Haverhill wins semi-final against Newton North by 3-2: Volleyball
Haverhill boys volleyball team defeated Newton North on Thursday in a match that went on to five long and grueling sets in the State semi-final that was being played at Al Coccoluto Gymnasium at Cambridge Rindge & Latin High. This will be the first time
in the history of the school that the Hillies have been able to move on to the State finals.
However, the Hillies were almost about to miss out on the chance. After bagging the first two sets of the game, they let Newton North take the next two sets, bringing the semi-final to a thrilling fifth set. However, by the time that the decisive fifth set
was over, the Hillies were able to emerge as victors by winning the match at the following final scores: 27-25, 25-20, 12-25, 21-25 and 15-11.
The overall season record of the Hillies show a total of 21 win with only one loss. Despite the fact that the Hillies have an impressive performance record, they need to show consistency of performance if they want to have a winning chance at the final.
The coach of the Hillies, William Kaste, spoke about his boys and their performance in the semi-final after the game had ended. He commented, “I kept telling them that we haven’t played as well as we need to and as well as they can. They needed to stop fighting
themselves and just relax and go out and play volleyball.”
The player that was able to make the highest number of kills for the Hillies was Brett Pettis who posted 18 kills throughout the match. Pettis was also active on the defencive side and contributed by making 21 digs. Tom Oliveria also kept the score board
ticking by making 11 kills whereas Zach Sindoni made his presence felt by creating 37 assists.
The first two sets of the game saw both Haverhill, as well as Newton North, stay almost neck to neck with each other. However, the Hillies were able to win the opening set by aqueaking past at 27-25. In the second set of the game, the Hillies found it much
easier to secure a win at 25-20.
Losing the first two sets motivated Newton North to bring their A game. They responded by smothering the Hillies in the third set. By the time they were done, the third set was won by Newton North at 25-12.
The Hillies were able to fight back in the fourth set but that too was taken by Newton North at 25-21. This did not keep the Hillies down and they were finally successful in winning the fifth set at 15-11.
Next in line for the Hillies is Lincoln-Sudbury whom they will be taking on in the final which is scheduled to be played on Monday at Hudson High.
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