Lowell soars above talented MVC
Hard-working Red Raiders off to 17-1 start
The mentality is as cliché as it gets, but no less important toward what any championship-caliber team aspires for. “No days off,” rings loud and clear from the Lowell boys volleyball program.
It echoes within a 100 percent effort each game. It echoes within the bevy of practices that pack a six-day schedule, as head coach Paul McCarthy only gives Sundays for rest.
Even then, it still echoes.
“One of my bench players (Kaeon Phon) sent me a picture of him at the laundromat and he said, ‘No days off, coach,’ ” McCarthy said. “It was very humorous. It was very light. … Everyone, we keep it light, and we just do what we do. That’s our motto this year, we just do what we do.”
Part of the Red Raiders’ all-gas, no brakes mentality comes in hopes of succeeding even more than they did last year — making their first Div. 1 state semifinal appearance before falling to Westford Academy. So far, it’s worked wonders, orchestrating a 17-1 record with a loaded junior class that helps Lowell stand tall as a true candidate to secure the state title.
Another part, though, comes in knowing what their brutal conference had waiting for them at every turn this regular season.
As of the latest MIAA power rankings release, six teams are currently slated to host in the first round of the Div. 1 state tournament. MVC champion Lowell leads the pack with the No. 2 spot, while North Andover (No. 10), Haverhill (No. 11), Methuen (No. 12), Andover (No. 13) and Chelmsford (No. 16) all garner respect. Billerica and Lawrence are both set to make the tournament as two of the bottom teams in the conference, and all of them help give Central Catholic the eighth-strongest strength of schedule rating in the state despite just two nonleague games.
Seemingly immeasurable depth around star setter Tyrell Lout, though hurt right now, gives him plenty of firepower for Lowell in this dominant campaign. Ceasar Joseph and Eddie Djatcha overpower the net, while Cody Fitzpatrick, Walter Palacio and Ayden Ruom have all erupted in pieces offensively. Eric Nguyen is as good as they come defensively, and the Red Raiders have surged.
But by no means has it come easy.
“Every day we’re going into what I like to say — a rock fight,” McCarthy said. “You just keep hitting until it’s over. … Someone can come in these gyms, and if they’re ready to go, anybody can beat anybody. That’s the beauty of the MVC is that you’ve got to fight. There’s not a lot of cupcakes on that schedule, so you stay prepared. That’s it.”
While Lowell has gotten through the conference unscathed outside of a 3-2 loss to Haverhill, parity has flooded the season for the rest of the teams. So much that it makes it difficult to gauge which teams are stronger than the others.
Haverhill (12-4) may be the lone team to split the season series with Lowell, but it’s fallen to Methuen (11-8), Andover (11-7) and Chelmsford (10-6) as well. North Andover (14-4) is the next-highest MVC team in the rankings and beat those three that topped Haverhill, but has lost to the Hillies twice. Billerica (6-13) even split with Chelmsford, and most sets between the top seven MVC teams are close battles.
“The conference has always had a lot of parity,” said Chelmsford head coach Edgar Valdez. “Even if teams aren’t always beating each other, the matches have always been close and they almost never ended up in 3-0 sweeps. They go to four and five sets.”
“It’s very competitive, very back-and-forth,” said North Andover head coach Mike Scammon. “It’s really tough to get a beat on. When you look at teams one through six in the conference, obviously Lowell is very talented. But all the other teams for the most part, there’s a very, very fine line between those teams.”
Since each team can only schedule up to two nonleague games, the strength of each program comes as a bit of a mystery to the rest of the state. Up until topping St. John’s Prep in the Div. 1 state quarterfinal last season, Lowell was often referred as a bit of a wild card.
But even in the limited time outside of the conference, the top teams in the MVC have fared extremely well in nonleague play. Lowell, North Andover and Methuen are a combined 5-0 with wins over Cambridge, Greater Lowell, St. John’s Prep and Westford Academy (twice). Andover led Div. 2 title threat O’Bryant 2-0 before the Tigers rallied.
Much of the last two years has seen every team across every sport with a rankings-based tournament change the way they schedule opponents in order to load up on opponent rating. The fact that the MVC is able to still rank well despite limited nonleague play speaks volumes.
“I think it speaks to what I always say … the MVC is a very powerful conference,” Scammon said. “It’s not an easy league to play in whatsoever.”
“It’s been a grind,” added Methuen head coach Matt Twomey.
As a result, coaches rave over how well the MVC prepares teams for the tournament. That’s evident in a large number of deep runs throughout the years, and programs in breakout years like Methuen are especially fit to benefit.
We’ll find out how that figures into this year’s playoffs in just a couple weeks.
Winchester playing for a cause
Ever since one of his players’ fathers was diagnosed with the debilitating disease in 2017, and his own father passed from the same condition, Winchester head coach John Fleming has partnered with ALS One to host a Spike Out ALS fundraiser matchup. Monday marks this year’s edition against Cambridge, hoping to raise as much money as possible while putting forth a quality game for aspiring volleyball players to come watch.
Last year, that saw nearly $2,000 raised.
“Our hope is to continue to raise funds and awareness about ALS, which is a cause that is very close to our program,” Fleming said. “We know that whatever we raise will be put to great use.”