November 5, 2025 – Story and photos by William Wassersug
For the Hingham volleyball team, this has been something of a special season.
After a 1-6 start and a coaching change, Hingham went 12-3 the rest of the regular season to finish with a 12-9 record that was good enough for a No. 16 seed in the MIAA Division 2 Tournament.
The Harborwomen followed that with a 3-1 victory at home over No. 17 Melrose to set up a road game at No. 1 Oliver Ames Tuesday night in the Round of 16.
Oliver Ames was 21-0 through the first round of the tournament, leaving the Harborwomen with a daunting task if they were going to move on.
Unfortunately, the numbers were accurate in this instance and OA went home with a 25-11, 25-11, 25-13 win and a trip to the Round of 8.
Regardless, Hingham coach Natalia Maccarrone, who has been a part of the program for several years before taking the lead, said this was an excellent season.
“Our chemistry really started to pick up mid-season,” Maccarrone said after the OA match. “They started to gain a lot of confidence. Tonight, they’re the No. 1 seed. They have some really great players on the other team. Not many balls hit the floor. They got everything up. They’re solid and we’re really young. We had a lot of sophomores on the court ay times, so I have no doubt that we’ll be able to get up to that potential where Oliver Ames was.”
In the first set, it was close early with OA leading 9-7 before going on a 11-1 run for a 21-8 lead on the way to the 25-11 victory.
The second set was a bit different with OA running out to an 11-1 lead and the 25-11 finish.
Hingham stayed scrappy however and did everything it could to extend the match, but with the set tied 9-9, OA went on a 12-1 run.
Near the end, senior captain and middle hitter Meghan Koenen came up with a big block, and then, trailing 24-12, senior captain Olivia Carleton had a kill.
“I think we finished stronger than we started in this game,” Maccarrone said. That’s all I can ask for.”
The coach was also glad to have been able to host and win the match with Melrose in the Round of 32.
“I’m glad they had that experience,” Maccarrone said. “Getting to the Sweet 16 is a huge accomplishment. I’m really proud of them.”
As for the season, Maccarrone was pleased.
“Our three captains, Meghan Koenen, Zoe Schulze and Olivia Carleton have been awesome for us. Honestly, I’m proud of everyone. We have a lot of young girls. Our Libero Hadle Veysey is a sophomore. Our setter Ava Boschetto is a sophomore.”
Maccarrone said keeping her team engaged was a challenge that they stood up to.
“It’s tough,” she said about getting down on the scoreboard. “I said to them in a timeout that I’ve been in their shoes. I understand it is taking every morsel of you to not look at the score and get down, but you have to just keep playing every point and keep working as hard as you physically can. It’s hard to fake it when you’re down by a lot, but our girls were doing it. They were giving maximum effort, trying their best and they can walk out of here with their heart full and heads high.”