The No. 2 Vineyarders have their most highly anticipated match of the season today, against No. 3 Dover-Sherborn at 3 pm in Somerset.
Not only is a spot in the MIAA Division III championship match on the line, but also bragging rights between growing rivals.
In their very first match of the year, the Vineyarders killed Dover-Sherborn 5-0 at the Ned Fennessy Courts, for their first of eleven straight wins to start their season. Flash forward six weeks later to May 23, and Dover-Sherborn returned the favor, beating MVRHS 5-0 on their turf.
Since that loss to Dover-Sherborn, though, the Vineyard has had a head of steam, winning their next four matches by a combined score of 20-0. In their home finale, they crushed Nantucket 5-0, then proceeded to deliver the same undoing to No. 34 Ludlow, No. 15 Boston Latin, and No. 10 Medfield in the first three rounds of the MIAA Division III playoffs.
The name of the game for the Vineyarders all season has been their depth, with all seven members of their starting lineup being named Cape & Islands All-stars this spring. Their number one singles hitter, senior Jacob Riis, was also named Cape & Islands MVP.
After MVRHS’ Sweet 16 win, third singles hitter senior Clyde Smith exclaimed, “Everybody can play, which is different from most teams. We’ve played together year round, for years.”
Sophomore second singles hitter Zak Potter added, “Our top seven are all competing with each other… We have a good chance to win three of five matches against anybody.”
Last year, the same starting seven made it to the semifinals, but were stopped short by future state champions Wayland. This time around, however, the Vineyarders are older, smarter, and more prepared. First year head coach Nicole Macy is confident that her team can break through to the final this time around.
“They’re such a great group of guys… When they play teams that are strong, they step up and meet the challenge; I’m confident that they’ll rise to the occasion. They just have to not be surprised, and be ready for it,” she stated.
Jacob Riis echoed coach Macy’s sentiments, saying, “We need to stay humble, and focused. All of a sudden, you run into that one team, and have to be prepared… But I do think we’ve improved. We’ve all been working hard throughout the winter, and gotten a lot more competitive.”
If the Vineyarders beat Dover-Sherborn today, they will play for the state championship on Saturday, June 17, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s duPont Athletic Center, time to be announced. They would face the winner of reigning state champs No. 1 Wayland, and reigning state runners-up No. 4 Bedford.