NORTH ANDOVER – The Lowell boys volleyball team isn’t quite used to losing sets amid an unbeaten start to the year, so it was in rare territory when host North Andover took an early match lead as two Merrimack Valley Conference powers faced off Wednesday afternoon.
Not for long, though.
Behind their normal dose of electric hits from all over the lineup, the No. 4 Red Raiders (8-0) found their rhythm fast en route to a 3-1 (24-26, 25-5, 25-18, 25-22) win over the No. 18 Scarlet Knights (7-2). Star setter Tyrell Lout (38 assists, three aces) orchestrated the effort, playing a crucial role in getting the team going in a rare 25-5 second frame that flipped momentum.
Cody Fitzpatrick (15 kills), Eddie Djatcha (six kills, seven blocks) and Ceazar Joseph (10 kills, two blocks) heated up in that time, using that confidence to sort through a competitive grind the rest of the way and stay in the driver’s seat of the early MVC title race.
“It was night and day after the first game,” said Lowell head coach Paul McCarthy. “That’s our specialty, we’ve got our depth. We have four or five guys we’re setting, and the middles are playing better and better. The blocking turns the whole game around. That’s a good team over there, they’re going to be there. Our guys stepped up today.”
The Red Raiders were caught on their heels out of the gate, with North Andover using good blocking and a bevy of Lowell errors to jump out to a 19-11 lead. Its own miscues nearly blew the set, but contributions from Kyler Shea, Yash Patel and Ben Metsch helped seal a narrow, 26-24 win.
But that’s when Lowell turned on the jets.
It seemed nothing could go wrong for the Red Raiders in the second set, outside of the four service errors they committed to help North Andover garner its five points. Lout and Fitzpatrick served beautifully to help jump out to a 17-1 lead, also linking up for several booming kills. Djatcha, Ayden Ruom, Joseph and Walter Palacio all added to the train of spikes, eventually sealing off a set differential many have ever been a part of within such a competitive affair.
“We were just pissed about that first set,” Djatcha said. “We’re (trying to) show we’re the best in the league, best in the state also. … We just want to keep on getting more (points). Kill the ball more, ace more. Just put the ball down and keep scoring.”
The Scarlet Knights recovered as if it had never happened, sticking around with Lowell for much of the third set. They even matched Lowell all the way to the end of the fourth set, with Jake O’Neil, Gyan Mistry and Robert Gilbert all standing out in small chunks.
Thunderous hits and excellent passes just kept rolling in from the Red Raiders, while also using 12 aces to seal off another big win in a competitive conference despite mostly playing juniors.
“It means a lot because all the hard work is paying off, especially with having younger guys on the team,” Djatcha said. “Coach has pushed us to the max.”