Girls volleyball: Historic run ends for Smith Voc in Div. 5 championship loss to Hopedale

BILLERICA — The Smith Vocational girls volleyball team lost to Hopedale, 3-0, in the MIAA Division 5 state tournament championship game at Billerica Memorial High School on Saturday.

The Vikings making the state final proved historic, as no volleyball team in the history of the school has ever made the state finals.  It’s possible that no team in any sport has made it to the state finals.

Smith Vocational and Agricultural High School opened in 1908.  

The Vikings’ (17-4) talent was a strong point, but the insatiable love of the game helped bring them to this point. During the tournament, the Vikings knocked off the No. 2 seed, Madison Park Technical. Smith Voc followed with a win over third-seeded Pioneer Valley Christian.

“They have a lot of passion for the sport,” Smith Voc coach Ashley Clark said. “Their passion led to more dedication, so it was less about socializing and being a part of something. Being a part of something around something they love.”

The Cinderella run from the seventh-seeded Vikings ran out of momentum against the top-seeded Blue Raiders. Hopedale had plenty of size along the front line with some dynamic and accurate servers.

“I think the intimidation of being the number one seed,” Clark said.  “Slow start for us. Serve receive has been a weak point for us. I don’t think their size mattered too much. We’ve played a lot of teams that are taller than us.”

Set scores were 25-11, 25-16 and 25-23.  The Vikings jumped out to an early lead in the final set.  Behind a series of emphatic and aggressive blocks by Leah Franklin, the Vikings were in position to get back into the match with the score tied, 22-22.  The momentum slipped away, and Hopedale’s celebration began.

Franklin had five blocks, four digs and six kills for the Vikings. Roma Bentrewicz had 12 assists. Rylie Rose and Hecmarie Diaz-Lopez led the defense with a combined 45 digs.  Irelyn Marcoux chipped in with 12 digs and three kills.

For the Vikings, the run to the state tournament championship match is something that they will never forget. The Vikings played at a fancy gym fit for a college team in Billerica.

“Since the beginning when we started, we always had an hour to talk to each other about how we were going to go through this tournament,” Heidymar Diaz-Lopez said. “Our mentality and how we were going to communicate. I just feel like it was all communication.”

Even with the loss, Smith Voc. smiled incessantly throughout the match. Diaz-Lopez had 12 digs and four kills.

“This was really fun,” Heidymar Diaz-Lopez said. “This is a really amazing team. It was very exciting to get here.

The Vikings started very slowly against the Blue Raiders. Communication was a problem. But things improved in the third set.

“They really started trusting themselves,” Clark said.

Smith Voc jumped out to a lead in the first set but it quickly dissipated. A thunderous kill by Heidymar Diaz-Lopez gave the Vikings a 4-0 lead. The Blue Raiders tied the match at 5-5 and went on a run to close it out. Hopedale’s Amelia Barrose had her serve going in the first set. Barrose had a series of aces found the open space among the Vikings’ defense.

Hopedale jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the second set. The Vikings got to within 13-8 on a block by Franklin, but the Blue Raiders would eventually pull away.