L-S gains final

Letizi on target in volleyball

The Saga continues for Lincoln-Sudbury. After winning their first Central sectional title in school history, the Warriors kept rolling by beating West champion Chicopee Comprehensive, 25-10, 25-15, and 25-22, in the boys' volleyball state semifinal yesterday at Blackstone Valley High.

L-S (22-1) will play for the state championship Saturday at Hudson High against the winner of the St. John's Prep-Brookline game, which will be played today.

After cruising through the first two games, the Warriors fell behind in the third when Chicopee setter Ryan Malone set up Kyle Heroux for the kill to put the Colts ahead, 7-6. It appeared there would be a Game 4 as the Colts built a 15-9 lead, but the Warriors weren't about to let that happen.

Trailing, 21-19, in Game 3, L-S called a timeout to get back into its rhythm. It seemed to work as tricaptain Drew Corwin (8 kills, 4 blocks) ripped a nasty kill for a point, followed by a Chicopee net violation.

Tricaptain Danny Letizi (21 assists, 2 aces) came up big on the serve, registering back-to-back aces to put his team ahead, 23-22. Chicopee called a timeout, but it didn't faze the Warriors as Letizi set up Corwin for another kill and Chicopee's Jesse Warren hit a ball into the net to give L-S the victory.

"We just absolutely came together today," said Letizi. "We got off to a great start and took the first two games, and when we were down in the middle [of Game 3], we just pulled it together and came back.

"We've been playing together for four years now and we just have this trust in each other."

L-S coach Bunny McClung agreed with Letizi's assessment.

"They're just very seasoned," she said. "They work well together and they want to win for each other."

Lacrosse

Division 1: Xaverian handily defeated visiting Needham yesterday, knocking the 12th-ranked Rockets from the quarterfinals with a 13-6 win. Brendan Grant fueled the victory, potting four goals and two assists.

But after the game, the buzz wasn't about the big win - but rather Saturday's big rematch, in which No. 4 Xaverian will travel to top-ranked Duxbury (20-4).

"Everybody knows that the state championship has to go through Duxbury, whether it's the semifinals or the finals or the first round. They're the team to beat," Xaverian coach Tim Gardner said after yesterday's win, in which the Hawks shut the door on Needham (16-7) in the second quarter, turning a 4-3 deficit into a 7-5 lead by halftime.

Baseball

All-EMass baseball chairman and North Reading coach Frank Carey is looking for league MVPs to participate in the annual all-star game June 16 at Fraser Field. The deadline is Saturday.

Basketball

The 2008 Boston Shootout will be held this weekend at Boston University's Case Center. Eight teams, including host BABC, will begin play Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The finals are scheduled for Sunday at 5 p.m. Tickets are $5. NY Metro Hawks, BABC South, Albany City Rocks, CT Basketball Club, NY Pride, NY Gauchos, and Maine Basketball Report are also participating.

Globe correspondent Maggie Cassidy contributed to this report.