Another ‘first’ was accomplished by the Sacred Heart Greenwich volleyball team on Saturday night.

Wednesday, the Tigers became the first team in program history to advance to the semifinal-round of the NEPSAC Class A Volleyball Tournament by edging rival Greenwich Academy in the quarterfinals. It also marked the first time Sacred Heart hosted a quarterfinal-round match in the Class A Tournament.

Saturday, Sacred Heart made school history again. A decisive 3-0 victory over visiting Phillips Exeter Academy in the semifinals propelled second-seeded Sacred Heart into the championship match of the NEPSAC Class A Tournament. The Tigers travel to Boston, Massachusetts on Sunday, where they will play top-seeded Loomis Chaffee School in the 2:30 p.m. NEPSAC Class A final at Milton Academy.

Imposing its will from the outset, Sacred Heart defeated visiting Phillips Exeter Academy, which was seeded third, by set scores of 25-21, 25-17, 25-22 to earn a spot in the NEPSAC Class A championship match for the first time in the Class A Tournament. SHG won the NEPSAC Class B Tournament title in 2009.

“They were scrambling for everything, they got a swing on a lot of stuff and are a well-coached team, but these kids wanted it, they were very excited,” Sacred Heart coach Beth Wilson-Jordan said.

Sacred Heart received contributions from everyone who played in Saturday’s semifinal showdown against Phillips Exeter Academy. Senior Kaitlin Robinson, junior Grace Gapen and senior Emerson Eckert registered key kills throughout the semifinal-round match, senior Emilia Bernal kept the offense flowing, while senior Cait Haggerty provided standout serving. Freshman Ana Pizzimbono played strong defense and junior Evangelyn Forte once again flourished as a setter.

“We had such a good game, we all wanted it so much,” said Robinson, a co-captain. “We were all working really hard to get there it was a full team effort.”

With the win, Sacred Heart improved its overall record to 22-3.

“It’s so exciting, it’s an honor to be such a special team,” Robinson said. “History or not, we’ve had such a great season, it’s just made it even more special.”

The Tigers made it to the NEPSAC Class A semifinals by coming from behind to defeat seventh-seeded Greenwich Academy in Wednesday’s quarterfinal-round. SHG trailed 2-0, then won three straight sets to pull out the win.

“We learned a lot from our last GA game, where we started out 0-2,” said Bernal, a co-captain. “We realized what we needed to improve. Tonight, we brought some aggressive serving, especially from Cait Haggerty, she brought it.”

As for playing on such a successful squad that now has the opportunity to compete in the NEPSAC final up in Boston?

“I am so lucky to have such an amazing team with me to end my senior year,” Bernal said. “I’ve never been so supported, so loved, I feel so happy to be on the court every time I play. I wouldn’t want to end my senior season with any other team.”

Said Eckert, who celebrated her birthday with a special win on Saturday night: “It’s an incredible feeling to be a part of such a great team. It’s like another family to me. We have one more game left and we’re going to give it all we’ve got. It’s just so nice to be a part of people who care about you – it makes you feel like a big family.”

“Everyone is so nice and positive, I’m going to miss this team so much next year,” Eckert continued. “It’s sad that tomorrow is our last game, but we’re going to give it all we’ve got.”

Indeed, Haggerty was one of the Tigers’ clutch servers in the semifinal-round match versus Exeter.

“This is the first time that Sacred Heart has gotten this far in Class A, so it’s definitely been a storied season for us,” Haggerty noted. “As a senior, I don’t think it could have gone any better. I think everyone’s hearts were in it together. We’re all excited to be here, we all want to be here and that’s what brought us together for this game today.”

“As the season moves on, each team we play gets harder and harder and that prepares us as the season moves on and makes us better as players,” Haggerty continued. “All of us had an amazing blocking party today, we all blocked very well. Grace did an amazing job with her hits as well as all of our hitters. We were on point today.”

In Saturdays’ semifinals, the Tigers played from in front the majority of each game.

“They had great blockers, so we had to speed up the sets and adjust to their blocking, they were blocking us well,” Gapen said. “They were blocking where we normally hit, so we had to adjust. We’re going to work tomorrow, have great energy, great communication and just keep it up.”

Sacred Heart has just three losses on the season, one of which came against Loomis Chaffee, Sunday’s opponent in the NEPSAC Class A final. Loomis was victorious at home against Sacred Heart in its season-opener, 3-1. Since then, the Tigers have a record of 22-2.

“We faced them earlier in the season, they’re a great team,” Bernal said of Loomis. “We were missing some players due to injury, so we didn’t have our exact lineup that we had today. It’s going to be a great game, I’m excited.”

“I think these matches have helped us a lot, I think we’re ready to play,” Robinson said. “Loomis is a great team, but I think we’re going to come out ready.”