---

ATTLEBORO - Experience counts for a great deal once you reach the state tournament.

The Bourne girls' volleyball team won the South Coast Conference and MIAA Division 2 South Sectional championships a year ago before suffering its only loss of the season in the state finals to Medfield.

That experience helped the Lady Canalmen as it entered a hostile environment at Bishop Feehan for its match with the Shamrocks in the semifinals of the MIAA Division 2 South Sectional on Thursday night.

After dropping two of the first three games to Bishop Feehan, Bourne rallied to win the final two games and come away with a very hard-fought 3-2 win.

The Shamrocks won the first game, 25-22, before the Lady Canalmen bounced back to take the second, 25-21. Bishop Feehan won the third game, 25-13, but Bourne pulled out the match with a 25-18 victory in the fourth game and a 15-12 win in the fifth and deciding game. "They are a very good team," said Bishop Feehan head coach Joe Reardon. "We are very disappointed. They pressured us more than Notre Dame did on Tuesday night. They were just the better team tonight."

With the loss, the second-seeded Shamrocks completed a terrific season with a 21-2 overall record. The Lady Canalmen, the sixth seed, improved to 18-5 and advanced to the sectional final against top-seeded and undefeated Fairhaven on Saturday at Noon in Wareham. The Blue Devils (21-0) reached the title game with a victory over Hanover on Thursday night.

"We were a little tentative at the beginning, but the girls showed a lot of grit," said Bourne head coach Tim Acton. "This is a great gym to play in. We really picked it up in the fourth and fifth games."

"Our defense really picked it up and I thought that was the difference in the match. I am extremely proud of the way the girls held it together, even when they got down. They worked really hard, won it together and showed a lot of heart."

Bishop Feehan looked to have the match in full control after a dominating 25-12 victory in the third game, which put the team ahead, 2-1.

The Shamrocks stormed out to a 10-3 advantage in the game with senior captain Kerin DeGirolamo serving four of those points. Junior middle hitter Amy Lepley also collected three kills during that stretch.

Bourne cut the deficit to six at 11-5, but then the hosts went on a run of 8-3 to push their advantage to 11 points at 19-8 with the final two points coming on kills by Lepley. A kill by senior captain Kristen Walsh and three service points by junior defensive specialist Lauren Welsh helped Bishop Feehan to the 12-point win in the game.

An ace by junior outside hitter Jackie Atkinson and a kill by Lepley helped the Shamrocks to an early 4-2 lead. Bourne then scored the next three points to take a 5-4 lead.

The run would expand to 9-2 as the Lady Canalmen built an 11-6 advantage.

Bishop Feehan would score the next point to cut the lead to four at 11-7, but that would be as close as the local team would get the remainder of the match. Behind the serving of senior Amanda Chilson, Bourne built an eight-point lead at 15-7. The lead got to 19-10 before the Shamrocks made their final run. Bishop Feehan scored five of the next six points, which included a kill by Lepley and a kill by senior Rebecca Santos to make it 20-15. However, the Lady Canalmen scored five of the final eight points to come away with a 25-18 win.

With the score tied at 1-1 in the fifth and deciding game, DeGirolamo suffered an ankle injury and had to temporarily come out of the game. She returned after a kill by Lepley tied the 15-point game at 2-2, but Bourne scored the next two points to go up 4-2.

The Lady Canalmen later scored three straight points to take a 7-3 lead, but the Shamrocks bounced right back with three points of their own to cut the deficit to one at 7-6, the two points coming on kills by Atkinson.

An ace by Chilson and a kill by senior Taylor O'Connor helped push the lead back to four at 11-7. Atkinson again had a kill to close the gap back to two at 11-9. An ace by junior Audrey Clark gave Bourne a 13-9 lead before Bishop Feehan scored two straight points to make it 13-11.

A kill by junior Meghan Donovan pushed Bishop Feehan to the brink of defeat at 14-11, but Lepley crushed a kill to make it 14-12. The Lady Canalmen then set up Donovan for the winning kill and she comverted it, giving the visitors the victory in the game and the match, 15-12.

"Their depth and experience definitely factored in, having been here before," said Reardon. "The deeper you go into a match, the tougher it becomes."

"Both teams played very good volleyball and that is what you want from a state tournament game. The seniors are extremely disappointed, but our record of 21-2 is our best record ever. I was proud of the way the girls fought right to the end. They never gave up. We just got beat."

In the first game, Bourne built an 11-5 lead. However, Bishop Feehan rebounded by scoring the next six points, including a pair of aces by Lauren Walsh. The Lady Canalmen moved ahead by three at 14-11 before the Shamrocks put together another run, this one 10-2 to go ahead for good at 21-16. The Lady Canalmen were able to cut the lead to two at 24-22, but the Shamrocks scored the final point of the game for a 25-22 win.

Bishop Feehan sprinted out to a 7-2 lead in the second game before consecutive kills by Donovan and O'Connor tied the match at 11-11.

With the game tied at 18-18, Bourne scored three straight points to take the lead for good at 21-18. Bishop Feehan closed it to one at 21-20, but the Lady Canalmen scored four of the next five points to secure a 25-21 win and deadlock the match at 1-1.