NEWTON – All historic streaks should finally finish.
That day has but to come back for a Needham boys volleyball program that hasn’t misplaced a match since 2019, however on Tuesday, Newton North got here awfully shut.
As a part of an prompt traditional that noticed the No. 3 Tigers (7-2) turn out to be the primary staff to win two units towards the Rockets in effectively over a yr, No. 1 Needham (10-0) displayed its crew of elite playmakers to gather its 56th straight win by way of a 3-2 (25-27, 25-18, 25-20, 20-25, 15-10) Bay State Conference victory.
Luke Lorence embraced its next-man-up philosophy completely with a team-high 20 kills, pairing with Raymond Weng (20 assists, 18 kills) and Devin Dellamarggio (32 assists) to steer one other well-balanced win. All three proved essential in each massive second that went Needham’s means, together with a run within the second set that stole Newton North’s momentum amid a sizzling begin.
“That was a great game,” mentioned Needham head coach Dave Powell. “Newton North is a really good team and they’re well coached. They did a good job. It was a good high school match, it was a good atmosphere. … I thought there were some lapses that I’d rather not happen, but when it starts to click, it’s good.”
The Tigers tipped the dimensions in a means no different staff has been capable of towards the Rockets in a very long time, however the two-time defending Div. 1 state champions confirmed why they’re nonetheless the state’s main staff to beat.
After Adam Christianson (16 kills) and Simon Vardeh (14 kills) performed massive components in Newton North squeaking out a 27-25 first set and a lopsided 13-8 lead within the second, the Rockets lastly clicked into their dominant gear. Lorence had his quantity known as usually with 5 kills over a 13-1 run, pushing Needham to a 21-14 lead it wouldn’t give up on the way in which to a 25-18 set victory. Weng might have been much more instrumental, viciously serving 10 straight instances as a part of a 10-0 run that put the Tigers on their heels.
Throw in an Alex Gundaker kill and one among his 5 blocks, and Needham began rolling from there.
“That’s hard to do, jump-serving (10) points in a row on an empty court is tough, and then you put a really good team on there,” Powell mentioned. “It gave us a little bit of momentum back. … (Weng and Lorence) are good players, they’re hungry. When you have good guys who are hungry and compete, that’s really good.”
All of the Rockets’ weapons impacted a 25-20 third set for a 2-1 lead, as Ethan McCarron and Henry Dirks every touched down kills, and Owen Ching was energetic on nearly each level. Much of that win was attributed to a 13-5 open to the body, too.
But identical to Needham did, Newton North strung collectively a bevy of runs to construct again up its momentum and take the subsequent set. Tyler Randall (45 assists), Paul Nelson, Christianson, Vardeh and Sam Huang led a 25-20 fourth set, forcing a fifth inside an electrical ambiance.
The Rockets had been greater than ready, turning to Gundaker for a pair of kills and Brian Cloonan for the match level. Lorence made his case for MVP with 4 kills in that ultimate set.
“We practice those fifth sets,” he mentioned. “We know we’re tough and we work really hard. We know that all these other teams are really good, and we’re expecting rock fights like this. When we get them, Powell really helps us stay composed through all these tough moments. … It feels great (to be a big part of the win), simple as that.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com