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Windham cruises to second straight Division 2 crown

Saturday, November, 04 By David Willis
Staff writer

DERRY — As Nina Berni took her stance, one point away from another state title, the Windham star visualized if the ball came her way.

“I was thinking that if it came to me, I was going to do everything I could because I had to score,” said Berni. “In that moment, I just tied to stay calm and hit it. When it came off my hand, I didn’t know what to think. And when it fell, I didn’t know how to react.”

Berni blasted a hit over the net that fell to the court, setting off a raucous celebration as No. 3 Windham beat No. 5 Portsmouth 25-20, 25-15, 23-25, 25-18 in the New Hampshire Division 2 state championship at Pinkerton Academy.
“It’s unreal,” said Emily Frank. “Nothing compares to ending my senior year as a champion. I knew we were going to have to put up a fight. Portsmouth is a great team. But, walking in, I knew we couldn’t leave this gym without a title.”
The victory marked the second straight Division 2 title for Windham, and third in four years.  The Jaguars swept Somerville 3-0 last fall and topped Milford 3-1 in 2014.
“It feels amazing,” said senior Julia Carey. “To do it in back-to-back seasons is such a privilege. I couldn’t have done this without this amazing team. We were definitely nervous. When we played Portsmouth in the regular season they took us to five games. We knew it was going to be a battle, but we played our game and got the win.”
It looked early on like Windham may cruise to the title after dominating 25-15 in Game 2. But Portsmouth rallied to win a back-and-fourth third game and would not go away in the fourth.
“They were really tough,” said Frank. “We needed more energy. We needed to get excited again. We needed to serve better. In the fourth game the adrenaline finally kicked in and we took control.”
After forcing Portsmouth into a pair of errors to make it 22-17 in the final game, Frank blasted home a kill, then served an ace to bring Windham to within a point.
All that was left was Berni’s winner. She then ended up at the bottom of a pile as her teammates jumped on her in joy.
“It was awesome,” said Berni. “My eyes immediately began to water. It was so crazy. Doing it two years in a row is unbelievable. We were confident, but we knew we would have to work for every point. And once we got on a run, we had it.”
Berni led Windham with a career-high 19 kills, drawing rave reviews from her coach.
“Nina played the game of her life,” said coach Jill Bartlett. “I can’t believe how well she played. She was a force. I am so proud of her.”
The 5-foot-10 Frank dominated at the net with seven blocks and had six service points. Off the bench, tri-captain Carey added eight service points, while Taylor Dufield notched a career-best 31 assists.
“This was probably the sweetest of all of our titles,” said Bartlett. “This was a tough year. We had injuries, we suffered some tough losses. If we were going to win another title, we were going to have to work harder than we ever have. And we did it.
“This team’s drive and determination to get here and win this title was unbelievable. At some points it didn’t feel like the season was in our favor. Nothing came easy, but it paid off at the end.”
The Jaguars enjoyed a wild celebration on the court, then continued to embrace the moment off to the side as the Division 1 game began.
“The emotion is just amazing,” said Carey. “I love my girls. It’s incredible. We fought through the season, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world with any other group of girls.”