GARDINER — The Gardiner volleyball team is in a new division this fall, but the competition is familiar.

The Class C Tigers beat rival Cony, a Class B team, 3-0 on Tuesday night in a hot and packed Bragoli Gym. Gardiner (3-1) won the first set 25-18, the second 25-18 and the third 25-23.

It’s the third consecutive victory for Gardiner, which made the move to Class C when the Maine Principals’ Association added a fourth class.

“Playing a rival is always so hype for us, so this was a really big win for us,” said senior Julie Folsom.

Though the Tigers changed classes, they’re playing a schedule filled with Class B teams, including Messalonskee (on Wednesday), Brunswick, Mt. Ararat and Nokomis.

“(The move) has been pretty smooth,” Folsom said. “It’s a totally different class of opponent, but we definitely do our homework. We watch other games, we go to other team’s games. We’ve just been seeing what’s out there for competition.”

The Rams fell to 1-3. Cony plays Gardiner again in the regular-season finale on Oct. 16 in Augusta.

How did they get there?

Communication and awareness. The Tigers were able to fend off several attacks by Cony throughout the match. Gardiner had solid sets from Folsom, which led to some thunderous kills by junior Joely Cote.

“I’ve been really working hard over the summers,” Cote said. “It feels really rewarding to get to see that (work) out there, especially against our rivals.”

Gardiner coach Bill Boardman added: “The communication was much improved from our first three matches. They were a little bit louder, because it was definitely loud (in the gym) tonight. We had a game plan and they stuck to it.”

The Rams struggled through the first two sets but put forth a solid challenge in the third. Down 17-8, the Rams scored eight straight points, with three aces from senior Hannah Kidd. Cony eventually tied it, 18-18, and went back-and-forth the rest of the way. Gardiner scored the final two points, closing it out on a hit by sophomore Kaitlyn Davison.

“The girls are still working on communication. We can’t wait to get into it (late in a play),” Cony coach Lindsey Morin said. “They start off communicating and then get quiet. They were trying to make adjustments. Gardiner did a good job of targeting players. … This is our first game seeing Gardiner this year, we really didn’t know what they had. But it’s comparable teams.”

Black Bear sighting

Former Gardiner standout and current University of Maine basketball player Lizzy Gruber was in attendance, saying hello to friends and old classmates. Gruber, entering her junior season, was a basketball and volleyball standout with the Tigers, leading the team to its first Class B volleyball state final appearance in 2022.

Gruber transferred to UMaine after two years at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. She was redshirted as a sophomore and still has three years of eligibility. As a freshman, Gruber saw action in 14 games, totaling five points and eight rebounds.

They said it

“I haven’t really noticed anything yet. We have 14 matches, and I think we’re only playing four of those C teams. Our schedule is pretty rugged. It’s a lot of As and Bs. It’s Cony, Messalonskee, (Edward Little), Lewiston. We won’t really know until playoff time what Class C really means to us.” — Gardiner coach Bill Boardman, on the team’s move to Class C.

“We love to keep the rivalry alive. We have a really great relationship with Gardiner, with the team and coaching staff. To keep that going and keeping it positive is great.” — Cony coach Lindsey Morin, on playing Gardiner despite the teams being in different classes.

UP NEXT

Gardiner: at Messalonskee, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday

Cony: at Mt. Ararat, 6 p.m. Thursday