Boston Latin ousts King Philip in Div. 1 volleyball

If there’s one thing we learned from this year’s Division 1 Central/East sectional tournament, it’s that Boston Latin knows how to win a fifth set.

After upending top-seed Newton North in five sets in the semifinals, the No. 4 Wolfpack (15-6) outlasted No. 3 King Philip (18-5), 3-2, Saturday to win the Div. 1 Central East sectional final, 25-22, 20-25, 22-25, 25-15, 15-8. The win was their first title in 11 years.

The Wolfpack were led by seniors Breann Cleary (19 kills, 11 digs, 8 aces) and Ashley Rooney (17 kills, 4 aces, 4 digs).

“The way our captains really stepped up, Breann, Jordan [Harris], Ashley and Hanyi [Wang], they were awesome,” said Latin coach Kai Yuen, “We were obviously down early but they held on.”

After winning a tight opening set, Latin surrendered the following two sets to fall to a 2-1 deficit. King Philip’s size at the front of the net in Nicole Coughlan and Catherine Waldeck proved to be a challenge for the Wolfpack hitters. Fortunately, Rooney and Latin’s other leaders were able to make adjustments. Said Rooney, “Since they had tall middles, I tried to tool their block because I felt that’d be more effective than trying to hit into it or trying to hit around it.”

The pivotal set in the match proved to be the fourth for the Wolfpack. Despite the 2-1 hole, Latin rallied back to take a runaway 25-15 victory, pushing King Philip to a final set.

“I would love to say it’s a coaching adjustment but it’s really them believing in themselves,” said Yuen on his squad’s fourth set performance. Cleary led the Latin comeback in the fourth rattling off five aces in the middle of the set, giving Latin a 12-5 advantage. “The fourth set it was about getting our energy up and coming back so much stronger. The team energy is why we won that game,” said Cleary.

Riding off their fourth set momentum, Latin rolled to a 5-1 and later 10-5 lead in the final set. Latin’s energy and experience proved to be too much for King Philip to handle, as Latin took the set and the title 15-8.  “When we got to a fifth set, it was ‘remember Newton North’,” said Yuen, “no matter what it looks like at the moment, just play and we’ll take whatever result we get.”

Boston Latin celebrates its first sectional title in 11 years. Photo by Marcello Rossetti.

 

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2pWHEqJ