Greely holds off MDI for fifth straight crown Rangers wear down Trojans after Game 2 rally

AUGUSTA – After a slow start, Mount Desert Island seemed to have righted its ship with a dramatic second-game win and a solid start in the fourth game of Saturday’s state high school state championship volleyball match.

The Trojans had their best server on the baseline, a 5-0 lead and a lot of momentum. A fifth and deciding match against four-time defending state champion Greely of Cumberland Center looked probable, if not plausible.

That was before the Rangers called timeout, regrouped and showed why they’re Maine’s reigning volleyball power. Well, that and another solid service string by senior Lida Munroe.

Munroe reeled off five straight service points to tie things up at 9-9, then teammate Hillary Cederna did her best Jonathan Papelbon impersonation and served the match out with seven straight points – three on aces – to give the Rangers a four-game victory at Cony High School Saturday afternoon.

Greely won its fifth straight state title – and fourth straight state final against MDI – 25-10, 23-25, 25-19 and 25-16.

“We thought we’d have to go five today because we figured MDI would push us to the limit, but we played very well from behind and came back really strong in those last two games,” said Greely coach Kelvin Hasch.

Both the Rangers and Trojans wind up the season with 17-1 records.

“We didn’t put up much of a show against them last year and lost a bunch of key players, so for us to come down here and play better is a good thing,” said MDI coach Todd Brophy. “That first game was a good gut check and I was really proud of the way they played from then on.

“We blocked very well and had people in good defensive position. I think the main difference is they’ve played better competition and a 15-hit rally is more of a norm for them than us.”

That showed in terms of mental and physical wear as the match wore on.

“I think most of us were getting really tired because we aren’t used to playing long games,” said MDI senior outside hitter and defensive specialist Charlotte Royce. “We had a long bus ride and we were really excited to play this, and I think that tired us out in the end.”

Greely’s strategy of running Mariah Grover, MDI’s imposing outside hitter and middle blocker, all over the court didn’t help the Trojans, either.

“We knew Grover dominates the game, so we just wanted to take her out of her game a little bit and not put every ball down,” Hasch explained. “We basically put one-on-one blocking with her and assigned somebody to follow her wherever she went.

“We also knew she single blocks us most of the time so we tried to run her all over the court, switching from side to side and run some special hits.”

Grover still finished with nine kills and five blocks, and was 12-for-12 from the service line, but she couldn’t overcome Greely’s solid overall effort.

Cederna helped lead that effort, serving 15-for-16 with three aces to go with 25 digs and 13 kills.

Munroe was 18-for-18 serving with one ace.

“I’ve just had a lot of experience serving,” said Munroe, who also had 14 digs. “Last year I wasn’t like that. I try to move my serve around and snap it a little. I don’t know, it just seems like we’re down when I come up to serve.”

Michaela Campbell was 16-for-19 with two aces, 27 digs and seven kills and fellow sophomore hitter Mary Zambello was 18-for-19 with four aces and nine digs.

“We have two servers who can really hit the spots and we pick spots we want them to serve two,” Hasch said. “Lida and Erica can find the spots and know how to serve long, short, or put some spin on them, so we call those serves just like a pitcher has pitches called.”

Junior hitter and specialist Hannah Adelmann paced the Trojans with 9-for-9 service and two aces, 26 digs and four assists. Royce chipped in, going 10-for-10 with one ace, two assists and 16 digs – two of which were highlight reel-worthy that foiled powerful Greely spikes.

Hitter Megan Phelps, one of only two freshmen to make the varsity team in Brophy’s tenure, distinguished herself with five kills and a block.