DANVERS — Lowell head coach Paul McCarthy scouted out ice cream spots for the journey again dwelling earlier than going through third-seeded St. John’s Prep in a Div. 1 state quarterfinal Wednesday afternoon, simply in case the No. 6 Raiders completed on the improper finish of it.
Behind its common dose of highly effective depth, plus-defense and robust serving, although, his workforce had totally different plans.
Setter Alex Chau (36 assists) arrange three totally different hitters to achieve double-digit kills, pacing a two-set lead large enough to assist safe this system’s first state semifinal berth with a 3-1 (25-23, 25-12, 15-25, 27-25) win. The Eagles (20-2) fought valiantly as Dan Schorr (31 assists, three kills, two blocks) fed his personal workforce’s balanced assault to just about rally all the way in which again, however Mustafa Salih tallied 4 of his 9 blocks within the fourth set to steer a charged defensive restoration and edge out a marathon of a closing body.
Lowell awaits the winner of No. 2 Westford Academy versus No. 7 Natick. The ice cream must wait.
“We’re not done yet, we’ve got to keep going,” Chau mentioned. “In the third set (SJP) wanted it more, but I think we just wanted it way more than they did. Our enthusiasm was through the roof. … I just love the connection that we have, the trust that we have. That’s all I ask for in sports.”
Seniors exploded early on for Lowell, with Izaviah Hong (14 kills) and Tevin Lout (10 kills) discovering a groove within the first set. SJP junior Callum Brown countered with three of his 14 kills down the stretch, however the Salih sealed the body 25-23 with a block. Sophomore Cody Fitzpatrick stepped into the fold properly in lieu of lacking starter Kythan Ses, utilizing 5 of his 13 kills within the second body to blow the doorways vast open for a 25-12 win and a 2-0 benefit.
St. John’s Prep stormed proper again within the third set, as Matt Ciampa, Colby LaGrassa and Dimitrios Vamvouklis got here to life round Schorr to assist the Eagles by no means path in a dominant 25-15 body. The dwelling crowd buzzed, and that new life helped SJP string collectively a 7-0 run late within the fourth set to show a 21-14 deficit right into a tie.
Brown ripped off 4 kills in that streak, placing the Eagles in place to doubtlessly drive a fifth set.
The groups traded blows with a sequence of lengthy volleys that had everybody within the constructing on the sting of their seat the remainder of the way in which. But after the Eagles constructed a 25-24 lead on a Ciampa block and a Raiders error, Lowell secured the subsequent three factors with kills from Hong, Fitzpatrick and Salih’s match-clincher.
“I thought we got a little scared there … but we settled down and finished the job,” McCarthy mentioned. “We modify, we don’t have only one game-plan, now we have many points. … I believe it’s implausible for (the seniors).
“I’m numb right now. … We just have a lot of fun.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com