NEWTON – For the fourth consecutive season, Newton North is headed to the state championship in Division 1 ladies volleyball.
The Tigers rode a balanced offensive assault to safe a 3-0 state semifinal victory over Needham and e-book a date with Brookline within the state championship.
“That is what we work laborious for the entire season,” Newton North head coach Nile Fox stated. “We maintain getting higher and higher and we do it for these moments. We need to be enjoying within the ultimate recreation of the season, that’s at all times our aim.”
The Tigers fell within the 2021 state championship however have been capable of declare the final two. This yr’s squad is a bit youthful, with solely 4 seniors, however Fox stated the youthful gamers have actually stepped as much as lead the group.
“Now we have numerous younger children stepping up,” Fox stated. “It may be tough generally, however as you may see they actually made an influence on the sport. Now we have a very shiny future.”
The Rockets began sizzling within the first set and grabbed a 4-0 lead and ultimately an 8-4 lead. Nonetheless, the Tigers stormed again, ultimately snagging a 21-18 lead and cruising to a 25-19 first set victory.
The second set featured extra of the identical, though Newton North led all through the play. A key contributor to this was the dominant internet play of seniors Devon Burke and Brianna Miliken on the internet.
“Brianna and I’ve been engaged on that,” Burke stated. “We watch the hitters, we’ve been doing it at observe so much. We go up collectively, we’re in sync.”
The third set noticed Needham construct some leads as soon as once more, however Newton North continued to battle again. A key contributor to this was sophomore Sasha Selivan, who impacted the sport with sturdy passes and several other fake-out hits.
“She’s at all times like that, she’s at all times on fireplace,” Burke stated of Selivan. “She’s a wonderful participant, as everybody who watches us is aware of.”
This could assist Newton North cruise to the eventual 25-18 victory and set the date with Brookline. The Warriors had been the one group to defeat the Tigers this season, however Burke stated the group’s expertise is having it enter with a transparent mindset.
“We aren’t going to stroll in there and suppose ‘oh, Brookline beat us, we have to get redemption,’ ” Burke stated. “It’s the largest recreation of our season, we’re simply tremendous excited.”
