A-B girls’ volleyball nets a statement D1 victory
Chloe Heitman rose for a statement kill, saw the defense shoot it right back, and sprung back up for an even more powerful slam in the second set. The message was clear: Acton-Boxborough is claiming the momentum.
The 14th-seeded Revolution came out strong and never relented, earning a 25-20, 25-12, 25-16 home win over No. 19 Methuen in the first round of the MIAA Division 1 girls’ volleyball tournament on Thursday at Acton-Boxborough High.
“It’s about us being aggressive, being confident in ourselves, knowing we can do cool stuff like that,” said Heitman, a junior hitter. “We’re all about being a cool team. Doing stuff like that makes us really happy.”
Heitman notched 14 kills for A-B (12-6) and was complemented by senior middle hitter Sarah Sahagian (nine kills).
“Sarah Sahagian had her best match all season,” said A-B coach Darren Gwin. “It’s really exciting to see her do that at the perfect time. She did an awesome job today, she was dominant for us.”
Even though getting more players involved at the net is something the team started working on recently, Sahagian was ready for an increased role and thrived in it.
“We worked really hard in practices recently,” Sahagian said. “Getting everyone involved in our communication has been great. It’s a full team effort getting everyone involved.”
Sophomore setter Heloisa Bitencourt made the adjustment seamlessly, making a point to push out balls to the outside for Heitman, and dishing higher passes to Sahagian to let her attack the block since she knows she can.
“Whoever I would set, they were ready to come and kill it,” Bitencourt said of her hitters.
In the first and second sets, A-B’s serving caught the Rangers (13-8) off guard, giving the Revolution early leads of 7-2 and 5-2. Despite a 5-1 deficit in the third, it was arguably the most dominant set the Revolution had, recording kills or blocks on 11 of their last 16 points.
Andover 3, Plymouth North 0 — Adrie Waldinger (12 kills) and Jessie Wang (11 kills) powered the attack for the sixth-seeded Golden Warriors (18-3) in a sweep of the 27 th-seeded Eagles in a first-round win. Wang had 11 digs for Andover and Sowol Lee dished out 29 assists and had six digs.
Bishop Feehan 3, Concord-Carlisle 0 — Julia Webster’s 21 kills, 10 digs, and 1 ace powered the No. 8 Shamrocks (19-3) to the first-round decision. Charlotte Skulte chipped in with 7 kills and 1 ace.
Division 2 State
Oliver Ames 3, Minnechaug 0 — Claire O’Rourke (16 kills, 13 digs) and Clare Kavolius (35 assists) led the No. 8 Tigers (14-5) to a first-round win. Sarah Hilliard added 15 kills, and Addyson Smock had 10 kills.
Division 3 State
Dennis-Yarmouth 3, Ashland 0 —Vivian Castano notched her 2,000th career assist with 27 on the night for the No. 11 Dolphins (12-9) in the first-round win. Newburyport 3, Apponequet 0 — Olivia Foley notched eight kills and two blocks in a first-round win for the No. 10 Clippers (14-7).
Division 4 State
Hamilton-Wenham 3, Monument Mtn. 0 —Morgan Etna (11 aces, 5 kills, 2 digs, 1 block) and Hannah Ciriello (14 assists) led the hosting No. 8 Generals to the first-round win.
Joseph Case 3, Bethany Christian 0 — Hannah Storm notched 16 kills and Jayna Surrell added 30 assists, lifting the sixth-seeded Cardinals (17-4) to a firstround win over No. 27 Bethany Christian (7-6).
Girls’ soccer
Division 1 State
Beverly 1, North Andover 0 (SO) —Emma Fitzgerald, Jenna Schweizer, Sam Fogarty, and Avery Fogarty each scored their attempt in penalty kicks and Clara Kostro made two saves on three chances in the shootout as the No. 31 Tigers (79-3) used a 4-1 advantage to win the preliminary-round contest. With the victory, the Tigers snapped a nine-game playoff losing streak and next face second-seeded Bishop Feehan (16-0-1).
Boys’ soccer
Division 2 State
Woburn 1, Worcester North 0 —Senior captain Matt Balleani scored in overtime to lift the No. 30 Tanners (4-10-3) to the preliminary-round victory.
Football
Division 6 State
Stoneham 22, Abington 14 — Ben Bruno came up with a game-clinching interception in the end zone of a pass from Abington quarterback Michael Reilly intended for tight end Connor Pease on a fourth-and-12 attempt from the Stoneham 14 with less than 30 seconds left. The victory propelled No. 15 Stoneham (5-4) to a quarterfinal matchup against the winner of Friday’s Maynard-Bellingham game.