Gardiner volleyball finding its footing in win over rival Cony

Facing a tough early schedule, the Tigers are hoping to set themselves up for a deep run in the Class C playoffs.

Posted September 10

Updated September 10

Gardiner’s Abigail Marlowe digs the ball Thursday during a volleyball match in the John A. Bragoli Memorial Gym at Gardiner Area High School. (Joe Phelan/Staff Photographer)

GARDINER — The Gardiner volleyball team cruised to a victory on Thursday, but the beginning of the season hasn’t been a cakewalk for the Tigers.

They beat rival Cony 3-0 at Bragoli Gym, lifting their season record to 2-1. But Gardiner has purposely made its schedule difficult this season, with the bigger picture in mind: Making another trip to the Class C final.

The Tigers reached the final last season, falling 3-1 to Mount Desert Island.

“It’s going to be a tough schedule,” Gardiner coach Bill Boardman said. “We have a lot of (Class) A’s and B’s. We’ve got York and Greely and Cape … and it’s by design. We’re looking forward to the rest of the season.”

The Tigers started the season with a loss, but put forward an excellent effort in a 3-2 setback to Class B Messalonskee on Sept. 3. Gardiner followed with a 3-1 win over Ellsworth on Saturday.

“We definitely appreciate the competition; it definitely makes it easier along the road,” said Gardiner senior Joely Cote. “When you have a couple of losses, it’s easier to come back when you’re down (in a match), which is something we struggled with (in last year’s playoffs).”

Having fun a key for Tigers

Gardiner was strong against Cony, winning each set (25-5, 25-12, 25-8) by at least 13 points. But, according to Cote, a key for the Tigers this season is to simply have fun, with the belief that winning will follow.

“We just need to love each other and play hard,” Cote said. “Nothing good can happen when you’re mad.”

There was plenty of fun to be had against Cony. Kathleen Moore, a junior, led the Tigers with 11 aces, while senior Lila Anderson added five aces. Cote and sophomore Alexa Quintana were a strong presence at the net, and junior Kaitlyn Davidson provided multiple kills.

Cony is building back up

Cony’s new head coach, Hannah Kibbin, knows the program well. A 2018 graduate of the Augusta school, she played volleyball and tennis and was a member of two state championship swimming teams in her high school career.

The Rams (0-4) are low on varsity numbers, suiting up only nine players Thursday.

“The tough part is coming in with a developing team,” Kibbin said. “I have mostly sophomores and juniors. I have a couple of seniors. None of them play travel volleyball, they’re mostly three-sport athletes.”

Kibbin is hoping to develop a youth volleyball program in the area while also building up the high school program.

“I’m looking at doing programs that are (grades) 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12 this summer,” Kibbin said. “It’s been a blast, it’s a great group of girls. … In the long run, the hope is that we develop and grow. But it just takes time.”

The Rams remained positive throughout the match and showed some promise against Gardiner.