Playoff-bound Wakefield earns 10th win
WAKEFIELD—The Wakefield Warrior volleyball team is once again heading to the playoffs after recent league wins over Reading, Wilmington and Stoneham which improves their record to 10-5 and secures a spot in Div. 3 state tournament.
Currently power ranked No. 6 in Div. 3 by the MIAA, Wakefield is now establishing itself as a premier team in their division and will likely host an opening round playoff game.
“I’m so proud of this team and I wouldn’t want to be heading into a huge week with anyone else,” said Wakefield head coach Kayla Wyland. “We have something special from the seniors to our sophomores. We wouldn’t be where we are without every single player on the team.”
The Warriors started their winning way with a convincing 3-0 sweep over the talented Reading Rockets (6-9) on Oct. 10 in sets of 25-21, 25-15 and 25-22. Wakefield’s Savannah Cummings led in scoring with 11 kills and the team benefited from the stellar serving of Brooklyn Calder.
Wakefield’s Mia Kenny and Maddie Keohane both had 17 digs while Sophia Anderson and Brooklyn Calder also had double digits digs in the back row, a collective effort that keeps Wakefield defense one of the toughest in the league, maybe their division.
“Reading is always very well coached,” said Wyland after the game. “Their coach was a role model of mine when I played for Melrose. She is knowledgeable, strong, and well-respected.”
Wakefield also picked up a 3-1 win over Wilmington just two days later to increase the win tally. Wakefield saw Savannah Cummings lead with 12 kills and another 7 from Mia Kenny. It was a flawless performance at the service line from Brooklyn Calder who served 100 percent accurately in 22 attempts with 9 aces.
“Brooklyn is an absolute rock,” noted coach Wayland. “She does it all for us, back row defense, front row attacking, serving. We found that our team earns the most points when we are in the rotation when she is serving.”
Serving indeed remains a major strength overall for the Warriors as Maddie Keohane tallied 6 aces while also putting up an impressive 22 digs in the back row against Wilmington.
On Tuesday, the Warriors hosted Melrose for a rematch battle following their bout last month. Then, Wakefield took a set against the perennial powerhouses. This time, the Warriors put a real scare into last year’s D2 Sectional champs, with a thrilling 3-2 game that fell in Melrose’s favor after five excruciating sets. Wakefield took a quick 2-0 lead in dominating sets of 25-18 and 25-22 behind the hitting of Mia Kenny (10 kills) and Brooklyn Calder (9 kills) and some near flawless serving by Lea Carangelo (6 aces) Brooklyn Calder (7 aces) and Maddie Keohane (3 aces).
The Warriors completely dominated the first two sets before Melrose fought back on the arms of hitters Sadie Jaggers (26 kills) and Sabine Wentzel (17 kills) in the final three frames.
End of the night, Melrose was quite simply lucky to get out with a win—and it wasn’t all bad news. The effort not only prepares Wakefield for the playoffs, but it may increase their MIAA Power Rankings after taking sets against a 14-1 Div. 2 rival.
Longtime Melrose head coach Scott Celli had only great things to say about the Warriors after the game.
“Without a doubt this is the best Wakefield team we’ve played against.”
The battle against Melrose displayed the strong work of Wakefield’s captains Maddie Keohane, Lea Carangelo and Savannah Cummings.
Notes Wyland, “They have been everything a coach would want. Savannah is one of the smartest offensive players I’ve had the pleasure of coaching. Maddie has become one of the strongest liberos in the league and Lea is a standout, her front row attack has opened up our hitting. I’d be afraid to play against a setter like her.”
Against Melrose, Carangelo was sharp with 30 assists, 11 digs and 5 kills for a solid overall effort.
Coach Wyland also noted the clutch play of Sophia Anderson and Mia Kenny in recent games.
“Mia has a huge role. In high-intensity matches she keeps her composure and is instrumental. She’s one of our strongest attacks and super scrappy on defense. And Sophia’s one of the most determined athletes I’ve coached. We’ve benefitted from her tricky jump serve and willingness to sacrifice her body for the team.”
The coach also hails the work of sophomore Lila Arkinstall, a sophomore who has grown immensely.
“She is extremely aggressive and has raised our offensive play in many ways. And Kathleen Gmelch and Emily Herson have been so flexible and strong for us.”
The Warriors made their state tournament appearance official with a 3-0 win over Stoneham at home last night.
While Wakefield enjoyed a Div. 2 playoff win in 2021, this year they stand the chance of a serious run in the Div. 3 postseason. While they’re doing many things right, coach Wyland would like to fine tune some elements to be playoff-ready against tough D3 teams such as Holliston, Medfield and Amherst-Pelham.
“Serve receive is something we always are working on every practice,” says Wyland. “We also are working on our block timing and spot hitting, line, sharp cross, etc., with more consistency. We saw a lot of that in our Melrose match which gave us a lot of success.”
Overall, the coach contends that it’s an entire team effort that has led to success.
“You might not see all of them on the court, or their names in the newspaper but every single player on this team is so capable. It is what makes our team so strong.”
Come check out Wakefield when they play league rival Burlington on Monday at 6:30 p.m. The Warriors previously beat the Red Devils 3-2 on Sept. 28. That match comes after the Warriors visit Lynn Classical on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.