Tomahawks Spike Blue Devils

 The boys’ volleyball team spent more time on the bus than it did on the court Thursday afternoon.

The Tomahawks traveled to Leominster High School and made quick work of the host Blue Devils, defeating them 3-0 by scores of 25-9, 25-11 and 25-14.

“I was happy to see it," said Algonquin head coach Lisa White, whose troops improve to 3-6 on the season. "We’ve struggled to come out strong and figure out where we need to be on the court. Even though I have some veteran players we’ve put some of them in different positions so I was happy to see they could handle things well today.”

The Tomahawks dominated all three sets of the match and are hoping that Thursday’s victory will be the spark the team needs to right the ship as they enter the second half of the campaign.

“We finished the week with some strong play and the kids were in pretty good spirits,” said White. “I still think, and I know my kids will agree with me, that we can make the playoffs. We play 20 games and need to win 10 and I think we can do it.”

As for Leominster, the struggles continued as it fell to 0-4 on the year.

“You could see the frustration on the veteran’s faces out there but give Algonquin credit, they played great,” said Blue Devils Head Coach Arvid Tenney.“There net play was very good and on top of that our back line couldn’t handle Algonquin’s serving.”

In the first set the visitors jumped out to a quick 8-0 and expanded the lead to 15-1. Junior Malcolm McDonald dominated with some solid serving while John Scorzelli and David Azaritti played well around the net, chipping in with a handful of kills each.

The Blue Devils couldn’t recover as the Tomahawks kept the foot on the pedal. Leading 16-5 Algonquin put the set away with nine of the final 13 points to earn the 25-9 win.

In the second set it was more of the same from Algonquin, who used another early run to build a comfortable lead. Nine of the first 11 points belonged to the Tomahawks, claiming a 7-2 lead. Mike Kaminsky registered five service points, including a pair of aces during the run.

 Leominster tried to fight back, three straight points pulled the Blue Devils to within 7-5 but the hosts couldn’t close the gap any further as Algonquin recovered and went back on the attack.

With the Tomahawks leading 14-10, Algonquin put Leominster into a stranglehold with 11 of the final 12 points. Zac Allar put the finishing touches on the match with four straight service points to seal the win, 25-11.

In the third set, Leominster hung tough in the early going thanks to the play of Cole Hazard. The Blue Devils junior and his teammates trailed by only two points, 8-6.

Algonquin added a pair of points, including a kill from Scorzelli to make it 10-6.

That was a close as Leominster could get the remainder of the set as the Tomahawks refused to give up the momentum.

Also stepping up and playing well for the Tomahawks were Chad Kalil.