NEEDHAM – The title-hopeful Newton North boys volleyball staff can normally shake off a sluggish begin to make a robust bid for a win, on the street, towards most applications.
Two-time defending Div. 1 state champion Needham isn’t most applications.
Using a mixture of high-level serving and blocking, in addition to one other standout efficiency from Ethan McCarron, the unbeaten Rockets (19-0) took full benefit of an atypical begin from the Tigers to finish their Bay State Conference schedule with a 3-0 (25-15, 25-16, 25-23) sweep Wednesday night time.
Newton North finally climbed out of the opening it dug by the third set, however Needham is as onerous to rally towards as they arrive. McCarron completed with 14 kills, Luke Lorence added 9 kills, and the Rockets secured their 68th straight win.
“We’ve been working on (maintaining early leads),” mentioned Needham head coach Dave Powell. “I was glad with the way we came out. We were on the attack, serving tough and blocking well. … Ethan was (also) really effective today.”
Newton North got here the closest anybody has to beating Needham during the last two years by taking it to 5 units earlier this season. But whilst Tyler Randall returned from harm to virtually give the Tigers full well being, a bevy of errors plagued them via the primary two units to fall means behind this time round.
Part of it got here from their very own execution, however the Rockets introduced an array of issues Newton North didn’t face as a lot within the final assembly. Alex Gundaker (two blocks), Will McDonald and Henry Dirks performed exceptionally on the web of their blocking, serving to McCarron, Lorence and Raymond Weng (18 assists, two aces) hone in on the Tigers’ main hitters over lengthy stretches to neutralize them.
McCarron stepped up on the assault within the meantime after Lorence carried the most important load within the first matchup with Newton North, and Needham’s serving constantly gave the Tigers hassle. Owen Ching, Devin Dellamarggio and Weng every had two aces because the staff collected 9 general.
All of it collectively led to a 17-9 begin within the first set, and a 17-7 near the second set after Newton North grabbed a 9-8 lead.
“Definitely was happy with the way we served and blocked,” Powell mentioned. “I was glad we were able to establish our presence at the net. They have some super powerful hitters, so it’s good to try to get hands on those attacks.”
Adam Christianson (eight kills, ace) and Sam Huang (seven kills) step by step heated as much as finally set the stage for extra attribute play within the third set. Randall (22 assists, two aces) discovered each and Simon Vardeh (5 kills, two aces, block) successfully all through, powering a back-and-forth with Needham that noticed the rating knotted 22-22 at one level.
But it was only a tad too little, and much too late towards the Rockets. Weng linked with McCarron twice to shut out the set, sealing one other good file within the convention.
Source: www.bostonherald.com