ROCHESTER — The Old Rochester Regional High School Bulldogs volleyball team began its state championship defense as it beat the Apponequet Regional High School Lakers in straight sets in the Division 3 State Tournament round of 32 on Friday.

The Bulldogs won the first set 25-9, the second set 25-13, and the final set 25-18.

“We had a really good week of practices and improved on some weaknesses,” said ORR Head Coach Jimmy Oliveira. “I thought that showed today.”

Fifth-seeded ORR bypassed the preliminary round of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association Division 3 State Tournament thanks to its status as South Coast Conference champions. Thanks to the preliminary round bye, the Bulldogs did not have a competitive match for the week before their playoff opener.

The Bulldogs had a 14-6 record overall and a 12-1 conference record in the regular season. Last year, they beat Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School in the final to win the state tournament.

The 28th-seeded Lakers swept 37th-seeded East Boston High School, winning all three sets, to advance from the preliminary round on Wednesday. Having bypassed the preliminary round, ORR did not play a game for a week before Friday’s game.

Setter Aubrie Letourneau sat at the center of the Bulldogs’ game plan against Apponequet, racking up 31 assists during the game, according to the ORR Volleyball Twitter account. Ella Soutter and Cami Van Ness were the main beneficiaries of Letourneau’s assists, scoring 11 and 7 kills—spikes leading to points—respectively in the match.

Letourneau is now one assist away from 1,000 on for her career.

“It definitely set the tone for the playoffs,” Oliveira said. “We’ve had our ups and downs. We’re a young team, we’re expecting those ups and downs. I think being able to play a quality opponent and execute like we did, that sets the tone of our expectations going forward.”

ORR now advances to the tournament round of 16, where it will host Bedford High School. The date and time of the match are yet to be announced.