A year after losing to Greely in last year’s Class A state final, the Scarborough volleyball team got another crack at the Rangers in the semifinals last week and almost delivered a delicious dose of payback.

The Red Storm was 10-4 in the regular season, losing to Biddeford twice and Gorham and Greely once each, to wind up sixth in Class A. After a 3-0 win at third-ranked Ellsworth in the quarterfinals, Scarborough got its rematch with the second-ranked Rangers.

The Red Storm, which lost, 3-0, at home to Greely in the lone regular season encounter, Oct. 3, won the first set of the playoff match, 25-21. The Rangers then put Scarborough on the brink with 25-19, 25-14 set wins, but when the Red Storm won the first 16 points of the fourth game, a winner-take-all fifth set appeared to be a guarantee.

Instead, Scarborough gave almost every point back as Greely pulled within 23-22, before the Red Storm closed out the set, 25-22. Scarborough had little left for the fifth game, however, and lost, 15-7, to drop the match 3-2 and end the season 11-5.

“I was very happy with how my team came together towards the end of the season,” said Scarborough coach Jon Roberts. “We played our best volleyball against Ellsworth in the quarterfinals and then again against Greely. They are a great team and we gave them all they could handle in their own gym. My girls played great.”

The Red Storm, which creeps closer and closer to the pinnacle, should be a major factor again in 2013.

“We will lose a lot of senior leadership but will return a great group of kids who are excited about next season,” Roberts said.

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