The mentality is as cliché because it will get, however no much less necessary towards what any championship-caliber crew aspires for. “No days off,” rings loud and clear from the Lowell boys volleyball program.
It echoes inside a one hundred pc effort every sport. It echoes throughout the bevy of practices that pack a six-day schedule, as head coach Paul McCarthy solely provides Sundays for relaxation.
Even then, it nonetheless echoes.
“One of my bench players (Kaeon Phon) sent me a picture of him at the laundromat and he said, ‘No days off, coach,’ ” McCarthy stated. “It was very humorous. It was very light. … Everyone, we keep it light, and we just do what we do. That’s our motto this year, we just do what we do.”
Part of the Red Raiders’ all-gas, no brakes mentality is available in hopes of succeeding much more than they did final 12 months – making their first Div. 1 state semifinal look earlier than falling to Westford Academy. So far, it’s labored wonders, orchestrating a 17-1 report with a loaded junior class that helps Lowell stand tall as a real candidate to safe the state title.
Another half, although, is available in understanding what their brutal convention had ready for them at each flip this common season.
As of the most recent MIAA energy rankings launch, six groups are at present slated to host within the first spherical of the Div. 1 state event. MVC champion Lowell leads the pack with the No. 2 spot, whereas North Andover (No. 10), Haverhill (No. 11), Methuen (No. 12), Andover (No. 13) and Chelmsford (No. 16) all garner respect. Billerica and Lawrence are each set to make the event as two of the underside groups within the convention, and all of them assist give Central Catholic the eighth-strongest power of schedule score within the state regardless of simply two nonleague video games.
Seemingly immeasurable depth round star setter Tyrell Lout, although harm proper now, provides him loads of firepower for Lowell on this dominant marketing campaign. Ceasar Joseph and Eddie Djatcha overpower the online, whereas Cody Fitzpatrick, Walter Palacio and Ayden Ruom have all erupted in items offensively. Eric Nguyen is nearly as good as they arrive defensively, and the Red Raiders have surged.
But under no circumstances has it come straightforward.
“Every day we’re going into what I like to say – a rock fight,” McCarthy stated. “You just keep hitting until it’s over. … Someone can come in these gyms, and if they’re ready to go, anybody can beat anybody. That’s the beauty of the MVC is that you’ve got to fight. There’s not a lot of cupcakes on that schedule, so you stay prepared. That’s it.”
While Lowell has gotten by means of the convention unscathed exterior of a 3-2 loss to Haverhill, parity has flooded the season for the remainder of the groups. So a lot that it makes it troublesome to gauge which groups are stronger than the others.
Haverhill (12-4) could be the lone crew to separate the season collection with Lowell, however it’s fallen to Methuen (11-8), Andover (11-7) and Chelmsford (10-6) as effectively. North Andover (14-4) is the next-highest MVC crew within the rankings and beat these three that topped Haverhill, however has misplaced to the Hillies twice. Billerica (6-13) even break up with Chelmsford, and most units between the highest seven MVC groups are shut battles.
“The conference has always had a lot of parity,” stated Chelmsford head coach Edgar Valdez. “Even if teams aren’t always beating each other, the matches have always been close and they almost never ended up in 3-0 sweeps. They go to four and five sets.”
“It’s very competitive, very back-and-forth,” stated North Andover head coach Mike Scammon. “It’s really tough to get a beat on. When you look at teams one through six in the conference, obviously Lowell is very talented. But all the other teams for the most part, there’s a very, very fine line between those teams.”
Since every crew can solely schedule as much as two nonleague video games, the power of every program comes as a little bit of a thriller to the remainder of the state. Up till topping St. John’s Prep within the Div. 1 state quarterfinal final season, Lowell was typically referred as a little bit of a wild card.
But even within the restricted time exterior of the convention, the highest groups within the MVC have fared extraordinarily effectively in nonleague play. Lowell, North Andover and Methuen are a mixed 5-0 with wins over Cambridge, Greater Lowell, St. John’s Prep and Westford Academy (twice). Andover led Div. 2 title risk O’Bryant 2-0 earlier than the Tigers rallied.
Much of the final two years has seen each crew throughout each sport with a rankings-based event change the best way they schedule opponents with a purpose to load up on opponent score. The incontrovertible fact that the MVC is ready to nonetheless rank effectively regardless of restricted nonleague play speaks volumes.
“I think it speaks to what I always say … the MVC is a very powerful conference,” Scammon stated. “It’s not an easy league to play in whatsoever.”
“It’s been a grind,” added Methuen head coach Matt Twomey.
As a outcome, coaches rave over how effectively the MVC prepares groups for the event. That’s evident in numerous deep runs all through the years, and packages in breakout years like Methuen are particularly match to profit.
We’ll learn how that figures into this 12 months’s playoffs in only a couple weeks.
Winchester enjoying for a trigger
Ever since one in every of his gamers’ fathers was recognized with the debilitating illness in 2017, and his personal father handed from the identical situation, Winchester head coach John Fleming has partnered with ALS One to host a Spike Out ALS fundraiser matchup. Monday marks this 12 months’s version in opposition to Cambridge, hoping to lift as a lot cash as doable whereas placing forth a high quality sport for aspiring volleyball gamers to return watch.
Last 12 months, that noticed practically $2,000 raised.
“Our hope is to continue to raise funds and awareness about ALS, which is a cause that is very close to our program,” Fleming stated. “We know that whatever we raise will be put to great use.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com