PORTSMOUTH —  The end was close, but cruel for the Mt. Hope High School girls' volleyball team.

Thursday, Nov. 7, in Portsmouth, the Huskies saw their 11-match winning streak come to a halt and their 2024 to a conclusion after suffering a 3-1 loss to Middletown in the semifinals of the Division II championship tournament.

The third-seeded Islanders edged the second-seeded locals by the scores of 27-25, 29-27, 23-25 and 25-19.

Mt. Hope finished its year with a 13-7 overall record. The Huskies hadn't lost prior to the semis since falling to Cumberland, 3-0, way back on September 24, including a victory over the Islanders during their long winning streak.

Middletown, which improved to 13-6, advanced to the league title match opposite top-seeded Barrington. The Eagles swept fourth-seeded North Smithfield in Thursday's opener at neutral site Portsmouth.

The D-II championship match is set for Sunday, Nov. 11, in Rhode Island College's Murray Center at 2 p.m.

"We just didn't have it tonight," said Mt. Hope head coach Lisa Lunney. "We didn't execute. Middletown made fewer mistakes. In tight sets, it's the one more mistake here or there that changes the outcome."

The semifinal encounter between the Huskies and the Islanders was a fitting completion to a terrific trilogy of matches played by the sides this fall, each of which ended in 3-1 decisions.

In Middletown the first week of regular season back on September 3, the hosts won by the scores of 25-21, 25-16, 21-25 and 25-10. In Bristol just recently during the last week of the regular season, on October 23, Mt. Hope won 25-12, 23-25, 25-19 and 25-23.

After a back-and-forth beginning to Game 1 last Thursday, Middletown opened up a 19-12 lead and appeared headed to a relatively comfortable win.

The Islanders, though, became visibly tight with victory in range. Mt. Hope, in turn, found its footing. The locals scrapped all the back to actually take a 22-21 lead on an Abigail Allen kill. Sarah Wilcox served most of the run, including a pair of aces. Leah Marshall also had a kill during Mt. Hope's rally. Wilcox ended the evening with five aces, five kills and 18 digs.

The set was eventually last tied when Huskies' libero Mia Hanson made a superb, two-handed sprawling dig from the back row. The shot clipped the top of the net and fell to floor to keep Mt. Hope alive for the moment. Hanson would finish the night with 22 digs.

On the point previous, the main referee missed it, but the Islanders clearly had four hits. After consulting with his assistants, the Huskies were rightfully given the point.

The sense of joy for the locals, however, was fleeting. A Mt. Hope hitting error after Hanson's heroics put the Islanders ahead again, then Middletown sealed the victory with an ace on game-point.

The Huskies took the early lead in Game 2. Mt. Hope went up by the scores of 7-2 then 15-11 before the Islanders gradually gained ground.

Middletown later was first to set point, 25-24, when the Huskies were called for a net violation. But twice late, including on the ensuing point, the Islanders couldn't covert as they dumped serves into the net.

Mt. Hope, though, would make its own mistakes on the next two points, both hitting errors, en route to the loss.

Facing a sweep, the Huskies held their nerve in Game 3. The contest again was tight throughout.

Middletown stuck its nose ahead when the set was tied at 19, taking a two-point lead. But Mt. Hope finished the game on a 6-2 run, including a pair of Peyton Winn blocks, one a combo with Gianna Lunney, and a couple of hitting errors by the Islanders.

Game point was another of the highlights for the locals provided by Hanson. She again made a diving play, this one on the serve-receive to begin the point. Wilcox then ended the set in the Huskies' favor with a kill off a Middletown block.

As expected, the fourth and final game was just as tight as the other three, at least until the very end.

The Islanders again were first to get ahead slightly, 14-12, but the Huskies answered with a 5-2 run to take a 17-16 lead on a Hanson ace to end spree.

Middletown, however, answered with its own burst. The Islanders tied it next then moved out in front for what proved keeps on another Mt. Hope net violation.

Later, Marshall accounted for the Huskies' last point, a block of a Middletown kill attempt, to make it 23-19. The Islanders, though, scored the next two points to end it; a kill and Mt. Hope passing error on game and match point.

"It really was a storied season. We were so resilient, so many different lineups to overcome ailments and injuries, while ripping off an 11-game winning streak to get to the semis," Lunney added. "It's not the ending I mapped out, but I’m sure we surpassed expectations of many who saw us early on. I’ll miss my seniors. They're special, talented, brilliant young ladies.  But our future looks bright."

— East Bay Media Group and eastbayri.com contributing photographer Julie Furtado shot the accompanying gallery of photos.