Lincoln-Sudbury Boys' Volleyball Team Sweeps Westford Academy

Playing a day after attending the Showcase of Champions Tournament in Holyoke, Lincoln-Sudbury boys' volleyball coach Elizabeth McClung saw an opportunity for a let down in overall team energy.

A 3-0 home victory over Westford Academy on Monday was anything but a short coming as the Warriors won three straight sets 25-13, 25-19, and 25-14, respectively.

“They might have looked a little slow in the beginning, but they picked it up really quickly,” said McClung. “We had our jump serves going and defensively we were hustling well, especially in our last (set). We had to play a tough aggressive game and we did.”

Down one set and trailing 22-17 off an ace by Westford Academy's Derek Lavigne, the Grey Ghosts looked to have their best opportunity of the afternoon. Giving up a point off a failed block, Westford Academy forced a 23-19 score off a diving save and a missed Warriors spike.

However, a missed serve and a ripped back line shot from L-S's Tommy Houpt sealed the set for the Warriors.

“When we were able to get it up to our setter, we could use all of our tools,” said Westford Academy coach Brian Acheson. “When we were doing well, we were playing an all around good game, but when one part starts to disassemble the whole teams starts to lose its ability to compete.”

Opening the third set with a 13-4 lead aided by a pair of aces from Kristian Catalan, the Warriors could sense the match victory. An ace from Chris Barck helped swing some momentum back to Westford Academy as the Warriors would only outscore their opponents by two points for the remainder of the match.

A fake spike by L-S's Ned Donaldson would draw the defense off in the final volley as teammate Mike Shron finished the match for the Warriors with a well-placed tip.

“We have some very quick defenders with (Matt) Joyner, Catalan, and Connor Jacobson,” said McClung. “We were digging, hustling from the back row and not letting balls drop.”

The Grey Ghosts looked to have momentum early in the first set as Brian Cummins hit an over-the-wall tip to put them up 8-6. L-S responded by outscoring Westford 19-5 for the remainder of the set.

A pair of three-point runs would give them a lead they would hold onto.

“(Westford) came out strong, their defense was moving, and their hitting was aggressive and effective,” said McClung. “We knew we could not sit back and play a soft game against them.”

Lincoln-Sudbury had 20 points off spikes and seven off aces, while Westford Academy had eight off spikes and two off aces. The Grey Ghosts had trouble returning volleys amongst themselves with 13 failed returns coming after controlling the ball off the first touch.

“They had some pretty good servers that we were just not able to handle with our passing,” said Acheson. “Our passing was very tense and we were not getting in the position to make a solid pass.”

Seven-foot senior John Swords missed the match for the Warriors to support sister and Boston College senior Carolyn Swords during the WNBA draft. Swords was drafted 15th by the Chicago Sky.

L-S next hosts Boston Latin on Wednesday at 4 p.m.