13-for-14 with seven digs.