Tan, Heitman lead stunning turn at Acton-Boxborough
When the Acton-Boxborough volleyball players watched the ball sail down the line, it finished off a game in which they turned the improbable into the inevitable. A season-defining win, and a microcosm of the season the aptly-named Revolution are recording.
Freshman Jake Moorman’s ace topped off a five-set win at eighthranked Lexington on Monday, in a moment where seventh-ranked A-B — at 10-0, one of four undefeated teams in the state — not only took down another terrific team, but twice fought back from being down a set. The Revolution stormed back to take the fourth set, 25-16, and the fifth, 15-7.
“Everyone went crazy. It felt awesome,” said senior Nick Heitman, who recorded seven of his 19 kills in the fifth set. “Everyone was enjoying that moment. I don’t remember much, everyone was in the middle jumping around, screaming.”
Well, those hoarse A-B players who still had their voices were screaming. Heitman was one player who lost his voice during the match, as he strained to be heard above the loud din of the partisan Lexington crowd.
“It’s hard to define the emotion at that point, kind of a mix of . . . A lot of different forms of happiness,” said senior Lucas Tan (17 kills in the win). “I thought we’d lose because they’re a strong team. We just played our game.”
Tan and Heitman have risen to be team captains as seniors, after enduring a COVID-canceled season their freshman year and a 0-10 regular season to follow. Aside from a pair of postseason wins in an open playoff tournament that year, their first triumph didn’t come until April of their junior year.
“They’ve just been staying with it and loving the sport and working hard at getting better, especially at the beginning [when] there wasn’t a lot of winning involved,” said coach Darren Gwin. “They’ve embraced the sport nonetheless and have worked hard to become the best players and teammates they can be.”
Heitman took an optimistic approach to the rocky start: the only way to go was up. And up they went, going 6-12 last year, which was a significant improvement from their winless sophomore season. But to be 10-0 overall and No. 3 in the Division 1 power rankings, while dropping just four sets, is stunning.
“We like sharing the victory together,” Heitman said. “Not even just the people who play, the entire team, we share the victory together and attribute it together. It brings us together as a whole group.”
Contributing to the effort are a few players who joined with little to no experience last spring, including Parth Pawar, who took over the setter position halfway through his freshman season to great success. The sophomore dealt 49 assists, expertly spreading the offense in the victory over Lexington.
“[Playing club volleyball in the offseason] really helped me elevate my game,” Pawar said. “It helped me play with other people and get different coaching. It helped me connect with more hitters and know the type of sets other hitters want. It extended my horizons and my skillset with the different type of sets I could run.”
Pawar played volleyball for the first time in 2022 during a gym class unit, and joined the team months later with a blank slate, unaware of the 0-10 season just before.
“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, but I’m glad I did it,” he said.
When last year’s starting setter James Cui (now graduated) switched to outside hitter, Pawar took over the position and has been developing chemistry with A-B’s deep core of hitters.
“It feels honestly really, really great,” Pawar said. “I consider myself really lucky to have a team this good and a team that’s really bonded together. Everyone’s super nice. Everyone’s friends first before teammates, I think. The way we work together on the court helps us play better.”
The program now has a roster teeming with 39 players across three levels. This year’s success could lead to greater participation.
“We are a program that prepandemic, we were having a lot of success, but we got hit hard and the past two years, wins have been hard to come by,” said Gwin.
“Because of Nick and Lucas we’ve been able to right the ship, and there seems to be a lot of potential and talent for future years, too.”
Service points
■ No. 13 Cambridge (8-3) started its season 1-3 with three straight challenging losses to No. 6 Milford, No. 10 O’Bryant, and No. 12 Brookline. Since those defeats, the Falcons have taken flight, winning seven straight to quickly ascend the Dual County League ladder.
Coach Kelley Leary lauded the depth and coachability of this year’s team, led by senior outside hitter Isaac Wedaman and junior libero Tashi Mulug-Labrang.
“Honestly, they make coaching easy,” Leary said. “This group, they want to learn everything, and they ask good questions and they want to be students of the game. It’s just been so refreshing.”
Leary attributed the Falcons’ early struggles to unforced errors, but has worked to correct their mental approach
“The issue’s never been skill with them. It’s a mentality piece,” she said. “Staying focused and staying engaged, having confidence that they can do what they want.”
■ The MIAA released its first power rankings updates for spring sports last Friday and have since updated two more times. As of Friday morning, Needham (4.6904) holds a commanding lead in Division 1, followed by Natick (4.0185) and Acton-Boxborough (3.4889). Westfield (4.5121), Agawam (4.0003), and North Quincy (3.8276) are the early leaders, respectively, in Division 2.
■ The Rhody Invitational Tournament will draw several of the top-ranked teams in Massachusetts to Rhode Island College on Saturday. The field of 25 includes No. 6 Milford, No. 9 St. John’s (Shrewsbury), No. 10 O’Bryant, No. 13 Cambridge, No. 14 St. John’s Prep, No. 16 Greater New Bedford, No. 20 Haverhill, Greater Lowell, and Lincoln-Sudbury.
These games will not count toward team records or power ratings, but will be a chance for local squads to battle other top programs from Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Local college scouts are also expected to attend.