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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The Xaverian and Medfield High School varsity boys volleyball teams tipped off their season this past week before meeting up with one another on Monday evening over on Clapboardtree Street, with the Hawks (3-0) prevailing by a final of 3-0 despite a strong effort by the Warriors (0-3).
Coach McCready’s boys were ready to roll on Monday night, as the Hawks jumped out to a quick 7-1 lead thanks to some critical blocks at the net by senior big man Thomas Mogan. The Warriors battled back to keep themselves in the set, but the Hawks extended their lead to 14-6 before a timeout by Medfield.
The Hawks extended their first set lead to 16-6, but the Warriors went on a 4-0 run, highlighted by two kills by Steve Loranger, cutting the deficit back to just six at 16-10. Despite a valiant effort by the Warriors, the size of Xaverian took over towards the end of the set, as after extending the lead back to eight at 22-14, the Hawks closed out the first set emphatically by shutting down the net. Xaverian took a 1-0 lead with a 25-15 set victory.
Xaverian continued to win the majority of the battles at the net early in the second set, jumping out to a 15-7 lead. Medfield responded with a 5-2 run to cut the deficit to 17-12, but again, Xaverian was able to capitalize on their serves and win the battles at the net thanks to their size advantage, and ultimately took a 2-0 lead with a 25-17 set victory.
With their backs up against the wall, the Warriors jumped out with a 3-1 lead to begin the third set thanks to an ace by Travers Devlin and a block at the net by Bennett DiIanna. However, Xaverian responded with a 10-1 run to jump back in front at 11-4. The Warriors gave it their all to claw back into the contest but ultimately came up just short, falling 25-11 in set three to lose by a final of 3-0.
The Warriors will look to crack the win column when they travel to St. John’s Prep on April 10 while the Hawks will try and stay unbeaten in their date against Catholic Conference rival Catholic Memorial on April 7.
