Hollis Brookline girls volleyball sweeps Bishop Guertin (video)

HOLLIS – The Hollis Brookline High School girls volleyball team treats every match it plays against its Division I opponents the same.

So with the third of three tough matches in a row on Wednesday night, the Cavaliers went in like they were getting ready for the final.

HB came out playing like everything was on the line, dominating the first game, and held on for closer wins in the next two to complete a 3-0 sweep of Bishop Guertin. Game scores were 25-10, 25-19 and 25-22.

Meaghan Coutu and Annette Schlunk each led HB with nine kills while Cheyenne Colbert had seven kills and four aces and Lydia Daskalos had seven kills and three blocks. Sophia Jordan finished with 30 assists.

After the Cavs (6-1) suffered their first loss of the season last Friday and followed it up with a five-set win over Windham on Mondyay, they knew they’d be in for a tough fight with the Cardinals (5-2), who were coming off their first loss of the season.

“BG is a good team,” HB coach Becky Balfour said. “I knew they had some strong players. What we say to the girls is, every Division I match, it doesn’t matter, you’ve got to play like it’s for all the cookies. I thought the first set, that’s classic Hollis Brookline volleyball.”

The Cardinals took the first couple of points in Game 1, but HB stormed back, winning 15 of 18 points to take a 10-point lead on the way to the 25-10 win.

“We were down a few girls, so I’m glad that they were able to step up,” Bishop Guertin coach Kyle Clement said. “I had one of my freshmen playing libero, which she hasn’t done all year, and she did a great job. It wasn’t the result we wanted, but I think we played great at the end. The beginning was really rough, when we were trying to figure out where to put everyone, but once we got settled, I thought it came along pretty well.”

Bishop Guertin took an early lead in the second set, and this time, when HB responded, the Cardinals kept it close before going back in front 9-8. It was tied at 11 before the Cavs won seven straight points to take their largest lead of Game 2. A late run by Bishop Guertin cut the lead down to four, but HB was able to pull away to go up 2-0.

The Cavs looked like they might make quick work of the Cardinals in Game 3, going up 6-2, but Bishop Guertin responded to tie it at 6. The teams traded points for long stretches before the Cardinals were able to go on a run behind the serving of Larisa Comolli to take a 20-17 lead.

But HB came back to tie it at 22 and the Cavs won the final three points to pull out the win.

“We came away with a win, that’s good,” Balfour said. “Meaghan Coutu is a game-changer. When she is in there, it gives us a whole other look on the right side. She’s been really working hard on her defense and we’re able to take advantage of that in the back row.

“I thought Emily Sartell and Maia Schneider did a phenomenal job in the back row defensively. Sophia Jordan, she’d run through a wall to get a ball. We’re clicking with her. She is doing such a great job running the offense. Cheyenne Colbert on the outside, that’s a new position for her. We had her in the middle and we kind of put her on the right side and she’s delivering out there. Her defense has picked up a lot, too.”

Comolli led Bishop Guertin with six kills and an ace while Caroline Sullivan had three kills, eight assists and four digs and Julia Foster had two kills, six assists and one ace.

“At the end, we were playing volleyball at the level we should be at,” Clement said. “Trying to take the good with the bad and reminding them that we’ve just got to learn from it as much as we can.”