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Branford outside hitter Kennedy Walker (5) celebrates with libero Erika Rioux (left), setter Andi Sabourin (2) and outside hitter Madison Ward (4) after a kill against Aucilla Christian during Thursday's Region 3-1A semifinal. (JACK HOWDESHELL/Special to the Reporter)
BRANFORD — Kennedy Walker’s expectations were simple when Branford faced off against Aucilla Christian in their playoff opener.
“I expected this team to show up and show out,” she said.
Oh, the Buccaneers did that, especially Walker.
The senior outside hitter delivered a team-high 18 kills with an ace to lead the top-seeded Bucs to a 25-18, 25-12, 25-10 sweep over the No. 4 seed Warriors in the Region 3-1A semifinals at home Thursday night. Outside of a late stretch in the first set, the match was never close as Branford cruised to the regional finals for the first time since 2019.
Next up for the Bucs (23-4) is a date at home next Tuesday against the winner of No. 2 seed Union County/No. 3 seed Lafayette — who play Friday — for a chance to go to the state Final Four.
“We’re confident,” Walker said. “We know that we can beat any team around here.”
Madison Ward and Jadyn Mosley each added seven kills with Mosley serving up three aces for Branford, which won its 12th straight. Andi Sabourin finished with 31 assists, setting up several teammates for kills, including Anabella Dicks for two and Kayley Johnson for two.
Liibero Erika Rioux also served up a pair of aces. Mosley led BHS defensively with 13 digs while Walker had eight.
“That was exciting,” Branford head coach Mendy Sikes said. “It was fun. All 10 contributed. Some of my younger ones really, really stepped up.”
The Buccaneers jumped out to a 15-6 lead in the first set before the Warriors (13-9) battled back to pull within 21-18 late in the frame. But after sending a shot into the net to put Branford back up by four, Aucilla Christian couldn’t recover. The Warriors put the next point into the net as well, and after a kill by Ward made it 24-18, Avery Emerick sent a shot long to clinch the set for the Bucs.
Sikes chalked up the late drama in the first to adrenaline, nerves and lack of focus.
“They got in our heads and we didn’t focus,” Sikes said. “There were a lot of balls just being thrown around and we weren’t focused enough to go play. We had to regroup. They came in and fought back, and then we got it together.”
Branford didn’t allow any more drama the rest of the night. Walker helped lead a 9-2 run to break a 5-5 tie in the second set, smacking kills for four straight points during the stretch to give the Bucs the lead for good.
“Kennedy is dominating at the net,” Sikes said. “She knows when to hit, reads the block well, she sees the court, and she’s just hard to stop. She’s hard to stop.”
Serving keyed the Bucs in the final set after the Warriors jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead. Dicks broke Aucilla Christian’s serve with a kill and Branford then scored the next six points on the serve of Mosley, who had two aces during the run.
Lauchlin Fagile ended that spurt with one of her six kills for the Warriors — tied for a team high with RoseLyn McLeod — but the Bucs then scored the next eight points, which included three kills by Walker, behind Johnson’s serve.
Johnson and Rioux both added an ace in the final set to put away Aucilla Christian, which trailed by as many as 17.
“I think our serving was fantastic,” Sikes said. “They put the ball where I asked them to put it, they served hard, and it was fun.
“I think we built our confidence, and I think the other team kind of got down and they could never get out of that hole.”
The Bucs will now turn their attention to either Union County or Lafayette, two teams they also dominated during the regular season. They swept Lafayette three times and Union County once in the District 6-1A championship.
Confidence is understandably high for Branford, which is hoping to reach the state semifinals for the first time since 2019. Just like it was Thursday night, expectations will be the same on Tuesday when they take the court looking to continue their special season.
“We’ll show up and show out,” Walker said. “We’re going to win and make it to the Final Four.”