The Dartmouth High School girls’ volleyball team couldn’t quite duplicate last year’s historic playoff run, when the team advanced to the sectional finals for the first time in nearly two decades. The team faced a 3-1 loss to Greater New Bedford Vocational Technical High School in the Div. 2 South quarterfinals on November 7.

Head Coach Rachel Lassey knew the Bears would be a tough opponent. Dartmouth faced them twice in the regular season with mixed results, picking up one win and one loss.

In volleyball, scoring is based on individual sets. The first team to score 25 points in a set scores a point in a best three-out-of-five format. The Bears opened with a strong first set, as Dartmouth struggled to take a lead and ultimately lost, 25-10.

“We made it too easy for them,” Lassey said. “We knew we had to keep them off their game in order to stop them, so we gave it our all.”

Dartmouth tightened up its game in the second set, taking the lead and picking up its only point of the night with a 23-25 win, tying the game at 1-1.

Ultimately, the Bears took the third and fourth sets for a 3-1 win, 25-18 and 25-23.

Despite the loss, Lassey said the season was successful. The team finished with a 16-6 record, despite early-season challenges with offense.

“I’m very proud of the way my girls played all year long, and I’m okay with ending it with a loss when we fought for every single point,” Lassey said.

Lassey said the volleyball team is in a great position for next year.

“I won’t be thinking about it just yet, but I have big plans for a lot of [the freshmen],” Lassey said.

There are currently three freshmen on the varsity team, and many more in the lower ranks. Lassey will lose six seniors next season, but she is confident that her younger players will step up.