The boys varsity volleyball team came out victorious in the semi-finals in the MIAA Division I State Tournament against the Newton North Tigers. Taking place at Concord-Carlisle High School on Tuesday, June 10, the Warriors won four sets, while their rivals, the Tigers, only came away with one. This win was essential to the team’s ultimate goal: a spot in the MIAA Division I State Tournament Championship game (taking place on Friday, June 13 at Xaverian High School).
Despite impressive kills by captain and junior Amir Tomer and captain and senior Kristaps Vaivars, the Tigers started the first set off strong, and their lead climbed to 14-8. The Warriors regained their energy with a dump kill by junior and captain Alec Smagula and a block by sophomore Luka Galluchi and Smagula, making the score 16-19, Tigers.
The Warriors kept fighting. In the end, however, the Tigers won the first set 26-24. Head coach Lexi De la Cruz said the team needed to get their nerves out of the way at the beginning of the first set
“I feel like they got [their nerves] out of the way mid-set. But the other team already had a big league,” De la Cruz said. “I can tell by the way we dominated the second and third set that it was the nerves. Once we got out of that hole, we were a completely different team.”
The Tigers had strong players, but Tomer said he had to go in believing he was even better..
“I had to think that I was the best player. That’s the mentality that every winner needs to go into it with. When I had that mentality, I felt like I could ball out,” Tomer said. “I felt like I could be with the best players in the world.”
The Warriors dominated the court for the second and third sets, with scores of 25-14 and 25-10, respectively. Vaivars (known by the fans as the “Latvian Lazer”) had two major serving runs that ended the second set and started off the third one strong. De la Cruz said Vaivars plays a major role on the team.
“Kris is a machine. He doesn’t get tired,” De la Cruz said. “He wants the ball every time. It’s a privilege to coach a player like him. At the beginning of the last set, I went straight to him, and I told him, ‘Finish the game. Ask for every ball. Take control of this.’”
The fourth set was a true battle, with kills by junior Liam Raybould, Tomer, and Vaivars. The score was 24-23 with the Tigers in the lead when Vaivars had an epic kill to tie it up. A block by Galluchi ended the tense game with a final score of 27-25 Warriors.
Raybould said his kills were able to be so impactful because of the successful practices he has had this week, where he worked on his connection with setter Smagula.
“I think after [the Acton-Boxborough game], where we didn’t have the best connection, we really locked in on practice on Monday and came back strong,” Raybould said.
Tomer said he could not be more excited about going to the State Championships with his team.
“We have such an amazing team, and we want to play more volleyball,” Tomer said. “The best reward of this is not to get to play in the State Championships but to play another day with this team.”
