The winning streak continues as the undefeated Dartmouth High volleyball team beat crosstown rivals Bishop Stang in a close matchup on Oct. 26.

Stang’s Spartans kept Dartmouth on its toes by winning the first set 25-22. After back-and-forth set wins for both teams, Dartmouth came out ahead in a decisive fifth set.

The team remains 7-0 on the season with just four matches left.

“It took us a while to get into our rhythm, but we finally came out of a little bit of a fog,” Head Coach Rachel Lassey said. “We really managed to pull it out.” 

Dartmouth sophomore Ava Crane had 14 kills against the Spartans. The outside hitter noted that the match was “a real back and forth.” 

“It definitely took some getting used to,” she said. “We haven’t had a game like that in a long time.”

Junior Sorelle Lawton — who tied a school record with 12 aces and set a new mark with 32 service points in one match against Bridgewater-Raynham on Oct. 8 — said of all the games she’s played this season, this one was easily her favorite.

“I think it was super fun to play in,” she said. “All of the other games were good, but they’ve gone a bit slower — this one definitely tested us a lot.”

While there haven’t been too many new MIAA-mandated pandemic safety rules for volleyball, there is still one rule teams are trying to get used to: the “Covid zone.”

According to Lassey, this zone is an invisible three-foot area that runs parallel to the net and the width of the court. While blocking is okay, offensive players are not allowed to hit when the ball is above the net in the Covid zone or else it’s a point for the other team.

“We got more calls today than we’ve gotten all season,” Lassey said. “It’s a very fine line — fortunately, this is the only big rule we have to remember.”

For Bishop Stang, while the game appears as a loss on the scoresheet, Head Coach Amanda Tarantelli said she was happy that her team of mostly freshmen and sophomores was able to make things competitive against their rival.

“This is my fifth year as coach and, before today, we have not taken a set from them once,” she said. “This game was huge.” 

The Spartans coach noted that this close loss comes as four Spartans have to quarantine as part of the school’s Covid protocols.

“We only had 10 girls and I couldn’t be prouder of them,” Tarantelli said. “They played amazing.”

Bishop Stang will play against New Bedford on Tuesday.

Dartmouth High will travel to West Bridgewater on Tuesday before finishing out their final three regular season games at home. 

The two rivals are set to play against each other again on Nov. 6.