The front entrance of Joseph Case High School in Swansea, a brick building with the school's name over the doors
Joseph Case High School in Swansea, where the Cardinals host Newburyport in the Division 3 quarterfinals Friday. File photo, 2017. Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

SWANSEA Case brings Lily Rego and a six-match winning streak home Friday night against Newburyport, the team the Cardinals swept in last year's state quarterfinal on their run to the Division 3 final.

No. 4 Case (18-4) and No. 5 Newburyport (19-3) play at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at Joseph Case High School, 70 School St., Swansea, in the MIAA Division 3 girls volleyball quarterfinals. The winner moves on to the state semifinals against the winner of Saturday's quarterfinal between No. 1 Bellingham and No. 8 Pembroke, set for 5 p.m., according to the MIAA bracket.

Case has played every match of this tournament in Swansea, and a win would leave the Cardinals one step from a second straight Division 3 final. Last November, as the No. 3 seed, they beat Newburyport 25-19, 25-17, 25-20 in the quarterfinal at home, beat Medfield 3-1 in the semifinal at Bridgewater-Raynham High School and lost the final to Bellingham 3-1 at Billerica Memorial High School, according to the MIAA's 2025 bracket.

How Case got here

The Cardinals went 12-1 in the South Coast Conference and finished second to Old Rochester, the only league team to beat them. That 3-1 loss in Mattapoisett on Oct. 21 included a 30-28 second set, and Case took the third set 27-25 before Old Rochester closed it out. Case's other losses came outside the league, to East Bridgewater in September, to Bellingham on Oct. 1 and at Dartmouth on Oct. 16, and the Cardinals beat East Bridgewater 3-1 in the rematch on Oct. 29.

Against Bellingham, the No. 1 seed this fall and last year's champion, Case won the first set 26-24 before the Blackhawks took the next three. Since the loss at Old Rochester the Cardinals have won six straight, the last two in the tournament, sweeping No. 36 Norwell on Nov. 7 and No. 13 Lynn Classical 25-11, 25-12, 25-23 on Tuesday.

Rego, Andree and Silva lead the Cardinals

Rego, a sophomore outside hitter who wears No. 15, finished the regular season with 265 kills, 3.9 a set, while hitting .285 with 68 aces, all team highs in the stats Case entered on MaxPreps through Oct. 30. She is also second on the team with 165 digs and 202 serve receptions. She put down 20 kills against Bellingham and 20 more at Old Rochester.

Willow Andree, a sophomore on the right side (No. 29), adds 180 kills and 58 aces. She led Case with 14 kills in the 3-1 win at Fairhaven on Oct. 30 and hit .375 with 11 kills at Old Rochester. Junior setter Madyson Silva (No. 11) runs the offense with 598 assists and 66 aces, and she had 33 assists at Fairhaven. Silva also set the Cardinals in last year's sweep of Newburyport, hitting .400 that day.

Junior middle Julia Lloyd (No. 3) leads Case with 23 blocks to go with 104 kills, and she had four blocks at Fairhaven. Senior middle Kassidy Blair (No. 7) has 18 blocks, and sophomore Kayla Dowdell (No. 21) had three blocks against the Clippers in last year's quarterfinal. Senior libero Madisyn Mendonca (No. 16) leads the back row with 174 digs and 271 receptions, and junior Aubrey Tekippe (No. 5) has 136 receptions.

Newburyport's attack runs through Vigeant

Gabriella Vigeant, a senior who wears No. 11, leads the Clippers with 254 kills and 66 aces and has added 196 digs and 29 blocks through Tuesday's match. In the first-round sweep of No. 37 Greater Lowell Tech on Nov. 6 she had 13 kills, 14 digs and three aces in the stats Newburyport entered on MaxPreps. The Boston Globe reported that she reached 500 career kills that night. Against No. 12 Blackstone Valley Tech on Tuesday she had 20 kills and 10 digs in a 25-12, 20-25, 25-22, 25-15 win.

Seniors Eloise LeDuc (No. 7), with 140 kills, and Ava Bailey (No. 10) give Vigeant help at the net, and Bailey hits .290 with a team-high 69 blocks. Senior Sawyer Frosk (No. 14) has 370 assists, including 33 against Blackstone Valley. Sophomore Finley Seymour (No. 9) is the Clippers' busiest defender with 242 digs, 468 receptions and 61 aces, and she had 26 digs and eight aces on Tuesday, while freshman Isabelle Vigeant (No. 1) has added 114 digs.

Coach Lori Solazzo's team went 12-1 in the Cape Ann League, second to Lynnfield, after sweeping the Pioneers on Sept. 17 and losing to them 3-1 on Oct. 22. Lynnfield is the No. 3 seed in this bracket and already in the semifinals. Newburyport's other losses came against Melrose on Sept. 30 and at Andover on Oct. 29.

Side by side

Case and Newburyport, side by side (results through Nov. 10)
CaseNewburyport
SeedNo. 4No. 5
Record18-419-3
League12-1, second in the South Coast Conference12-1, second in the Cape Ann League
Home and road11-1 at home, 7-3 away11-1 at home, 8-2 away
Sets won and lost58 and 1659 and 18
Tournament so farBeat Norwell 3-0, Lynn Classical 3-0Beat Greater Lowell Tech 3-0, Blackstone Valley Tech 3-1
StreakSix straight winsTwo straight wins
Kills leaderLily Rego, 265Gabriella Vigeant, 254
Assists leaderMadyson Silva, 598Sawyer Frosk, 370
Digs leaderMadisyn Mendonca, 174Finley Seymour, 242
Blocks leaderJulia Lloyd, 23Ava Bailey, 69
Aces leaderLily Rego, 68Gabriella Vigeant, 66
Against a top-three seedLost 3-1 to No. 1 Bellingham and No. 2 Old RochesterBeat and lost to No. 3 Lynnfield
MaxPreps Division 3 rank5th3rd
Last meetingWon 3-0 at home, Nov. 8, 2025Lost 3-0 at Case, Nov. 8, 2025

Case's season statistics run through Oct. 30 and Newburyport's through Tuesday, as each team entered them on MaxPreps.

Our read

Case's serve, 192 aces from Rego, Silva and Andree in the regular season, is the Cardinals' best tool against Gabriella Vigeant, because keeping Seymour and the Clippers' passers moving forces Frosk to set her from out of system. Bailey alone has more blocks through Tuesday (69) than Case's top three blockers, Lloyd, Blair and Andree, had combined through Oct. 30 (56), so Silva spreading the ball to Andree and Lloyd keeps that block from sitting on Rego. Case has not dropped a set in the tournament, and Newburyport has dropped one, the second set against Blackstone Valley.

How to follow it

The match streams live on the NFHS Network through Case's school page, with a subscription required. Tickets are sold online only, on GoFan at $11.50 for general admission, under the MIAA's fall tournament price list. South Coast 360 will have the final and the standouts Friday night.

Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.

Notes

Every fact comes from the MIAA's 2026 and 2025 Division 3 volleyball brackets, the GoFan listing for this match, the NFHS Network event page, and Case's and Newburyport's MaxPreps schedules, rosters, staff and stats pages, box scores and match recaps built from the stats the teams entered, with Vigeant's 500th career kill credited to The Boston Globe. We read them on Friday, Nov. 13, 2026. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar and added the aces and record splits from the team totals. Names, numbers, classes and positions are as the MaxPreps rosters print them; Newburyport's roster lists no positions, so its players are described by what they do in the stats. Case's season statistics run through Oct. 30 and Newburyport's through Nov. 10. The 'Our read' section is our own analysis.

Corrections

No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.

Sources (23)
  1. MIAA: Fall Volleyball 2026 Division 3 State TournamentSeeds 4. Joseph Case (16-4), 5. Newburyport (17-3), 1. Bellingham, 2. Old Rochester Regional, 3. Lynnfield, 8. Pembroke, 12. Blackstone Valley RVT, 13. Lynn Classical, 36. Norwell, 37. Greater Lowell Tech; Round 4 Joseph Case vs. Newburyport 11/13/26 6:00 PM; Bellingham vs. Pembroke 11/14/26 5:00 PM; Lynnfield 3, Weston 0; earlier-round scores. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  2. MIAA: Fall Volleyball 2025 Division 3 State TournamentNo. 3 Joseph Case 3, No. 11 Newburyport 0 (11/08/25); Joseph Case 3, Medfield 1 at Bridgewater-Raynham High School (11/12/25); Bellingham 3, Joseph Case 1 at Billerica Memorial High School (11/15/25). Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  3. GoFan: Joseph Case vs Newburyport, MIAA Girls Volleyball Div 3, Round of 8General Admission $11.50; 6 p.m. Nov. 13, 2026; Joseph Case HS, 70 School St., Swansea. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  4. NFHS Network: Joseph Case vs Newburyport, Girls Varsity Volleyball, 11/13/2026Live event listing on Case's NFHS school page, start 6 p.m. EST; NFHS Network events are viewed with a paid subscription. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  5. MIAA: Fall 2026 ticket prices for MIAA tournamentsOnline ticket sales only, general admission; volleyball Round of 8 $11.50, fees included. Read Nov. 13, 2026, 1:15 p.m.
  6. MaxPreps: Lynnfield volleyball schedule 2026League 14-1, first in the Cape Ann League. Read Nov. 13, 2026, 1:21 p.m.
  7. MaxPreps: Case volleyball schedule 202618-4, 12-1 league (second, South Coast), home 11-1, away 7-3, sets 58 and 16, streak six wins; every result. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  8. MaxPreps: Case volleyball stats 2026Season leaders entered through Oct. 30: Rego 265 kills, 3.9 a set, .285, 68 aces, 165 digs, 202 receptions; Andree 180 kills, 58 aces; Silva 598 assists, 66 aces; Lloyd 23 blocks, 104 kills; Blair 18 blocks; Andree 15 blocks; Mendonca 174 digs, 271 receptions; Tekippe 136 receptions. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  9. MaxPreps: Case volleyball roster 2026Numbers, classes and positions for every Case player named. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  10. MaxPreps: Newburyport volleyball schedule 202619-3, 12-1 league (second, Cape Ann), home 11-1, away 8-2, sets 59 and 18, streak two wins; every result. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  11. MaxPreps: Newburyport volleyball stats 2026Season leaders entered through Nov. 10: G. Vigeant 254 kills, 66 aces, 196 digs, 29 blocks; LeDuc 140 kills; Bailey 109 kills, .290, 69 blocks; Frosk 370 assists; Seymour 242 digs, 468 receptions, 61 aces; I. Vigeant 114 digs. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  12. MaxPreps: Newburyport volleyball roster 2026Numbers and classes for every Newburyport player named. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  13. MaxPreps: Newburyport volleyball staff 2026Head coach Lori Solazzo. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  14. MaxPreps: Newburyport at Case match page, Nov. 13, 20266 p.m. EST, playoff; MaxPreps Massachusetts Division 3 ranks Newburyport 3, Case 5; team totals. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  15. MaxPreps: Bellingham at Case box score, Oct. 1, 2026Bellingham 3-1 (24-26, 25-19, 25-22, 25-15); L. Rego No. 15, 20 kills. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  16. MaxPreps: Case at Old Rochester box score, Oct. 21, 2026Old Rochester 3-1 (25-17, 30-28, 25-27, 25-19); Rego 20 kills; W. Andree No. 29, 11 kills, .375. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  17. MaxPreps: Case at Fairhaven recap, Oct. 30, 2026 (from team-entered stats)21-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-16; Andree 14 kills, Silva 33 assists, Lloyd four blocks. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  18. MaxPreps: Case vs. Lynn Classical recap, Nov. 10, 202625-11, 25-12, 25-23; six straight wins. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  19. MaxPreps: Newburyport at Case box score, Nov. 8, 2025Case 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-20); M. Silva No. 11, .400; K. Dowdell three blocks. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  20. MaxPreps: Newburyport vs. Greater Lowell Tech recap, Nov. 6, 2026 (from team-entered stats)Vigeant 14 digs, 13 kills, three aces; Frosk 23 assists. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  21. MaxPreps: Newburyport vs. Blackstone Valley RVT recap, Nov. 10, 2026 (from team-entered stats)Seymour 26 digs, eight aces; Frosk 33 assists; Vigeant 20 kills, 10 digs; set scores from the box score, 25-12, 20-25, 25-22, 25-15. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  22. MaxPreps: Newburyport at Lynnfield recap, Oct. 22, 2026Lynnfield 3-1; the Clippers' first league loss. Read Nov. 13, 2026.
  23. The Boston Globe: Friday's girls' volleyball roundup (Nov. 6, 2026)Vigeant's 500th career kill in the first-round win over Greater Lowell. Read Nov. 13, 2026.