The Canton volleyball team improved to 8-0 on the season with a solid 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25-9) victory over Davenport rival Stoughton on Monday afternoon. It was also an important day for the program as it was the fourth annual “Volley for Molly,” which raises money for ovarian cancer research.
Stoughton battled hard with Canton in the opening set. It was tied 13-13 before Canton head coach Pat Cawley called a timeout. The Bulldogs may have been a little sloppy with their passing at the start, but they rolled after a quick chat with the coach. Canton won 12 of the final 13 points to take the set.
“We either start well and die, as we did in the second set, or we start slowly and then come back,” said Cawley. “I still don’t have a set lineup yet; I’m still experimenting. I have three of four spots established, but I’m still playing around with a couple.”
One change that Cawley made in the middle of the set was to bring in senior Meghan Hartnett at setter and she helped create better opportunities for powerful hitters Elizabeth Hamilton and Avery Devoe. It was Hamilton that had the final point of the set with a blast down the center.
The coach was impressed with the sophomore’s contribution in just her first season as a hitter. Cawley remarked, “She was a defensive player before. She did have a strong start and then, you know, she kind of lost it a little bit. Her serving came on in the second set.”
Canton continued the momentum into the second set, building an 8-2 advantage, but the Black Knights would not go quietly and continued to chip away at the lead. Stoughton got a strong performance at the net and service line from Kayla Motley and a big block from Emily Cramer. Stoughton had the lead down to 20-18, but again the Bulldogs went on a run sparked by a big hit from Devoe.
The game got away from Stoughton in the third as Canton put things together from the start of the set and never let off. Devoe had four kills in the first eight points and had a couple of aces late on in the set as the Bulldogs cruised to the sweep.
“Avery is obviously our leader and our go-to person,” Cawley of her senior captain. “She made some errors, but she’s trying to work on different aspects of her game when she can. So, when she does that she’ll make some errors but it will pay off down the road.”
While Cawley was looking for things to work on in her undefeated squad, Stoughton head coach Ken Gay was realistic about his team’s chances against the perennial power. He was proud of the way his team battled for the opening two sets.
“We know coming in it’s not going to be easy,” said Gay. “Our goal was to first say let’s get to 10 points in every set. Our big goal is to work on communication; certain players have to take control depending on where they are on the court. In the third set, some of those communication issues came up and that’s why there were a few balls that dropped in between players.”
After a 4-1 start, Stoughton (5-4) has dropped three of its last four, but Gay pointed out that this was the first time that the team had been beaten in straight sets. He commented, “Things have gotten a little out of sync.”
The “Volley for Molly” fundraiser is in memory of former Lexington High player Molly Eisenberg, who graduated in 2008 and passed away from ovarian cancer a year later. This is the fourth year that Canton has held this event, which is also held by other programs across the state. The proceeds go to Ovations for the Cure, an organization raising money for ovarian cancer research.
“The girls like doing it and it’s good to give back,” said Cawley. “The volleyball community is pretty small, so although my kids didn’t know her, I know her coach and program.”
For more information, visit www.volleyformolly.org.
Canton will look to continue its undefeated start on Thursday with the visit of Taunton, while Stoughton will try to get back on track against King Philip.
Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.