Barnstable High girls volleyball wins 5-set thriller to gain Final Four spot
FRANKLIN ― Revenge is a dish best served cold.
A year ago to the exact date, the Barnstable High girls volleyball team lost 3-0 to Franklin in the Division 1 Round of 8.
On Saturday, the two had a rematch of last year’s Elite Eight matchup. This time, No. 5 Barnstable beat No. 4 Franklin in five sets (25-20, 11-25, 25-8, 17-25, 15-10) to advance to the Final Four.
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“This is amazing. It's really big, especially here because last year we lost,” junior setter Sadie Wellbeloved said. “I think as a team altogether we really pushed it."
Wellbeloved finished with 40 assists and will be going to her first Final Four. The Red Hawks will play top-seeded Newton North in the state semifinals (date, time and location to be determined).
The Red Hawks lost eight seniors from last year’s team. Despite that, Barnstable is 19-2 on the season. Barnstable is now down to three seniors, all who are captains. One of those players is Lindsay Jones, who has been with the team since her freshman year.
“Last year, we had so many captains, so it was a huge family taking care of us,” Jones said. “With three (seniors), it was a struggle at the beginning, but we really took care of everyone throughout the season.”
Jones could not have picked a better time to step up. She finished with a season-high 22 kills in the win over Franklin.
“I just gave them confidence and made sure everyone was on the same page,” Jones said. “It was more like taking care of the team and doing it all for them, making sure everyone was together. It was more of a leadership role.”
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Barnstable coach Tom Turco is no stranger to the postseason. Since 1993, he has led the Red Hawks to 18 state championships, with the last one coming in 2016. Nobody on the current roster has been a part of a state championship team, but that inexperience is not stopping them from reaching that goal.
“They are really competitive, talented, and they want to win,” Turco said. “We are pretty deep on the bench. Alyssa McDowell had seven kills in that third match and that propelled us to where we wanted to go.”
With the match tied 2-2 going into the fifth set, the Red Hawks rose to the challenge of a big moment.
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“The whole thing with this group, you have to settle them down because they’re young. My money was still on them,” Turco said. “I told them we have to pass-serve. The level of play is determined by how well you pass. Everybody has to do their job. They got it done and had no fear at all.”
Other key players for Barnstable were Molly Fredo (13 kills), Charlotte Sullivan (eight kills), and Logan Hurwitz (25 digs).
The road does not get easier for Barnstable. Their next opponent is the top seed Newton North (19-1), which is looking to go back to the state-title game for the second straight year.
“We need to come out strong and play as a team, what we usually do,” Jones said. “There’s a lot we need to work on, probably serves, but I think throughout the whole game we did pretty good.”
For the Red Hawks, this is the 26th time they have reached the Division 1 state semifinals.
“We just have to push it. We have to work together and celebrate every point and we have to fight for it,” Wellbeloved said. “I think we need to stay aggressive, going for every ball and not letting the balls drop on the floor.”
As for their journey to a state championship, Turco kept it simple.
“Win the next two. That’s it.”
This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Barnstable High girls volleyball advances to state semifinals
