**Thornton Academy Volleyball Advances to Class A State Championship After Comeback Win Over Scarborough**
*SCARBOROUGH* — With his team down by a point late in the fourth set of a Class A volleyball semifinal against No. 1 Scarborough, Thornton Academy coach Corey Huot called a timeout—not to fire up his players, but to remind the Red Storm they had fought through tough situations before.
“He just told us, ‘Hey, we’re here for a reason. We can fight back. Five points, 10 points, we’ve come back from it all,’” said Thornton junior Brooklyn Desrochers. “We had a one-point mentality the rest of the game.”
From there, the Trojans closed the set strong, taking seven of the final 10 points and securing a 3-1 victory to advance to the Class A state championship.
No. 4 Thornton (12-4) will face No. 3 Gorham (13-3), the defending state champion, at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the University of Southern Maine. Scarborough finishes the season at 14-2.
“This team, I feel like every single girl is my best friend. I came into this wanting to do it for my best friends. I wanted to get them to the state championship,” Desrochers said.
**Match Summary**
Thornton took the first set 25-20. The Red Storm answered in set two with a 25-21 win, but the Trojans bounced back in set three, dominating 25-10.
The fourth set was a back-and-forth battle until Thornton took control following that crucial timeout, when Scarborough led 19-18.
Scarborough had beaten Thornton twice during the regular season, both close 3-2 matches. Leading up to Wednesday’s contest, the Trojans focused heavily on fundamentals, particularly on spotting.
“The benefit of playing a team three times is learning their strengths and figuring out how to counter them,” Huot said. “Sometimes you get into the habit of just ripping it without paying attention to placement. We saw some spots we could really take advantage of.”
Brooklyn Desrochers was key in this effort. “She’s so good at scouting film. She puts so much energy and effort into every game,” Huot added.
**Scarborough Coach Reflects on Team’s Effort**
Scarborough coach Nicole Petherbridge thought her team might have felt the nerves of a playoff game but was proud of their fight, especially in the third set. Although down 21-3, the Red Storm battled to close the gap before eventually losing the set 25-10.
“We talked about those two earlier games being tight. We knew we couldn’t come in expecting a blowout,” Petherbridge said. “I’m really proud of this team and how hard they worked.”
**Looking Ahead: Thornton vs. Gorham**
In the state championship, Thornton will face Gorham, an opponent they split with in the regular season. Each team won 3-0 on the other’s home court.
“They’re back-to-back state champions for a reason. We’ve got another tall task in front of us,” Huot acknowledged.
The championship match promises to be an exciting showdown as Thornton Academy aims to continue their impressive postseason run.
https://www.pressherald.com/2025/10/29/thornton-academy-volleyball-upsets-top-seed-scarborough/
