Mount Alvernia volleyball digging the tourney scene heading into tonight's state semifinals

There should be few surprises for the Mount Alvernia girls volleyball team tonight even though the Mustangs enter unchartered territory in the Division 3 state semifinal against Notre Dame Academy of Tyngsboro.
 

While several of the squad's nine seniors were only eighth-graders on junior varsity the last time Mount Alvernia won a sectional title in 2005, the Mustangs will face a familiar opponent in unfamiliar surroundings at Nashoba Regional tonight at 7. Mount Alvernia split a pair of five-set matches against Notre Dame during the regular season, with the Mustangs winning the first meeting in Tyngsboro and dropping the second at home.
 

``There is more pressure playing a team that we know,'' said senior outside hitter Caitlin Flanagan, of Newton. ``If we get knocked out by a team we know we have beaten at least once, it will be like: `Oh, we could have done it.'''
 

The Mustangs enter the state semifinal at 19-5, while Notre Dame sits at 14-11 after starting its tourney trek at just 10-11.
 

Mount Alvernia coach Robert Guen said timing was a factor in the outcome of the first two matches.
 

``The first time we beat them was early, and we were still trying to figure out how our team operates,'' Guen said. ``The second time around they came here, and I believe if they had lost they wouldn't have gotten into the playoffs (through the Sullivan exemption rule). So they came in with a lot of energy. They played like they had to win, which they did. We didn't match that.
 

``This time the stakes are, obviously, higher for both teams. The energy will be matched. It's going to come down to, hopefully, the better team winning.''
 

After splitting 10 sets this fall, the Mustangs believe they fit that bill.
 

``We feel confident,'' Guen said. ``Even though they are a very strong team, we know how they play. At the same time, they know what we like to do. It's going to be a matter of us being able to adjust better than they do.''
 

While the Mustangs learned the tendencies of their last three tourney foes - Ayer, Sutton and Whitinsville Christian - largely on the fly, this week's practices were geared more toward what they know in advance about the next opponent.
 

``Their strongest players are on the outside, so we were doing a lot of defense against the outside hitters,'' Flanagan said. ``They are a really good offensive team, so we focused a lot on our defense this week.''
 

The offense has been getting stronger throughout the tourney with seniors Katie Duggan and Jillian Hathaway leading the hitting in the middle and seniors Melissa Allen, Flanagan and junior Annaliese Gartner providing scoring threats outside. Senior Andy Conroy has been a very steady setter who can deliver the occasional kill, while senior Brianna Marin has added some strong serving and digging to the mix.
 

``We don't just have one or two people playing well lately,'' Guen said. ``We have a lot of people playing better. As we've gone deeper in the playoffs, their confidence is getting higher and higher. They're enjoying it. But at the same time, they're rising to the challenge.''
 

The Mustangs focused on many different things yesterday during a practice that lasted well over two hours. There were plenty of hard hits from the middle, outside and - most impressively - the back, as well as a number of strong blocks off the kill attempts of Mustang coaches Guen and Daniel Ancheta.
 

There was also plenty of giggling and joking to break up any tension on the eve of the state semifinal.
 

``They're pretty laid back,'' Duggan, of Roslindale, said of the workouts. ``But if we start getting too goofy, Robbie will have us run a couple of suicides (sprints).''
 

It never got to that point yesterday, though, as the Mustangs kept things light and reasonably focused amid the program's longest tourney run since 2005.
 

``This past week was pretty crazy,'' Flanagan said. ``I think we all lost our voices screaming after the last match.''
 

Because the Mustangs wrapped up their sweep of Whitinsville Christian so quickly on Saturday (the match took just 66 minutes), they had plenty of time to pose for pictures, dance and party on the Hudson High court. That's when the significance of what they had already done began to dawn on them.
 

``I don't think we all realized how far we'd gotten,'' Duggan said, ``until we're getting the trophy, and we're sitting in the gym with (Mount Alvernia athletic director) Ms. (Julie) Gosselin asking us where we want to put our banner.''
 

As the matches have gotten bigger, so have the crowds and the noise. Guen advised his squad at the end of practice to be prepared for that trend to continue tonight.
 

``I think you get really excited before it, and then you get in the gym and your nerves hit you,'' Flanagan said. ``But after that first serve, it snaps you back into it. I'm just glad Jill is the first server and not me.''
 

The Mustangs have already accomplished a lot this season. But that doesn't mean they are satisfied quite yet.
 

``It's been a really fun season,'' Flanagan said. ``I think we just want to keep it going as long as possible.''
 

(Scott Souza is a Daily News staff writer. He can be reached at 781-398-8006 or ssouza@cnc.com.)




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