Boys Volleyball Falls Short Again in State Championship

• The game resumed on Saturday after it was called in the second set Friday due to the conditions of the floor. 

For the sixth straight season, Needham boys volleyball made to the state championship game, but on Saturday, they came up short once again, losing in four sets to Bay State Conference rival Brookline in four sets. It’s the third straight season the Rockets have finished as a runner-up, falling to the Warriors for the second straight season, after Brookline beat Needham 3-1 a year ago, their first since 1992.

The MIAA Division 1 State Championship matchup resumed Saturday at Hopkinton High School after it was suspended Friday night at Westwood High School because of deteriorating conditions on the floor due to humidity. Brookline won the first set 25-20, and Needham took a 12-11 lead in the second set before the conditions became too difficult to continue.

The Warriors would end up winning the resumed second set 25-22, then led the third set 17-11 and 20-17 before the Rockets stormed back and took set three 25-23. But Brookline would take control early in the fourth set, leading by as many as ten points before finishing off Needham with a 25-17 victory.

The Rockets came into the tournament as the No. 1 seed and entered the championship game with a record of 21-4. Brookline, the No. 2 seed this season, had a record of 18-2 going into the championship, and split two regular season meetings with the Rockets, with the Warriors winning 3-2 at the A Gym on April 30th and Needham sweeping at Brookline on May 14.

Needham advanced to its sixth straight state championship with a 3-0 win (25-20, 25-18, 25-16) over No. 12 Newton North on June 9 at Newton South, which was the second game of the semifinal doubleheader as Brookline held off another BSC rival, No. 3 Natick in five sets, winning the first two 25-19 and 25-13. The Redhawks came back from being down two sets to force a fifth, winning 25-20 and 25-28, but the Warriors rolled in the final set 15-6.

The Rockets had lost every game that went to five sets over the course of the season, but had yet to lose a set in the playoffs before the final, with their regular season finale on May 20, a 3-2 loss to eventual Division 2 champ Wayland being the last time they lost a set.

Friday’s final was originally scheduled to be at Newton South like the semifinal doubleheader, but was moved to Westwood earlier in the afternoon, also because of condensation on the floor.