NEEDHAM – In each of the past two state title-winning seasons, one constant within Needham volleyball’s multi-faceted identity was Raymond Weng orchestrating the attack as its premier setter.
Not anymore.
Adding to a long string of games as the No. 1 Rockets’ Swiss Army knife, Weng delivered one of his best performances of the season as part of a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-17) nonleague sweep of No. 7 Westfield (12-2) on Friday evening. Eight of his 15 kills came in the third set, pairing with 12 assists and two aces to help lead Needham (13-0) to its 59th straight win.
Weng, a two-time All-Scholastic, has been a primary leader in the majority of those 59 games. He has impressed head coach Dave Powell in this transition to a heavy-hitting role all year, but this one – against the reigning Div. 2 state champions – certainly stood out.
“He’s a hitter,” Powell said. “He’s a really good server, he’s a really good hitter. If he’s in the front row, we try to feed him in certain situations. He’s a dynamic player. He’s set us to two straight titles … now we’re asking him to set and hit. He’s doing a good job responding.”
What’s more impressive about the win, which saw Needham’s typical recipe of contributions down the lineup, is who it came against. Powell isn’t used being in different state tournaments from the Bombers after twice losing to them in the Div. 1 state final before the pandemic struck, but the magnitude of beating them hasn’t changed.
Nick Maslar (nine kills), Zach Kukharchuk (six kills) and Ryder Finnie (22 assists) played well among others for Westfield, challenging Needham, especially in a tight second set.
“There’s just a lot of respect for their program, they act the right way and play the right way,” Powell said. “They’ve won four state titles since 2017 – that’s more than us. … They’re good, I thought we did a really good job at being physical at the net. We had some good blocking, we were able to match their physicality.”
“Coach always says just treat them like any other team,” Weng added. “They’re a great team. though.”
Ethan McCarron (game-high 16 kills) came out of the gates hot for the Rockets, delivering four kills and a block to help overcome a rare string of service errors from the team in the opening set. The Bombers rallied a bit, but Weng and Devin Dellamarggio (24 assists) connected with McCarron, Will McDonald and Brian Cloonan to close out a 25-20 win.
The second set proved much more dangerous, with Kukharchuk and Maslar getting in rhythm in bunches. Seven kills from McCarron and four from Luke Lorence gave the Rockets great offense to pull slightly ahead throughout, but trailed 21-20 at one point off a hitting error. Weng assisted McCarron in response, though, and Weng’s kill two points later gave Needham a lead it wouldn’t surrender in a 25-22 win.
That only paved the way for a monster third, with Weng called upon for a rigorous workload. Twice he recorded consecutive kills, and even touched down three in a row for a 21-14 lead despite Westfield’s Miles Shepard heating up (five kills).
McCarron and Dellamarggio each had huge games alongside him, but his strikes all but closed it out. Owen Ching, who played well as libero, iced the match with an ace.
“It feels good, I could not be happier enough to have (Dellamarggio) to set for me,” Weng said. “It makes it easier for me. … (The role) is a little new, but I got used to it.”
