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North Reading swept Bedford 25-10, 25-12, 25-13 in a Division 2 semifinal contest and advanced to play in the finals at 4 p.m. Saturday at Andover against the winner of today's other semifinal game between Boston English and Melrose.

North Reading, a state finalist in Division 3 the last three years, including a championship in 2007, opened play in Division 2 without a hitch, ripping Greater Lowell 25-10, 25-12, 25-13. Kirsten Morrison had eight kills for the Hornets (20-1), Taylor Dyer had five kills and 18 assists and Katherine Mozzone had 14 service points, including eight aces.

No. 4 North Reading lost in a PK situation as No. 13 Bishop Fenwick earned an upset victory in this Division 2 North first-round tournament game, which remained tied 2-2 after two overtimes.

NORTH ANDOVER — Quarterback Brandon Walsh gave North Andover the spark it needed midway through the third quarter but he did not do it with his right arm or legs.
He did it by alertly recovering a fumble on the North Reading 10 yard line after teammates Alex Blane and Kyle Kobierski stripped the ball from a Hornet running back.
“They just punched it out and it came right to me,” Walsh said. “I just fell on it. It was a big turning point. We then put in a big score right there. It kind of got us going.”
North Andover scored two plays later to build a two-touchdown lead, energizing the sluggish offense that had not posted any points since early in the first quarter.
The Scarlet Knights scored 21 second-half points to beat North Reading 28-0.
“On that fumble, they just came from the backside and just made a great play,” the Hornets’ Robert Rosano said. “I couldn’t find a hole and it was just stripped from me. We can’t make mistakes like I made on that fumble. We had to play a perfect game to beat them and we didn’t.”
North Andover failed to score after blocking a punt and recovering the football on the North Reading 25 in the first quarter.
“It doesn’t matter about those misses,” junior David Foote said. “We got it together.”
North Andover received a spark from fullback Jack Murphy, who ran for touchdowns of 45 and 39 yards. He finished with six carries for 92 yards.
The junior knew he needed to step up after struggling in the first half.
“I don’t feel like a played a very good first half defensively or offensively,” Murphy said. “I dropped an interception. I wasn’t getting off of blocks well and I blew a few tackles.”
But all that was soon forgotten.
“Any time he (Murphy) takes the weight off my shoulders, that’s fine,” said star tailback Zac Iovanella. “He hit the hole real hard and he showed us some speed I didn’t think he had.”

North Reading's Ben Harrow was perfect in a 0-0 tie with Rockport. Late in the second half, Harrow made a breakaway-save on All-League striker A.J. Burnham, tipping his shot over the bar to bring the Hornets' record to 6-9-2.

The North Reading girls volleyball team tuned up for its first Division 2 state tournament, having moved up from Division 3 this year, with a sweep of Lexington. Kirsten Morrison led the Hornets (19-1), who will be seeded first or second, with 13 kills and four blocks.

READING — A year ago, Pentucket was on the wrong end of the upset of the year, falling to tiny North Reading on opening day at its home field.

This season, led by a pair of surprise stars, the Sachems exacted their revenge.

North Reading field hockey, which had only scored three goals all season, scored three yesterday in a 3-1 win over Hamilton-Wenham. It was the Hornets' second win, setting a new record for the 7-year-old varsity program. Kaycee Janinno, Melissa Psallidas and Jen Bash scored.

HAMILTON — North Reading first squandered a 16-point, third-quarter lead then saw a possible game-tying drive crash at the 4-yard line with less than a minute remaining en route to a 24-16 defeat at Hamilton-Wenham yesterday afternoon.

Lauren Pawlowski scored her fifth and sixth goals of the season as North Reading easily defeated Hamilton-Wenham, 4-0. Pawlowski converted a direct kick and a penalty kick in the first half to put the Hornets (7-3-3) on top to stay.