Maine South topples rival East

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:14PM

Maine South trailed early in both sets Thursday before finishing strong for a 25-15, 25-23 victory over Maine East to advance to the Maine East Regional final Saturday.

The No. 7-seeded Hawks were down 22-16 in the second set before closing on a 9-1 run that was fueled by six Demon errors.

Heidi Gregerson and Erin Martell combined for a block to win the match.

"We knew that the score doesn't matter. We just had to push through," said Gregerson, who finished with two kills. "We didn't watch the score. All that matters is who is next to you and how hard you sacrifice."

After going down 7-3 to start, Maine South took control of the first set with a 13-2 run to go ahead 20-10. The Hawks fell behind 10-3 in the second set before inching their way back into the match.

The win was Maine South's second in three tries against Maine East , the No. 10 seed, this season. The Hawks improved to 12-23 overall, while the Demons ended their year 6-29.

"We made a lot of mistakes and stopped believing in ourselves," said outside hitter Pat Wardynski, one of two starting sophomores for the Demons. "Sometimes you have bad days."

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