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LAWRENCE — When he winds up at the net, the powerful hits of Haverhill senior Brett Pettis could end up anywhere on the court.
But, when Pettis sums up his emotions, he’s pretty straightforward.
“This is a first,” exulted Pettis after the No. 1-seed Hillies disposed of Lawrence 3-1 in the North boys volleyball championship last night at Central Catholic.
The victory was not only the first sectional crown for the Haverhill boys, but the first sectional crown for a Haverhill boys team in recent memory.
“It’s a big accomplishment for the volleyball program, but it’s also fantastic to represent Haverhill High School like this,” said junior Drew Caruso, who had nine kills and five blocks on the night. “We haven’t had a lot of success this year at Haverhill (in other sports) so we’re pretty proud of this.”
The Merrimack Valley Conference-champion Hillies (20-1), who will face South champion Newton North (17-2) in the state semifinals Thursday, had good reason to feel proud because they needed to hold back a strong Lawrence team (20-3), whose only losses came against the Hillies.
In the first game, the Hillies looked like they might sweep Lawrence for the second time this spring, riding the strong serving of James Murray and strong all-around play at the net to a resounding 25-15 win.
But Lawrence, behind some powerful hits by Joel Rodriguez and Jose Vargas and the strong jump serving of Jesus Reyes, got its act together in the second game. Trailing 15-12, the Lancers went on a 13-5 run to prevail 25-20.
The third game proved to be pivotal. Lawrence seemed to have the momentum and led 20-15. But the Hillies got kills down the stretch from Murray, Pettis and Zach Sindoni to rally for a 26-24 win that set up the clincher.
Lawrence took a 10-7 lead in the fifth game, but unsung sophomore Tom Oliveira had a kill and two blocks to key an 8-2 run, making it 15-12. Pettis (match-high 18 kills) and Caruso combined for five kills from that point and Sindoni had two deceiving “dumps” to close out a 25-20 victory for the crown.
“I felt we just survived in the third set and then we finished strong, which is important,” said Kaste. “This is awesome for the kids. They worked hard and deserve this. I’m really happy for them.”
Lawrence, which still enjoyed a fine season, got an impressive 10 kills and 11 blocks from Rodriguez and a stunning six aces among 19 service points from Reyes, who just recently started using a jump serve.
Lawrence coach Tony Hajjar had no complaints with his squad and graciously gave credit to the Hillies.
“Haverhill is the better team no matter what,” said Hajjar. “We gave them our best, but they were better. Pettis is tremendous, but they’ve got other good players to go with him.”

LAWRENCE — After losing in the Division 1 North semifinals three of the past four years, the Lawrence boys volleyball team finally found its way into the championship game.

But the berth didn’t come easy.

The No. 2 Lawrence volleyball team swept No. 10 Cambridge 3-0 to advance to the Division 1 North semifinals.

Abimael Villa recorded 12 kills while Jose Vargas added eight kills and had nine blocks.

After splitting the first two games with Chelmsford, Jose Vargas (14 kills, 8 blocks and 10 digs) stepped up with some crucial digs and momentum-changing offense as Lawrence battled for a 3-1 volleyball victory.

Haverhill's unbeaten (11-0) boys volleyball team swept Lawrence for the first time in recent memory , prevailing by scores of 27-25, 25-13 and 26-24. Brett Pettis led the way at the net with 12 kills while Drew Caruso added nine. Lawrence dropped to 11-2, with both losses coming to the Hillies.

Jose Vargas led Lawrence in digs, blocks and kills as the Lancers tripped Newton South 3-1.

Lawrence lost Game 1 25-15 but stormed back to win the next three games to hand Central Catholic (6-1) its first loss of the season. 

"The boys stayed with it. They kept their cool," said Lancer coach Tony Hajjar, whose club improved to 7-1.

LAWRENCE — It's not how you start, but how you finish that makes all the difference as the Haverhill volleyball team proved last night.

In an early-season showdown of two of the Merrimack Valley Conference teams expected to vie for the league crown, the Hillies (2-0) battled back from a 2-0 deficit by winning the final three games to hand Lawrence (3-1) its first loss of the season.

The season is still young, but the Lawrence boys volleyball is off to a 3-0 start after defeating Lowell in three straight games. Joel Rogriguez and Abimael Villa both had six kills in a balanced attack for the Lancers, who host Haverhill in an early-season MVC showdown tomorrow.

Lawrence pulled out a five-set thriller over Westford. Setter Ariel Frias' leadership led the way late as the Lancers pulled out a 15-10 win in Game 5. Jose Vargas had five key late kills.