NORTHBOROUGH — Central Catholic sophomore Corrine Gosselin was fired up in game No. 4 against New Bedford yesterday.
The 5-foot-11 hitter smashed kills to give her team leads of 21-19 and 23-20 and she also made a nifty one-handed save on a ball that kept a rally alive and eventually led to another point for her team.
New Bedford eventually won the Division 1 title match 3-1, but Gosselin certainly was a bright spot.
Coach Gannon Paris said he might use Gosselin next year like New Bedford uses its star player — 6-foot hitter Maura Manley — who led everyone with 35 kills and produces most of New Bedford's offense with a passer beside her and a setter in front of her.
"We're just going to let her loose," Paris said about Gosselin. "She's very physical. She's very aggressive at the net. She's got a lot of work to do, but she's someone who you might be able to see step into a role like (New Bedford) has for Manley, where she's getting onto the court and not coming out and it's strictly for offense. If we can put the ball in the air and let her swing at it — next year that sounds like a good place to start."
Central has been unable to get itself over the hump, suffering its first losses in state title matches the last two years.
The Raiders advanced to the title game both last year and this year with 22-0 records. They got swept in by Medfield 3-0 in last year's Division 2 title game.
Central will graduate nine seniors, including starters Katie Zenevitch, Carolyn Eddy, Lindsay Phenix and Maggie Hillman.
But with Gosselin and 6-2 Kendall Desrosiers returning, Central could have the talent to make another run. New Bedford, which only loses one senior, will be a heavy favorite,
Gosselin had eight kills, two blocks and two aces yesterday.
"She's already a powerhouse hitter on the team so next year she'll definitely be a dominating force," Phenix said.
Zenevitch added: "She's going to be amazing for them. They need someone like her on the team off the bench and on the bench (as a leader)."
So what else does Central need to do to get over the hump?
"We've just got to keep at it," Paris said. "We easily could've gotten over it tonight. Bounces, calls, crazy things happened. We outscored them and lost. We should feel like we belong here. We just need to keep cracking at it. One of these time we'll get here and get it done.
"Last year we were in the same situation being undefeated in the state final but we were really not in that match against Medfield. Tonight, it was completely different. I might even say we played better (than New Bedford)."
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