Front and center, Brookline boys' volleyball blocks Newton North to clinch trip to Division 1 final
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With six blocks and three kills, Gallucci was part of a Brookline brigade in the middle with junior Liam Raybould (nine kills) that helped handle senior Simon Vardeh, who cranked out 18 kills for the No. 4 Tigers (18-6).
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Brookline will take on No. 3 Needham in Friday's state final at Xaverian (6:30 p.m.).
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First-year coach Lexi De La Cruz coaches Vardeh at SMASH Volleyball Club and knew what to expect, calling upon his middles for more after the first set.
'My team fights,' he said. 'I always told them we're Brookline Warriors. Until the other team doesn't get to 25 points, we always have a chance. That's been our motto the whole season, and I think they live up to it.'
Senior Kris Vaivars (24 kills) increased the intensity, with junior Amir Tomer (10 kills, 1 block) and Conor Christopher (6 kills, 1 block) also finishing points at the net.
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De La Cruz called upon Vaivars to close out the match, and he delivered five of his kills in Brookline's final eight points.
'I think that everyone in the front row did a great job, whether we were blocking them straight down, getting touches, setting up a good block, forcing them to tip,' Vaivars said. 'That made a huge difference. Once we were able to get that stop or get that dig, we were able to score a lot of easy transition points and I think that's the difference maker.'
Junior Alec Smagula dished 47 assists, but also extended the first set with a block and showed his abilities with three kills in the first two sets. When the Tigers had to put up a block opposite him, he pushed the ball to the pins where lanes were open.
'I could have dumped more, but my team is so strong,' he said. 'I have so many weapons that I want to give the balls to my guys . . . but they still know I'm a threat. When I show them that early, get them jumping, it's one of my favorite things.'
North played a terrific season despite graduating some of the state's best players and enduring injuries leading up to the playoffs.
'It was a really good season. A lot of kids got better,' said North coach Nile Fox. 'We went through a few things, but we were able to come back and make it to the Final Four. We didn't get to where we wanted to be, but it was a good season.'
Needham 3, Natick 1
— Seeded third in the bracket, the Rockets (22-5) played with the poise and fury of a confident group in its semifinal win against Bay State Conference rival Natick (19-4), the No. 2 seed.
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Junior Andrew Kurdziel delivered 10 kills, 3 aces, 3 digs, 2 blocks and classmate Matty Cloonan had 14 kills, 5 digs, and 1 ace as the Rockets dominated from the first serve, taking the first two sets, 25-14 and 25-14, on their way to victory at Concord-Carlisle, the program's fifth straight trip to the state final.
'It just lit a fire in us,' Cloonan said. 'People didn't think we were going to win, and that just fueled us.'
Down 2-0, and with the season on the line, Natick (19-4) held its own against the Rockets (22-5) to win the third set 25-19. Branch Barnes and Cody Gibendi combined for 20 kills, 1 ace, and two blocks.
But it wasn't long until the Rockets added fuel to their engine, pulling ahead ahead midway through the fourth set and win 25-14 once again.
'No one wants to go to a fifth set,' Needham coach Dave Powell said. 'There was a sense of urgency from our guys and [we played] some crisp volleyball.'
For Natick, the loss was devastating.
Acting coach Brendan Carroll described the team's wins over No. 1 Brookline and No. 4 Needham during the regular season as 'null and void.'
'But, to get back to this point after last year, [losing] against Newton North, it was a big, big difference,' he said. 'So, I'm proud of the boys for how they fought all season.'
Kurdziel earned the final kill that punched the Rockets' ticket to the final.
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'It feels amazing,' he said. 'Natick's a great team, but we were prepared for them. We used all of our resources, so we came in here and did what we knew we could do.'
Division 2 State
Wayland 3, Westfield 1 —
With the Warriors ahead, 2-0, senior Liam Frenzel had a flashback to last year's final, when Westfield pulled off a reverse sweep to stun Wayland.
In the rematch, Westfield again charged back to claim the third set, but third-seeded Wayland (16-8) slammed the door in the fourth set en route to a 25-23, 25-19, 18-25, 25-18 triumph at Worcester North.
Wayland will play top-seeded Agawam in the state final Thursday at Shrewsbury High (6:30 p.m.).
Junior standout Finn Bell powered the Warriors with 27 kills and five digs, and seniors Cooper Szeremeta (8 kills, 3 digs) and Liam Frenzel (22 digs, 1 ace) also provided key supporting efforts.
'We came into it knowing [Westfield] had the heart and the firepower from last year,' Frenzel said. 'Knowing we won the first two sets last year too, but then they came back, we knew that we had to just put the pedal out to the floor.'
A key sequence came in the opening set, after Westfield racked up straight points to take a 23-19 lead before Wayland won six straight points on the serve of sophomore Mason Lee to close out the frame.
Despite stumbling in the third set, Wayland returned with energy in the fourth and received key blocks from both freshman Alex Pearlman and junior Max Walsh to regain momentum.
'We luckily get to play a really tough schedule throughout the season, and I think that really helps prepare us,' George said. 'We get used to getting hit in the face and coming right back out and getting after it.'
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Alexa Podalsky also reported from Concord-Carlisle.
Alexa Podalsky can be reached at
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