Taking advantage of a favorable matchup in the middle, junior John Carroll knocked three kills and three blocks in the final set, and it was all Natick from there.
The third-seeded Redhawks finished a 25-18, 25-21, 20-25, 25-11 victory over No. 6 Winchester, advancing to a semifinal match against Bay State Conference rival Newton North on Monday (7:15 p.m.) at Newton South.
“It was great,” said Carroll, who finished with eight kills and seven blocks. “Coming in second after my other middle [junior Simon Pedrelli, who had three kills and six blocks], and it was a close game, pushing forward, going up by a lot. It was great being in the middle of that.”
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Junior Branch Barnes joined the block party with five, adding 14 kills. Seniors Matt Salerno (10 kills), Nick Bonavire (nine kills), and Harrison Landry (45 assists, 3 kills, 2 blocks) were instrumental in the win.
“The biggest thing for us is that we are passing a lot,” Barnes said. “We have phenomenal hitters everywhere. If we can get Harrison a good pass, he’s a phenomenal setter and we have three good options. Passing is so important. Going out of our way to make sure we’re better at that helps a lot.”
The past two years, the Redhawks (18-3) believed they were the better team in tournament matches they lost. After dropping the third set to Winchester (18-5), they made sure to avoid another repeat.
“Everyone on our team was really [angry] because we know that’s now how we play Natick volleyball in the third set,” Landry said. “We just came out all gas, no brakes. Just destroyed them. That’s Natick volleyball right there, that’s what it’s all about.”
Coach Peter Suxho made sure his players had last year’s finish in mind as motivation, not wanting to see another team celebrate a semifinal berth in their gym.
“I’m happy we did it,” Suxho said. “Our goal from the beginning, from Day 1, tryouts, was to make the final four.
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“Now we’re going to look further than that.”
Baseball
Division 2 State
Westfield 7, Hopkinton 2 — The third-seeded Bombers (20-2) became the final team to reach the Division 2 semifinals, using a four-run third inning to take down the sixth-seeded Hillers (19-5). Westfield broke open a 1-1 game in the third, then added two runs in the fourth. Senior shortstop Nicolas Lenfest (2 RBIs, 2 runs, 3 walks) led the way, and senior second baseman Andre Phaneuf tallied two RBIs and scored a run. Sophom*ore Joshua Wagner tossed a four-hitter, tallying five strikeouts and ceding two unearned runs on 104 pitches. Dylan Ruff and Ryan Lang had RBI singles for Hopkinton. Westfield faces No. 2 seed Plymouth North at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at BC High’s Monan Park.
Division 5 State
Pioneer Valley Regional 8, Douglas 1 — Powered by senior Hugh Cychowski’s complete game, the fourth-seeded Panthers (19-4) rolled past the 12th-seeded Tigers (10-11) at home to secure their third consecutive semifinal appearance. Senior Heath Gomez (2 for 3, two RBIs) got the scoring started for Pioneer Valley with a two-out RBI single in the second inning before Douglas tied it in the third. The Panthers responded in the bottom of the inning when junior Alex McClelland stole home on a wild pitch, followed by junior Ethan Mauthe’s run-scoring single. In the sixth inning, McClelland put the game out of reach with an RBI single, followed by a Douglas error. Pioneer Valley, who has lost in the semifinal round each of the past two seasons, will take on top-seeded Georgetown (21-1) on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Fitton Field in Worcester.
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Girls’ tennis
Division 1 State
Newton South 3, Westford 2 — In a match decided by a nail-biting third set at second singles, the sixth-seeded Lions (12-5) squeaked past the third-seeded Ghosts (16-3) to advance to their first Divison 1 semifinal in recent program history. Newton South’s first doubles pairing of junior Julia Sayers and sophom*ore Lauren Sayers secured the team’s first point with a 6-2, 7-5 victory. Trailing, 2-1, after dropping third singles and second doubles, sophom*ore Olivia Whitaker battled back at first singles to win 1-6, 6-3, 6-4, and freshman Manel Guermazi secured the decisive third point with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 victory at second singles. “I didn’t want to put any extra pressure on [Whitaker and Guermazi], so I never mentioned we were down,” said Newton South coach Noura Guermazi. “We were really trying to just focus on ‘What are you doing well? How can you keep on playing your best right now?’ And they did it.” The Lions will face No. 2 Boston Latin (16-2) on Tuesday at Lexington High School.
Division 2 State
Notre Dame (Hingham) 3, Milton 2 — The top-seeded Cougars (18-0) secured three dominant victories to overtake the ninth-seeded Wildcats (14-4) in the Division 2 quarterfinals. Sophia Lirio notched a 6-0, 6-3 victory at second singles, Clara Healey and Skye Bunge won 6-1, 6-3, at first doubles, and Julia Walsh and Molly Dunigan rolled to a 6-0, 6-1, win at second doubles. The semifinal round will feature a crosstown battle, with NDA-Hingham facing fourth-seeded Hingham at Hanover High School on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
AJ Traub can be reached at [email protected].
