New voice guides talented Grafton girls' volleyball squad with high hopes for postseason
After a very successful 15-3 record in the regular season, the Grafton girls’ volleyball team steps into the postseason, beginning with the Central Mass. Athletic Directors Association Tournament.
The No. 5 seeded Gators, SWCL co-champions with Millbury, will meet No. 4 Wachusett at 5:15 p.m. Monday on the Mountaineers’ court in Holden.
“We hope to make a good run this week in the CMass Tourney, so hopefully our great season keeps rolling along,” said Grafton first-year coach Brian Allen, who succeeded Alyssa Cafarelli.
Allen, who kept 13 players on his varsity and 22 on the junior varsity and coaches both teams, coached volleyball at Tri-County Regional Vocational in Franklin 20 years ago before becoming a volleyball official.
“Last spring I got back into coaching by assisting my good friend Brian Gerard and his boys’ team at Nipmuc,” said the 45-year-old Allen.
Allen said he’s been very pleased with the effort of his Gators this fall and especially the leadership of his senior captains Abby Dubois, Ellie Thomas and Alina Oetsen.
“We have a great group here, very smart with most earning high honors in the classroom and focused on what it takes to be a winning team,” Allen said.
He added that his officiating background helps in his coaching in terms of taking the officials’ calls out of the equation and making sure his players give the officials the opportunity to make the right decisions.
“Actually, the way some plays develop, like whether the ball lands in or out, and the way players react to those plays can help the officials be more confident in their calls,” Allen said.
“Coach is always very positive and knows the game well,” said Thomas, a setter, who had 27 assists in a win over Doherty.
“He sets standards for us and is so supportive, and never yells. It’s all constructive feedback,” said outside hitter Dubois, who had 15 kills in the Doherty victory.
Oetsen, an opposite, added, “Coach keeps practices fun when he needs them to be fun and keeps things serious when he needs to also. He’s helped us focus not just on individual performances but on the whole team, which is what volleyball is all about.”
Allen, an Attleboro resident and the father of three, came to sports later in life.
“I was born handicapped with a deformity in the bones of my lower left leg,” Allen explained. “I had major surgery when I was 2 years old, and I was still using leg braces and crutches up to the age of 5. Only when I was around 7 did a start living a somewhat normal life after many visits over the years at Boston Children’s Hospital.”
His early physical setbacks never stopped his love for sports though.
Allen said, “I coached my first team before I actually played on a team. I was 16 and I volunteered to coach my younger brother Joey in tee ball baseball. At 18 I finally played on my first sports team, called Old Kids Softball.”
Last Friday, Allen and his friend Gerard, who convinced him to apply for the open Grafton volleyball position, were coaching against each other in the final regular game of the season.
“Brian, who is such a good friend of mine, and I were playing in a volleyball tournament together the next day, and I really wanted us to both finish at 16-2, but they beat us to go to 17-1 and we ended up 15-3,” Allen said.
Besides the captains, the other Gator seniors include Shayna Koss, Abby Concaugh, Yana Fernandes, Riley Dorazio, Cam Bernard, Cam Mulligan, Mary Hefferman and Anthony Lam. The two juniors are Zoe Depaolo and Natalie Grass.
“When we make mistakes on the court, we just forget them, bounce right back and make sure we win the next point," said Bernard, who had 27 digs in a win over Tantasqua. "We all want to win as a team and we bring a lot of energy to each match.”
Traveling home from away matches, the players enjoy deli dinners prepared by parents. Lamb, a talented backrow player, said, “We have a celebration meal if we win and if we lose it’s a comfort meal.”
Golf State Tournaments
Good luck to all area individuals and teams in Tuesday’s MIAA state golf tournaments: Div. 1 at Renaissance GC in Haverhill; Div. 2 at Maplegate CC in Bellingham; Div. 3 at The Ledges in South Hadley.
And here’s some Massachusetts high school golf inspiration from 19 years ago: Keegan Bradley won the MIAA Div. 2 individual state championship in the fall of 2003 as a senior on the Hopkinton High team, coached by Dick Bliss.
Playing at Beverly Golf & Tennis Club in the 2003 championship, Bradley shot 69, the lowest round on the scoreboard, and he also led Hopkinton to the Div. 2 team championship title.
How good a high school player was Bradley? In one nine-hole dual match while playing for Hopkinton at the TPC Boston course in Norton, Bradley beat his opponent by 20 shots, carding a 32 to his opponent’s 52.
Bradley, of course, went on to win nine collegiate events at St. John’s University and then became a star on the PGA Tour, even winning a major tournament in 2011, the PGA Championship.
Now 36 years old, Bradley won the Zozo Championship in Japan two weeks ago, earning $1,980,000, vaulting him to No. 1 on the updated PGA money list.
Contact Jay Gearan at sports@telegram.com.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: New voice guides talented Grafton girls' volleyball squad with high hopes for postseason
