RallyNorth.net

 The Lawrence Lancers have advanced further into the MIAA tournament after defeating Boston Latin Acedemy on Tuesday. Lawrence needed just three games to take care of buisness,winning 25-17, 27-25, 25-22.

As the highest seed in the first round of the North sectionals, Lawrence drew a sub-.500 Lowell squad and won in three straight games. Libero Lance Thigpen kept the Lancer offense flowing well with strong back-row ball distribution. Next up for fifth-seed Lawrence will be No. 4 Boston Latin Tuesday on the road at 7 p.m.

After losing the first game by a decisive 25-13 score, Lawrence roared back to defeat Chelmsford in five games, ending the regular season with a 15-5 record.  Abimael Villa and Jose Vargas combined for 31 kills. The pairings come out the North sectional today.

Led by senior Bjorn Merinder, Andover's tennis team enjoyed great success in the individual state tennis tournament yesterday. Merinder advanced into today's North quarterfinals with two wins, the second an intense 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 win over Central's Thomas Alaimo, who recently beat him in a regular season match. Also advancing with two wins apiece were the doubles teams on Nitin Mahesh-Christian Waters and Andrew Mack-Andej Smardzec. 

 Phillips Academy's volleyball team captured the New England Founding Four tournament, defeating Choate 3-1 and Wilbraham and Munson in three straight games. The Big Blue ended its season with a 10-3 record.

A potentially dangerous combination — a Lawrence squad gliding against a sub-.500 opponent and Methuen fighting hard for a playoff spot. Splitting the first two games, the Lancers pulled out a rugged 27-25 third game and was able to pull out a tough 3-1 victory. Net play by Prince Hiraldo and Abimael Villa (14 kills each) allowed Lawrence to stay on top.

After missing out on the state tournament last year, Haverhill volleyball clinched a spot in it this season after beating up on Dracut, winning 3-0.

Mike Hovnanian (14 service points and nine digs) helped Central Catholic rebound from a game one loss and dash past Dracut, 3-1.

HAVERHILL — Chelmsford is one of the state’s boys volleyball titans. The two-time reigning Merrimack Valley Conference champs hadn’t lost a regular season match since April 2, 2008. Until yesterday. The Lions (11-1) led Haverhill 2-1 when the Hillies came to life. The Hillies (7-3) tied up the match with a 25-23 victory and then eked out a thrilling 18-16 final-game win. Brett Pettis led the way with 14 kills and Andrew Connolly, Drew Caruso and James Murray all added six kills of their own. Haverhill began the season with a 1-3 mark, including a 27-25, 25-19, 25-19 setback to the Lions. But the Brown and Gold have won six straight since. Chelmsford may be the top team in the state. The Lions proved their mettle by handing St. John’s Prep it’s lone loss this spring, 3-1. The Prep won state titles in 2006 and 2008 and was state runner-up last spring. The Eagles’ dominance led to their getting bounced from the MVC. Something about Chelmsford gets Haverhill athletes fired up. The Lions’ last league loss was to the Hillies in their 2008 season-opener. That year Chelmsford won 20 straight after that before being stunned by Pettis and Co. in the North semifinals. In 2005, the Haverhill football team posted a stunning 28-27 win over the Lions, snapping Chelmsford’s 29-game Merrimack Valley Conference winning streak.

Central Catholic shocked St. John's Prep by winning the match's first game, then pushed the powerful Eagles to the limit before dropping the decisive fourth game 28-26 in a 3-1 defeat. Mike Hovnanian was strong on the back row for the Raiders with a team-high 10 digs and 8 service points.

Prince Hiraldo notched a team-high 12 kills and 15 service points as Lawrence downed Andover 25-14, 27-25, 15-25, 25-15. Ariel Frias added 32 assists for the Lancers.

Against a powerful Chelmsford lineup in his first varsity appearance, junior D.J. Bigos impressed with two blocks in Andover's 3-0 loss to the Lions.

After dropping its match to St. John's Prep 12 days ago, Lawrence has pitched four straight shutouts with Central Catholic being the most recent victim. Aramis Pimentel came off the bench for the Lancers (7-1) and contributed a strong overall effort. Jimmy Zenevitch (7 kills, 2 blocks and 1 ace) had a solid day for the Raiders (3-4).

Brett Pettis (14) and Drew Caruso (9) combined for 23 kills to power Haverhill to a 25-22, 25-19, 25-19 win over Methuen. Zach Sindoni chipped in with 33 assists. The Hillies improved to 3-2 with the victory.

Andover volleyball had four injured starters on its bench in a 3-2 loss to Lowell. Some of the players with lesser roles stepped up for the Golden Warriors. Will Gold, who does not normally start, played at outside hitter and had eight kills. Joe Sievers, who also does not start, stepped in at the other outside hitter position and had seven saves. Meanwhile, Jake Sam, who does not play much, came off the bench to record 12 service points and one ace.