Like a well-oiled machine, the Mascenic girls volleyball team methodically dismantled Inter-Lakes Tuesday night in the NHIAA Division III semifinals, earning a trip to face undefeated juggernaut Newfound for the state championship Saturday.
Fresh off an upset of No. 3 Epping, sixth-seeded Inter-Lakes had their underdog dreams dashed immediately Tuesday night, as the No. 2 Vikings (17-1) jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the first set at Pinkerton Academy and never looked back, winning in three sets, 25-11, 25-12, 25-12. Mascenic’s well-rounded team was on the same page all night as they made quick work of the Lakers.
“Our chemistry is really good,” said star senior hitter Annika Martel after the game. “We’re all really close out of the gym and on the court – we’re all really, really good friends. So it’s just easy. It just comes natural.”
Martel was one of two current Vikings, along with junior Lyla Buxton, who lost to Inter-Lakes in the 2019 championship game, and avenging that loss made Tuesday’s semifinal win even sweeter. Given that experience, Mascenic’s lanky lefty and potential Player of the Year sees this year’s playoff run a little differently.
”It’s different when you’re a senior,” Martel said, “the whole perspective that in the playoffs, any game may be your last. It’s so exciting, very exciting to be able to play this long in the season.”
The Vikings started out strong and only got better as the night went on and their passing synced up; Kenzie Cormier (25 assists, four kills) set the table for the offense, and once Martel (13 kills) started setting to the back row along with her vicious spikes, Mascenic’s versatile offense was firing on all cylinders. Lindsey Coponen (four aces) and Buxton (seven kills, four aces) made the Lakers well-acquainted with the Pinkerton hardwood with their difficult-to-return service game.
Now, Mascenic has a date with undefeated No. 1 Newfound (18-0). The Bears were the only team to beat the Vikings this season, way back on Sept. 15, but Mascenic is confident that they’ve improved a great deal since then. Newfound is set up much like the 2019 champion Inter-Lakes team, with two big outside hitters – senior Paulina Huckins and junior Malina Bohlmann – driving the powerful offense.
“They have two strong outside hitters,” Martel said, “but I think we can beat them and shut their hitters down, because we have also have strong hitters – we have six people that can hit the ball.”
The Bears and Vikings hit the floor to play for the Division III championship Saturday at 2 p.m. at Pinkerton Academy.