MILFORD, Mass. – It didn’t start off easy, but a timely defensive play in the first game and a solid attack helped top-seeded Milford sweep #8 Xaverian, 3-0, in the volleyball Central Quarterfinals.
Xaverian knotted the game at 23 with an 8-3 run in game one and looked ready to take the lead on an attack, but Milford senior Adam Zouranjian dove to the rescue to save the ball and the point for the Scarlet Hawks. With the momentum on their side, senior Michael Soares picked up his eighth kill to seal game one.
“Coach always tells us to hit the floor no matter what,” Soares said. “[Adam] did that. It was a big momentum shift and we won that first game because of it.”
The momentum carried over into game two – a 25-16 win – where Soares picked up six more kills and junior Michael Antonellis added six of his own.
“I think it was just a momentum shifter for us,” Antonellis said of Zouranjian’s first game defensive play. “I feel like those two points sometimes at the end of games can spark a team for the rest of the match.”
The Scarlet Hawks completed the sweep in game three with another 25-16 win, in a game filled with a lot of unforced errors for both sides.
Xaverian head coach David Ludwig said a big part of the loss was the unforced errors his team made, but also credited the skill of Milford.
“Too many errors, too many mental mistakes on our side,” Ludwig said.
Although a lot of Xaverian’s errors came unforced, plenty were because of the quickness and pressure Milford continually applies.
“We definitely like to capitalize on people’s errors,” Antonellis added. “The more mistakes they make the easier it is for us to use them.”
Milford setter Tim MacMannis grabbed 32 assists in the game and is becoming more and more reliable.
“He’s such a great setter,” Soares said. “Tim always gives us accurate balls no matter what so its great to have him.”
Milford will now host #12 Natick, who defeated #4 South High.