Boston Latin spikes defending champs Newton North

NEWTON — After failing to put away two-time defending state champion Newton North in the fourth set, the challenge got even tougher for Boston Latin.

The No. 4 Wolfpack fell behind early in in the decisive fifth set, but remained unfazed, mounting a rally behind the play of Breann Cleary to take down the top-seeded Tigers, 3-2 (21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 18-25, 15-11), in a Division 1 Central/East semifinal Wednesday night at Reggie Gymnasium.

Boston Latin (14-6), which prevented Newton North (13-2) from making a ninth straight sectional final appearance, advances to Saturday’s sectional title bout against King Philip.

“When you drop the first four points in a 15-point game right off the bat, it’s not easy,” said Latin coach Kai Yuen. “They really toughed it out and they hung in there.”

After Liisa Halloran and Makayla Marucci led the Tigers to an all-important win in the fourth set, the momentum carried over into a 4-0 lead for Newton North in the final game.

But the Wolfpack never panicked and Cleary, who notched six of her team-high 24 kills in the final set, engineered an 11-2 run to put Latin in control.

On the verge of defeat, Newton North stayed alive with three consecutive points, but then a blast from Ashley Rooney (14 kills) sealed the win for the Wolfpack.

Boston Latin also showed its composure early on after Newton North took the first set.

With Rooney and Jordan Harris chipping in with timely plays along with a stellar performance from Cleary, Latin fought back to win the next two sets and weren’t going to be denied.

“We just played really well and came together as a team,” Cleary said. “We just really wanted to win.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2PUnQ1V