Ursuline Volleyball Cruises into Playoff Spot

The Ursuline volleyball team waited until the last possible day of the regular season in 2009 to qualify for the playoffs.

But not this year.

With a commanding 3-0 win against Mount St. Joseph's Academy on Tuesday, the Bears, at 9-1, qualified for the playoffs a little more than halfway through the regular season.

"It feels good to qualify for the tournament early," said coach Eric Neely.

Led by Jill Lawlor and her 10 kills, Ursuline cruised to a 25-14, 25-12, 25-19 win against MSJA

"Jill's been working really hard on her serve. At the beginning of the year it would be either an ace or an error," Neely said. "Now, it doesn't matter who is on the other side of the net, her serve is really tough to deal with."

With her neon laces glowing, Lawlor scored an ace in the second set and notched four consecutive points on serve to pull the Bears away and give them a 10-3 advantage.

"When she serves it in, it gives us a situation where the other team doesn't feel comfortable and can't run their offense," Neely said.

Coming into Tuesday's match, Neely said his girls knew what they were about to battle for, and now that they sewed up the playoff spot, the next seven matches - including one Thursday at Fontbonne - will give them opportunities to improve and work on strategy.

"[We'll] sure up any holes we may have, [and] look at who we may play in the tournament," Neely said after Tuesday's decisive win.

Ursuline's defense paved the way many times as Christa Blomquist, of Dedham, led the charge.

"Being willing to dive to the floor and reacting to the other team. It's tough to stay mentally up when you are winning by a large margain, but Christa is someone who is going to play 100 percent no matter the score," Neely said. "Players like that come tournament time are tremendously valuable."

The Bears will have an opportunity to avenge the lone loss against Notre Dame Academy on senior night at Ursuline on Oct. 29

While seeding matters to the Bears, Neely said he'll be able to work on different rotations now that the playoff spot is secured.

"It's really good to have it taken care of," Neely said.