NEEDHAM – In the previous two seasons, the Needham High boys volleyball group has confronted its share of challenges and each time, the Rockets discovered a strategy to win.
The defending MIAA Div. 1 state champions trailed for a lot of the second set of their match towards Wayland on Sunday, however they got here again to win the set and sweep Wayland, 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-18).
Needham improved to 17-0 and prolonged its successful streak to 39 straight matches.
“Every year, we have the Wayland match circled on the calendar,” stated Needham senior Ben Putman, who made 24 kills for the Rockets on Sunday. “It’s one of our more challenging matches. I like the competition and the second and third sets were very competitive.”
Wayland (10-7) took the lead for the primary time within the match when it pressured a side-out on the primary level of the second set. The Warriors held the lead till late within the set, when Needham’s Derek Yang served for 5 straight factors to offer the Rockets a 22-18 lead.
Needham held on to the lead for the remainder of the set, however Wayland’s Joe Barenboym made back-to-back kills to carry off set level and reduce Needham’s result in 24-23.
The Rockets clinched the set on the following level, nevertheless, when the Ohio State-bound Putnam made the kill.
“Our seniors played pretty well,” stated Needham coach David Powell. “Our offense was doing well. We stayed the course and our defense got better.”
Said Wayland coach Philip George, “When we came in, we thought we could make like difficult for them. We couldn’t get into thinking about taking a game off them. We just needed to focus on each point.”
Needham led for a lot of the third set, although Wayland’s David Arenas served for the primary level. After Wayland’s Jameson Lehr served in ace to tie the rating at 4-all, the Rockets regained the lead on a kill from Kevin Coppinger for a side-out. Needham held on to the lead for the remainder of the match. Wayland pulled inside two factors after Lehr served for 3 factors with two aces to chop the rating to 15-13, however that was as shut because the Warriors acquired to catching Needham,
On match level, Needham’s Nolan Leary made the kill to safe the win.
“It wasn’t our best day,” Powell stated. “We try to be reflective in victory and keep finding ways to improve and learn.”
Needham setter Raymond Weng made 35 assists.
“Raymond Weng is the best setter in the state and Ben Putman is the best player in the state,” George stated. “They have those two. With most teams, there’s a drop after that, but every player Needham has plays year-round and they play at a high level.”
The Rockets wrap up the common season with matches towards Framingham and Newton North earlier than starting play within the MIAA state event,
Wayland closes out the common season with matches towards Newton South and Cambridge Rindge & Latin.
Source: www.bostonherald.com