Mets’ deGrom says haircut is coming
Jacob deGrom sounded like his decision was a lock: He wants to trim his long hair after the season.
Before Tuesday night’s World Series opener, the Mets pitcher was asked whether his hair was better than the flowing dreadlocks on Kansas City’s Johnny Cueto. The two are scheduled to start tonight’s Game 2.
DeGrom said, “I think mine is gone at the end of the year, so I’ll give that award to him. It’s driving me nuts. I’ve got to get rid of it.”
Asked whose hair was better, Cueto responded: “I’m going to say mine.” PALM BEACH GARDENS — Sparked by the serves of Madison Maxwell, Benjamin is moving on in volleyball.
The Buccaneers’ junior libero led Benjamin to a 25-15, 25-12, 25-14 sweep of Weston-Sagemont in the Class 3A regional quarterfinal Tuesday night.
“She’s got a great serve,” Buccaneers coach Alex Clarke said. “She’s very consistent and she’s a leader out there. When you have that consistency along with a tough serve, it’s hard to stop.”
Benjamin went on a nine-point run as Maxwell served in the first set. When Maxwell stepped up to serve in the second set, her team trailed 3-2.
The Buccaneers then went on a six-point run, turning the one-point deficit into an 8-3 lead, eventually winning the second set and putting the Buccaneers (16-8) well out of the Lions’ (9-12) reach.
Maxwell was also a defensive stalwart, leading her team with 10 digs.
“She’s fiery, she expects a lot from her teammates,” Clarke said. “She’s got over 300 digs on the season this year, and she’s been our best defensive player all year. When no one else goes, she’s always the one that’s there.”
In front of Maxwell, the Benjamin offense had no issues putting up points.
Katy Blain, Emma Lange and Nina Villablanca combined for 30 of the team’s 38 kills, with Blain pacing the team with 13.
“Emma’s had some injuries, so they’ve been going in and out of the middle on the right side, and they’ve been our kills leaders all year,” Clarke said.
Benjamin advances to Saturday’s regional semifinals and will play Fort Lauderdale-Westminster Academy (19-6), which defeated Jupiter Christian, 25-11, 25-18, 25-15.
“In the past, we’ve made a lot of mistakes and our games have been really close with games we should be beating by a lot,” Maxwell said. “I think if we keep our mistakes down and our energy up, then we’ll definitely make it really far.” Class 7A West Boca Raton d. Fort Lauderdale 25-11, 25-9, 25-8: Alex Raycraft had eight kills as the Bulls (17-8) defeated the Flying L’s in a regional quarterfinal in Boca Raton. West Boca Raton will play Fort Lauderdale-St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Fort Lauderdale-St. Thomas Aquinas d. Dwyer 25-16, 25-11, 25-17: Alyssa Baruch had seven digs and four kills and Alyssa Peek added four kills, but the Panthers (13-9) fell to the Raiders in a regional quarterfinal in Fort Lauderdale. Class 5A Pompano Beach d. Suncoast 25-14, 25-14, 25-13. Class 2A Boca Raton Christian d. Hollywood Christian 25-20, 25-18, 25-16: Marlena Kincaid had 20 assists, 16 service points with seven aces and eight digs and Vittoria Sottani added nine kills, seven digs and six aces as the Blazers (16-9) swept the Eagles in a Class 2A regional quarterfinal in Boca Raton.