NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. — Central Catholic looked poised to force a fifth game.
The Raiders, trailing the match 2-1, had a 23-20 lead in game No. 4.
But then something familiar happened — New Bedford star Maura Manley took over.
Manley, the Whalers' only 6-footer, smashed two big kills, including one from the back row. She also recorded three service points to help lead New Bedford on a 6-1 run to take the game and the Division 1 state championship volleyball match, 25-23, 17-25, 27-25, 26-24 at Algonquin Regional last night.
Trailing 25-24 in game No. 4, Central's return shot fell beyond the service line, giving New Bedford the title.
The New Bedford bench players and student section stormed the court in excitement. Meanwhile, Central, which was unbeaten last fall until it lost to Medfield in the Division 2 title match, could do nothing but look away in disappointment.
Central's 6-foot-2 hitter Katie Zenevitch said Manley, a junior, was definitely the best player her team has faced this year.
"She gets up on her hit, she can jump and she just gets right on top of the ball," Zenevitch said. "She hits very hard. We tried our best to block her."
Central had the height advantage with two players over 6-foot-2 and two other hitters who are 5-11. Meanwhile, New Bedford's second tallest player is listed at just 5-9.
But Central's height advantage never seemed to be an advantage whenever Manley received a nice pass from her teammates. And that was often.
"You couldn't see the depth of our height because they forced the ball to Manley," Central coach Gannon Paris said. "It wasn't like after Manley they had to go to their other people who weren't 6 feet. They just kept going to her. So it wasn't like three 6-footers against one. It was like three 6-footers against three because they didn't really have anyone else that was willing to strike the ball."
Maybe the best example of how Manley dominated is when she tied the fourth game 3-3 by blasting a kill through the block of both Zenevitch and 5-11 sophomore Corrine Gosselin.
Manley recorded 35 kills in the match.
"She's excellent in that they've put her in a position to excel," Paris said. "If she had to do some different things, she might not be so excellent. But they have a passer next to her. They have a setter in front of her and they allow her to just show off."
New Bedford overcame 23-20 deficits in Games 3 and 4.
"Overall, I think we played well as a team," Central's Lindsay Phenix said. "They just hit some spots that we weren't standing in. We were feeling the pressure but we knew we couldn't let it get to us.''
Central setter Carolyn Eddy added about New Bedford's two comebacks: "They never played soft. They knew they had to hit the ball hard every time. And they placed the ball really well, too. And their passer is amazing. She never let anything drop. (Manley), she knows how to go around the block and she knows exactly where to put it. She doesn't tip the ball. She hits it every time. That's what gets them their points."
Gosselin and Zenevitch led Central with eight kills and Desrosiers added seven.
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