Preaching his well-known “corner our performance” response all through, what’s proved nearly as uncommon as Needham’s 73-game win streak is head coach Dave Powell acknowledging it – not to mention opening up about it to reporters.
Yet, within the moments after the Rockets realized a 3rd straight excellent season by beating Newton North within the Div. 1 state last at Worcester State, changing into simply the third MIAA boys volleyball program to three-peat, he had rather more to say in reflection of a difficult 12 months.
The image that opposing coaches painted within the preseason instructed that this season – of all three because the pandemic – offered the perfect probability for a distinct crew to boost the championship trophy. They stated the Div. 1 state match was broad open for the primary time since 2019, they usually weren’t improper.
In flip, the goal on Needham’s again was bigger than ever. Constant updates of the rising historic mark served as a each day reminder of precisely what the Rockets tried to not give attention to. Every set opposing groups gained was met with a roar as if they’d simply gained the state title – an vitality Needham was tasked to match usually.
Needham undoubtedly wasn’t unbeatable. But the truth that no one might, en path to a program-record 27 wins this 12 months, makes this Rockets undefeated season arguably their most particular accomplishment but.
Powell, who surpassed 300 profession wins this 12 months, felt each little bit of it.
“There were various waves during the season, but toward the end, it just felt like a mission,” he stated. “It did cross my mind that this could be the state title match that potentially ends the streak. … I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t taxing. These kids showed up and they didn’t really make it feel like work. We didn’t have to stay on our seniors, they were locked in. We were just in it.”
The extension of the win streak was simply the headliner of an especially entertaining 12 months that when once more proved the worth of the newer statewide match format.
In the previous format, the 2 finest groups in Div. 2 would have met within the Div. 1 West sectional last – which is the equal to the fashionable state quarterfinal. Instead, Agawam exorcised its postseason demons in opposition to Westfield within the sport’s first all-West state last – taking down the defending champs for the Brownies’ first state title since 2013.
The similar goes for Div. 1, with three members of the Bay State State Conference reaching the Final Four after years of battling to get out of the Div. 1 South.
That included heated rivals Brookline and Newton North assembly for a five-set thriller within the semifinals. For the Tigers, a lot of that run was a crew lastly fulfilling its potential regardless of a string of debilitating accidents. The Warriors’ journey was rather more stunning with three underclassmen starters, however was a powerful reminder of that precise parity coaches preached within the preseason because the No. 11 seed.
Their path included taking down a Natick group that was anticipated to make a run on the state title earlier than its early exit, and defeating feel-good story Acton-Boxboro in a powerful season that suffered simply two losses.
Much of the remainder of the state confirmed loads of that parity as properly. Junior-laden Milford put forth one other memorable journey to the Div. 2 state semifinals, and was the closest crew to defeating Needham all 12 months with a 13-11 lead within the fifth set. That nonetheless didn’t decelerate Agawam in its quest for the decade-long wrestle for an additional championship.
Lexington had considered one of its most harmful rosters but in Div. 1, even beating Winchester for the primary sole rights to the newer Middlesex League. It couldn’t overcome Cambridge within the Falcons’ strongest season since final successful the state title in 2012.
North Quincy returned a lot of the forged that propelled it to final 12 months’s Div. 2 state last and was a favourite to return again to the stage. O’Bryant beat it for the Tigers’ first journey to the state semifinals, in illustration of a doubtlessly sturdy Boston City League future.
St. John’s of Shrewsbury was the opposite crew to succeed in its first state semifinal, topping Catholic Conference rival St. John’s Prep to get there in Div. 1. A breakout 12 months for BC High added one other thrill issue out of the convention.
Lowell shined brightest out of a mega-competitive Merrimack Valley Conference earlier than operating into Newton North within the match, whereas Methuen loved its finest season in over a decade. The junior-heavy convention must be much more thrilling subsequent 12 months.
The sport continues to not simply develop in high quality, however amount as properly. Revere gained the Greater Boston League in this system’s mere third 12 months, which now has all eight faculties rostering varsity groups. The Middlesex League expanded from 4 groups to 6, and different new groups have constantly popped up each season.
Source: www.bostonherald.com