In a battle of undefeated squads, the Barnstable girls’ volleyball team (22-0) kept its perfect season going with a 3-0 win over New Bedford (19-1) in the Division 1 South final at Marshfield High on Saturday evening.
It was the Red Raiders’ eighth consecutive sectional championship and 23rd in 25 seasons.
“It’s been a long journey, but every year we build a great family here,’’ varsity setter Caroline Brodt said. “Every match, no matter who we play, we just need to bring all of our energy and leave it all out on the floor. We did that today.’’
Barnstable started the match with a 5-0 run as Ingrid Murphy (7 aces) hit her spots on the serve. New Bedford kept it competitive, but was unable to overcome the early deficit and fell, 25-18.
Barnstable got off to a hot start in the second set and did not let go as Brodt (32 assists) gave her team strong scoring opportunities.
Barnstable will play Newton North in the state semifinals.
Division 1 Central/East
Newton North 3, King Philip 2 — Junior Ashley Wang (15 kills), junior Chelsea Simmons (19 assists), and senior Julia Lanfear (21 digs) fueled the Tigers (18-1) to the Central/East title with a 25-22, 25-13, 25-11 win in Canton. North started slowly but ripped off 10 straight points in the second set and never looked back.
“We focus every single match, every year,’’ Newton North coach Richard Barton said. “That’s our mantra.’’
Division 1 North
Andover 3, Methuen 2 — Two sets in, it looked as if the Warriors were going to relinquish their stranglehold on the North crown, but they would have no such thing, winning their eighth North title in the past nine seasons.
Andover (19-2) clawed its way out of an early 2-0 hole to win a five-set thriller at Whittier Tech.
“These kids have come back from being down all year long,’’ said Andover coach Jane Bergin. “I think we’re 5-0 in five-set matches. The resiliency was unbelievable tonight. This is probably the best win I’ve even been involved in, by far.’’
The Rangers (21-2) leaned on senior middle hitter and University of New Hampshire commit Abby Sullivan (28 kills) as they led for the entirety of the first set and rode an 11-2 run in the second set to make it 2-0.
Backed into a corner, the Warriors responded, winning two straight to force a decisive fifth set. Trailing, 9-6, in the fifth, Andover came out of a timeout and went on a 9-1 run to clinch the title.
Alexis Mancha (9 kills, 8 digs), Olivia Gaspar (16 digs), Hailey Halverson (13 kills, 6 blocks), Sarah Shattuck (11 kills, 4 blocks), and Sophia Wang (7 digs, 3 aces) were huge in the win.
“We realized that this is our game and in that third set, we were just on top of our game,’’ said Mancha. “We really wanted to win, so we won the next three games and we’re really excited.’’
The Warriors play D1 Central/West champion Hopkinton in the state semifinals.
Division 2 North
Melrose 3, Danvers 1 — Paced by a balanced attack, the Red Raiders won their first North title since 2012 with a 25-19, 19-25, 25-16, 25-22 victory at Whittier Tech in Haverhill.
“This team is special and we worked really hard this season and this just shows how hard we worked,’’ said senior Saoirse Connolly. “It really paid off tonight, and we’re so happy.’’
The Red Raiders (23-2) won a back-and-forth first set courtesy of a 10-0 run. Lydia Lombardo’s seven kills, combined with stalwart defense from Jill Mercer and strong play from fellow senior captains Connolly (9 kills) and Lily Fitzgerald (28 assists), helped control the match for Melrose.
“[The seniors] stepped up when they had to step up,’’ said Melrose coach Scott Celli. “There’s no tomorrow for them. The other kids, there’s a tomorrow. They played with a lot of urgency and that was huge.’’
Melrose will take on the West champion in the state semifinals.
Division 2 South
Duxbury 3, Milton 0 — Propelled by their stout defense, the Dragons (23-1) continued steamrolling the competition with a 25-16, 25-23, 25-21 win over the Wildcats (15-9) in the final at Marshfield High for their first sectional crown.
“We’ve had some good runs before and come up short, but we finally got it done this time and I couldn’t be prouder of the girls,’’ said Duxbury coach Pam Thomas.
The Dragons surged to an 8-1 lead in the first set on the defensive work of Kerry Pisani (2 blocks) and Caroline Curley. The Dragons closed out the win on Jill Crosgrove’s ace.
In the second set, Milton closed within a point, 24-23, but Rachel Melampy had a powerful kill for the final point. In the clincher, the Wildcats outscored Duxbury, 11-6, but trailing, 24-21, committed a service error to end the match.
Division 3 North
Notre Dame (T) 3, Ipswich 0 — The top-seeded Lancers (23-0) rode a strong serving performance to the program’s first sectional title since 2009, sweeping Ipswich, 25-21, 25-8, 25-21, at Whittier Tech in Haverhill.
“This is huge,’’ said first-year Notre Dame coach Richard Sierra. “It definitely reestablishes us as one of the teams, if not the team to beat.
“I told [the team] back in August that I know what this program has been like the last few years and I’m looking forward to keeping it where it’s at and bringing it to new heights, and today was a great indication of things moving on up.’’
Notre Dame will play the Frontier-Lee winner in the state semifinals.
Division 3 South
Bourne 3, Case 1 — Down a point in the fourth set, the top-seeded Canalmen (24-2) rallied to bounce the defending state champion Cardinals, 20-25, 25-18, 25-14, 29-27, for the sectional title at Marshfield High.
Late in the fourth set, the Canalmen strung together three straight points to earn the crown. Kameryn McAnaugh tied the set with a kill.
After a long volley, Charlotte Oath registered a key block for a 28-27 lead. McAnaugh then put the game, and match, away with another kill.
The Canalmen dropped the first set, but took the second set, 25-18, riding a 6-0 run with Aly Hickey at the service line. Sara Sullivan notched two aces during an 8-0 scoring run in the third set.
Tom Joyce reported from Marshfield, Dan McLoone from Haverhill, and Trevor Hass from Canton. For more highlights, go to bostonglobe.com/schools.
