MATTAPOISETT — Eleven days separated the end of the regular season for the Old Rochester Regional High School volleyball team and their first game of the postseason.

They held practices, head coach Jimmy Oliveira said, but there’s only so much to do with that many days off in a row.

The long layoff meant the 17-3 Bulldogs’ opening playoff game against Hanover High School in the MIAA Div. 3 tournament acted as a chance to get back into routines and the flow of things, Oliviera said.

“We're 0-0 right now,” Oliveira said he told the team before the game. “Every team is 0-0, and let's just see how good we can get in the next two weeks.”

No. 4 seed Old Rochester defeated No. 29 seed Hanover 3-0 in the round of 32 match Sunday, Nov. 3.

“We definitely fought and got the win at the end so that’s what matters,” outside hitter Cami Van Ness said. “But we're ready to keep playing and just keep growing as a team and getting better as the tournament goes on.”

Hanover kept things close at the beginning of each set, including a 7-4 lead in the second. Each time, Old Rochester eventually responded and extended a lead on the way to the straight sets victory. 

“It kept us on our toes, because when we let up, they answered back, so it allowed us to have adversity and get over it and fight back,” libero Caroline Brogioli said.

During the first set, Hanover whittled an early Old Rochester lead down to 14-12. That prompted a run in which the Bulldogs then won the next 11 of 12 points.

“I think the energy started off kind of slow, and then they had some really exciting plays, and that helped us to play our best,” outside hitter Ava Vander Pol said.

Old Rochester won the three sets with scores of 25-13, 25-12 and 25-17.

“We play well under pressure, so I feel like once it starts getting closer, it’s where we kind of fight back and take our lead,” Van Ness said.

Middle blocker/opposite hitter Erin Root led with 11 kills, followed by 9 kills from Van Ness and 6 kills from Vander Pol.

Opposite hitter/outside hitter Molly Franco served four aces, followed by three from defensive specialist Kaitlyn Rodrigues. Setter Aubrie Letourneau had 25 assists.

The Bulldogs reached the quarterfinals in last year’s tournament, losing to eventual champion Weston High School. Just like the players tell each other to take games one point at a time, the volleyball team is approaching the postseason one game at a time, according to Brogioli.

Old Rochester won the Div. 3 championship in 2021 and reached the semifinals in 2022. 

“Our coach definitely reminds us that it's a process to get back to the state championship, so we look at it like each game is just another stepping stone to get back up there,” Van Ness said.

The Bulldogs next play No. 13 seed Shawsheen Valley Technical High School in the round of 16. 

“It's definitely going to take focus and hard work, but we have all the keys and the skills to play and to be able to get back up there,” Van Ness said. “We just have to put what we know to work and to the games.”