Hayley Mauroff (10) dominated the front of the net for Nashua North in a Division I prelim win over Alvirne on Tuesday night in Nashua. (Photo by Jack Belanger)

NASHUA- Six days after taking down Alvirne in Hudson, Nashua North repeated that result in the first round of the NHIAA Division I girls volleyball tourney 3-0 on Tuesday night — despite the fact a different Broncos team entered Titans Gym.

After the loss against the Titans, Alvirne lost its best hitter, Hailee Lane, to a broken ankle against Bishop Guertin in the season finale, putting her out for the playoffs.

Despite the uphill battle before the first serve, Alvirne gave Nashua North all it could handle, losing the first set by just two points and holding a late lead in the third. In the end, the Titans did enough to advance to a quarterfinal at Salem on Thursday night.

“I think we locked in when we needed to. It was exciting to have a home playoff game but we are ready for redemption next round,” Nashua North head coach Cassandra Desfosses said.

It was clear from the beginning of the first set that the Broncos were not going to make it an easy match. After Alvirne scored back-to-back points to make it a 11-10, Nashua North called its first timeout.

The Titans (15-4) slowly a built a lead coming out of the huddle, going up 20-14. Once again, Alvirne found momentum and a drive from Victoria Suppa found the back corner to close the gap to 23-20, again forcing North to take a timeout.

The senior recorded two kills and a block on the night.

In their first playoff game since 2019, Broncos head coach Jason Lewis embraced the underdog role. Leading a team with zero playoff experience, and coming off a winless 2024 season, he did what he could to keep his players’ heads up.

“I just wanted to keep things fun and loose,” he said. “They come in jittery and nervous. I let them know they were playing well. They were sticking to the plan we practiced last night. We took these guys to the end in each set.”

The 8-11 Broncos got the next three points to build a 5-0 scoring run before a serve from Ava Ellis went into the net to give the point and the ball back to the Titans, who made quick work to score the set point.

Whereas the first set saw just one run of four or more points, set two was the opposite. The teams combined for five such runs, including an eight-point run from the Titans.

A pair of kills from senior Hayley Mauroff helped North open with the first four points of the set. The Titans controlled the majority of the set, going up 23-12 after the longest scoring run of the night.

The Broncos did show up for the second set, perhaps a little late, scoring six straight points to make the score 23-18. As with all the sets, they could not finish the job. Another serve that went into the net and a clean spike from Mauroff ended the set 25-18 and gave Nashua North the 2-0 lead.

Whenever Alvirne started to make a run it always seemed it was the senior who got the timely kill or block to give Nashua North the ball back.

“She has that quiet confidence. Very smart and very competitive player,” Desfosses said.

While Mauroff anchored the front row, Kylie Rizzo initiated the offense with her passing from the back row.

Desperate to keep their season on the line, the Broncos made one last push in the final set, taking a 17-13 lead.

Ultimately, North’s experience proved to be the difference. The Titans righted the ship, scored the next five points and closed out the set 25-19, and ended what was a fantastic turnaround season for Alvirne.

Kya Maben led Alvirne on both sides of the ball, leading the team with three kills and four blocks. Mena Lewis recorded a team-high four assists.

The Titans head to Salen on Thursday to take on the Blue Devils at 6 p.m. The teams went to five sets earlier in the season, with Salen claiming victory.

“We still have more to bring and I’m excited to see it in the next round of the playoffs,” Desfosses said.