BROOKLINE – Entering Tuesday night’s rematch with No. 1 Brookline, the No. 4 Natick boys volleyball team was intent on showing it’s not the same group that lost to the unbeaten Warriors in a sweep a month ago.
By the end of the second set of a 1-1 match, it then aimed to prove it’s not a one-trick pony through star outside hitter Branch Barnes. And come the fifth, its mental toughness – which doomed it in a devastating collapse in the Div. 1 state semifinals last year – was put to its biggest test of the year so far.
Check, check, and check.
Junior setter Luke Dratch dished 45 assists to spark big performances from junior Cody Gibendi (19 kills), sophomore Evan Katz (11 kills, three blocks) and middle hitter Simon Pedrelli (eight kills, six blocks), helping the No. 4 RedHawks (10-2) hand Brookline its first loss of the year, 3-2 (25-23, 17-25, 25-17, 24-26, 15-9), in a slugfest between Div. 1 juggernauts.
Natick, playing without head coach Peter Suxho on Tuesday, hasn’t lost since that sweep against the Warriors in the second match of the year.
“The boys really circled this one on their schedule,” said RedHawks assistant coach Bob Harless. “They’ve been looking forward to this one. Knowing that they’re the No. 1 team, losing 3-0 to them at home, they just really wanted this one. … I think we’re getting more mentally tough.”
“Our first two games, I don’t think the (0-2 record) represented the talent on this team,” added Barnes (11 kills, two blocks). “We’ve worked so hard since then. We’ve worked so hard – nine (wins) straight to come out to this one. … I think this shows that we’re for real.”
Gibendi and Katz broke out in the third set for Natick after Brookline controlled it in the second, combining for 10 kills and two blocks before Barnes’ two late kills slammed the door on a 25-17 frame and a 2-1 match lead.
The Warriors (10-1) shook off the emotions of several questionable calls against it in that third to claw out the fourth, fending off a late Natick run and a 24-23 deficit with a 3-0 run for a 26-24 win. Star outside hitter Kris Vaivars notched five of his match-high 25 kills in the frame, pairing with star setter Alec Smagula (44 assists) to lead the Warriors to a fifth set.
But between Gibendi’s three kills and a block, middle John Carroll’s two blocks, Barnes’ kill and strong defense bolstered by libero Dhruv Sirigiri, Natick got off to a 6-2 start in the fifth before a 14-7 lead ultimately put the match away.
“No doubt – that was the mentality,” Barnes said. “We go into a game with any doubt, you’re already putting yourself down. We made sure were settled. … Stayed calm, stayed collected, stayed on the court as one unit, as six.”
“We know we’re good enough,” Harless added. “(We’ve) been really trying to focus on the mental aspect of the game because it’s so huge.
Brookline dominated the second set after losing a tight first, seemingly taking all momentum. Smagula picked the right pockets to get Vaivars, Liam Raybould and Conor Christopher hot in a 19-11 lead and a 25-17 set win, before rolling that over into a rock-fight of a fourth set that featured 13 straight side-outs at one point.
But Natick made it a point to get everyone involved after that second set, which Dratch and the RedHawks rose up to the task for.
“(Katz) started scoring, (Gibendi) started scoring, our middles … started scoring,” Harless said. “That just freed up (Barnes), and when we needed (Barnes), (Barnes) came through. But there was a gameplan to try to get the other guys the ball because we’re confident in them.”
“Natick RedHawks is not Branch Barnes,” Barnes added. “There’s six players on the court, six Natick RedHawks you’ve got to worry about. … I was very impressed with (Dratch’s setting) today.”