The Westfield High School boys volleyball team celebrates a repeat as Division 1 state champs Thursday night after defeating Needham at Worcester State University. (Photo by Bill Deren)
WORCESTER – The Needham Rockets have been the Westfield boys volleyball team’s kryptonite. Not any more.
Westfield outhustled, outmuscled, outplayed, and outlasted Needham in the Division 1 state finals 27-29, 25-23, 25-18, 19-25, 18-16 to repeat as state champions Thursday night at Worcester State University.
“It was the ultimate perseverance,” Westfield boys volleyball coach Tyler Wingate said. “It’s really the only thing we hadn’t accomplished, getting through Needham. We finally got over this hump.”
It might possibly go down as one of the most thrilling state volleyball championships in the history of the sport in Massachusetts, and was more action-packed and drama-filled than a night at the movies.
Needham came out strong out of the gate, opening with a 4-0 lead. Westfield battled back to tie the game at 8-8, and then 10-all following a Ryan Murray ace. The Bombers broke an 11-all tie, and went up by two points, 13-11, after Luis Castro (4 kills, 64 assists, 17 digs, 2 blocks) lofted a ball to the back corner just past the outstretched arms of a Rockets’ player.
The two teams were tied nearly every step of the way in the set, knotted up 10 more times, thanks to big-time kills from Javier Santos (three times) and Shane Kiendzior (twice).
Needham fought off a set point with Westfield poised for a game one victory, leading 24-23. The Bombers then fought off set points for Needham three straight times.
Needham proved to be relentless though, putting together a couple of timely strikes to come away with a 29-27 win.
“Their back picks up everything so it was hard to get those rallies in our favor,” said Westfield’s Gabe Santiago, who contributed 29 digs.
After the teams settled in under the bright lights and the big stage at Worcester State, Needham got right back to work in the second set. The Rockets launched right into the lead, holding a 2-3 point margin for nearly half the frame until making it a four-point advantage at 17-13.
Westfield battled back to within 20-19 with the aid of a Prem Gurung ace, 22-21 with a Kiendzior kill, a tie at 22-all, and a 23-22 lead to force a timeout by the opposition.
Westfield would not bow to the pressure nor the stall tactics. The Bombers sealed the deal, stringing together two more points, including a game-winning Kiendzior kill.
Your MIAA Division 1 Boys Volleyball champion Bombers! (Photo by Bill Deren)
“We went into every set knowing that this set matters and we need to go and give it our all or they’re going to slap us around,” said Kiendzior, who finished with 22 kills and 15 digs.
The stars aligned for Westfield in the third set.
Over the course of a five-minute stretch, Westfield’s freakish athleticism was on display with wicked kills from Murray (8 kills, 1 ace, 7 digs, 4 blocks), Kiendzior, Santos (22 kills, 2 blocks), and a brilliant block from Ryan Rix (4 kills, 2 blocks).
“We have so many options out of the front row that it’s hard to block us,” Murray said.
Westfield put together a commanding lead and never relinquished it. The Bombers cruised to a 25-18 win.
“That third set was us at our best,” coach Wingate said. “Offensively and then the blocking really picked up.”
In the fourth set, Westfield appeared to tire. The Bombers still landed kills from Murray, Kiendzior, and Santos, but Needham took a 3-point lead midway through, 14-11.
Still, Westfield rallied to tie it at 14, 15, 16, and 17. Needham defended well though, holding off the Bombers’ top dogs and advanced to a decisive fifth set with a 25-19 win.
“It’s unbelievable to have the game go down to the wire like that,” said Westfield’s Mike Bowen, who collected two aces and 15 digs.
Westfield may have felt jet-lagged from the trip out east and the mileage it put on out on the court, but the Bombers still had something left in the tank.
Needham had a pair of two-point leads erased by kills early in the last set, one each from Santos and Rix. Westfield managed to tie the game at 4-, 5-, and 6-all, thanks in large part to James Pavlyuk (16 kills, 18 digs), who landed two kills. A loud Murray block resulted in a Bombers’ lead, one they held until late in the match.
Westfield retained its slim lead – Kiendzior and Santos drilled consecutive kills – until Needham tied it at 13-13.
Needham nearly stole the trophy from the grasp of Westfield with set and match points at 14-13 and 15-14, but the Bombers held strong tying it both times.
Westfield had the match nearly wrapped with a 16-15 lead, but Needham tied it. The Bombers delivered consecutive points, and with that secured back-to-back state titles.
“It says a lot for them to come back after that tough fourth set,” coach Wingate said of his players. “Fortunately we just made the plays at the end.”
Santos summed it up best: “I told the players over here – I said this is going to be the game of the century – and it didn’t disappoint.”
COACH SPEAKS: “(Our seniors) put our program on the map with that first sectional championship and we’ve just taken off from there,” coach Wingate said, referring to his team’s first of four straight Western Mass titles. “I think of all the contributions over the years and the alumni that come back and support us – the ones that are in the stands. They’re our biggest fans and our biggest support. We pull from them, we pulled from our great crowd tonight and it was a great night of volleyball.”
