Volleyball Cruises Past Barnstable In Sectional Quarterfinals

By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff
Editor-in-Chief

Senior opposite Michael Horenstein led South with 12 kills in tonight’s 3-0 victory over Barnstable in the D1 south quarterfinals. Senior captain Jared Chin contributed 35 assists in the victory, while fellow senior, libero Zach Stein, added 15 digs.

“I thought we started out just a little bit slower and a little bit tentative,” coach Todd Elwell said. “In the end, the numbers that we pulled were strong, and I was happy with our attacking, our serving, our passing. I had a feeling that once we settled down, it would come together.”

The Lions started the first set down 3-2, but quickly rebounded to take the set 25-17 and a 1-0 lead.

“We really did a nice job passing the ball, and in volleyball that is really important,” Elwell said. “We were able to go wherever we wanted to with the ball.”

The consistency was due in large part to Chin, the team’s setter, who readily assisted his teammates on all but two of the team’s total assists.

Midway through the second set, with South having already taken a commanding lead, the game was quickly delayed after senior Tomer Keren’s dig ended up in North’s folded-up basketball hoops, causing a redo and cheers from the crowd.
Midway through the second set, with South having already taken a commanding lead, the game was quickly delayed after senior Tomer Keren’s dig ended up in North’s folded-up basketball hoops, causing a redo and cheers from the crowd.

South carried the momentum into the second set, using its first set as a catalyst for the next.

Senior Tomer Keren (eight digs) led the team to a 2-0 lead through his service (including an ace and no errors), winning the set 25-13.

The Lions had 13 kills for the set, hitting at a rate of .300 after making four errors.

Despite cruising through the first two sets, there was still work to do, according to the team.

“We were a little overall sloppy the first two sets,” senior captain Brendan Duggan said.

After relying on a heavy dose of the team’s seniors through the first two sets, Elwell subbed in junior Eli Braginsky, who recorded three quick kills, and sophomore Noah Kopf, who tallied six digs.

The team took the third set 25-20 after Barnstable took an early lead, closing out the 3-0 victory.

“We stuck with our gameplan, and we were able to win 3-0,” Duggan said.

South will play the winner of Newton North and Braintree at South at the end of the week, most likely on Friday.

For a team that regularly plays with strictly seniors on the court, the upcoming game carries sentimental value.

“It’s probably gonna be our last home game ever, so we wanna try and get as many people as possible to come out,” Duggan said.

“I’m excited for the kids, we got a lot of great kids that work hard,” Elwell said. “Now it’s fun to enjoy the tournament time and enjoy the energy.”