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BRIDGEWATER — Brushing away a few tears, Andover’s Moira Cronin allowed a brief smile to show through her sadness.

“This is a tough way for it to end,” she said. “But it has been one unbelievable season. On the bus ride home, we’re not going to sit in silence. Even though we lost, even though we’re sad, we’re still going to sing and be our same goofy selves. That’s the kind of team we are.”

BRIDGEWATER — Andover coach George Sullivan’s worst fears were realized last night against South power Barnstable  in the Division 1 state volleyball semifinals at Bridgewater-Raynham.

LAWRENCE — Andover junior captain Ava Bakhtyari knew she and her teammates needed to step it up when trailing by four points to Reading early in the second game of the Division 1 North final match yesterday at Central Catholic High School.

ANDOVER — Sarah Arvidson and the Andover volleyball team were, pure and simple, relentless last night in the Division 1 North semifinals.

Which was exactly what they were planning and, given their opponent, felt was a necessity.

ANDOVER — She was a force at the net all night, but Moira Cronin drew her biggest cheer after the game, when she spontaneously broke into a dance.

“When I get a kill I do a little dance,” she said, failing her arms and shimming. “I go a little crazy. I’m a little bit of a goofball.”

ANDOVER — As if Andover needed anymore confidence following its perfect regular season and easy tourney opener, the Golden Warriors seem to have found a little extra last night.

“It’s all about that confidence,” said Andover coach George Sullivan. “If you’re up, you’re up, and if you’re down you are really down. We got off to a little bit of a slow start, but we regrouped and are very pleased moving on.”

The No. 1 Andover girls volleyball team won a lopsided 25, 25-5, 25-8 Division 1 North opener against Everett. The Warriors had at least 16 players involved in each game and had a whopping 25 service aces as Annie Ye, Ava Bakhtyari and Lauren Gibson all had seven. The Warriors host Tewksbury at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the quarterfinals.

In a back-and-forth thriller before a packed Dunn Gymnasium, Andover won a 26-24, 25-22, 25-11, 25-19 thriller. It was the Raiders' first league loss since at least 2007. "We were the comeback kids!" said Andover coach George Sullivan, whose unbeaten team set the tone with a 26-24 win in Game 1. Annie Ye took the control in that one. Marcela Familiar was immense defensively and Sarah Arvidson was "deadly all night."

Andover shut out a strong Lexington team, 25-17, 25-18, 25-10 to remain unbeaten and set up a likely showdown Friday against undefeated Central Catholic. Sarah Arvidson had six kills, seven service points and eight digs for the Warriors (9-0).

Andover remained perfect with a 25-15, 25-21, 25-18 win over Methuen. Elise Brogan and Moira Cronin starred at the net vs. Methuen's towering front line. The Golden Warriors have a big game today vs. non-league rival North Andover at 6:30  p.m. in Andover and on Monday they host the "Volley for Molly" fundraiser vs. Lexington at 6:30 p.m.