BOURNE – For the third straight season, Bourne is onto the Final Four, and this time it is the Div. 4 semifinals after a convincing victory at home Saturday afternoon.
With six seniors leading the way, the top-seeded Bourne volleyball team put together a clean 3-0 sweep over No. 8 Ursuline in the quarterfinals.
“It’s a thrill for these girls,” said Canalmen coach David Moore. “We’re just happy for them. They just continue to improve and are just a really solid bunch of kids on and off the court. Even if we didn’t get (to the Final Four), I would be so proud of this group because they worked so hard to be a core team.”
In the first set, it was senior Lily Russell who got it started offensively for Bourne (19-3) as she had eight straight service points, including five aces, to open the set and 11 of her 15 service points overall. Ursuline (15-8) came back to trail 13-9 with a 7-1 run, but the Canalmen ended up winning the first set 25-18.
“Honestly, it means so much, especially to our core group of seniors,” Russell said about getting to her third straight Final Four appearance. “It’s a new feeling every year and a new bunch of girls, but this team is special in comparison. It’s just a new opportunity for us to go further.”
The team collected 14 aces on the afternoon and has worked on it to put the other team’s offenses at bay.
“We work hard on that,” Moore said about their service game. “We understand that taking the other team out of their offense and (a strong service game) really breaks it down and all of a sudden they’re just scampering.”
Senior Nola Timo came alive in the second set with seven of her 11 kills coming in the frame as Russell also added four of her five kills as Bourne led 7-0 early and won the second set 25-16.
“There were some critical points where our outside hitters were still able to swing away,” said Russell. “I think just having the confidence knowing our setters are going to give us the ball right where we need it and that we can finish it off and stay aggressive.”
In the third and final set, the Canalmen led 6-2 early as the Bears kept it close until a 10-4 run with a 15-11 lead as Bourne won the third 25-15.
“We have four people that can come at you from any direction,” said Moore about the ability of more than a couple players to notch kills on offense.
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