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Volleyball thoughts

About the only thing more surprising than seventh-seeded Newton North's triumph over top-seeded New Bedford in Saturday's South sectional finals was the way the Tigers did it: a three-game sweep.

That said, those three games felt like five games given the game scores. Newton North prevailed, 28-26, 25-21, and 25-19.

The Tigers (13-6) advance to the state bracket, where Thursday they'll meet the West champion (Agawam and Belchertown play for that crown Monday).

New Bedford coach Steve DeRossi offered some insight about the South title match:

“We weren’t passing very well. [Newton North] just had good ball control, they had super defense... collectively they played real efficient,” said DeRossi, whose team finished with a 20-1 record.

What’s different with Newton North from other squads is that there are no standouts, instead a core group of players who know how to read each other well and know the mentality of the sport.

They say volleyball is 90 percent mental and that has proven to be very true as killer specialists dodge out blocks from over 6-feet tall blockers.

What really hurt the Whalers was the loss of senior Joey Welch, who rolled his left ankle during the final play of the semifinal contest against Catholic Memorial. Welch is a passing specialist and a huge asset on the court as he had 17 kills, 6 digs, 4 blocks, and 17 service points in the semifinal triumph.

“Without Joey, I was caused to move two people around on the court, one to replace him and then I had to switch up the regular starting rotation," explained DeRossi. "We play together all year, but we didn’t click."

On average, New Bedford has three passing errors per match. Against Newton North, they compiled 13.

In the first match, New Bedford trailed by nine, stormed back, and forced overtime before falling 28-26.

In the final match, the Whalers found themselves up, 14-10, but then the Tigers rallied to jump ahead and stay ahead en route to victory.