NATICK – After falling to Newton North in dominant fashion early in the season, Natick was hoping to keep it close in the rematch at home. Instead, the Redhawks pulled off something that the program has not done in a long time.
Despite dropping the opening set, Natick (7-4) stormed back to secure a 3-1 volleyball victory over the three-time defending Division 1 champions. Natick won 23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 27-25.
Head coach Bob Harless said the team’s main focus was to compete better than the initial matchup, which Natick lost 25-8, 25-18, 25-12.
“They didn’t want to get embarrassed like they got embarrassed last time, that was our low point,” Harless said. “It was ‘dig pink night’, all of their friends and family were there. (Our team) showed up, and in girls volleyball, that result can happen.”
Harless said the team was focused on “serve-receive” and in serving aggressively to try to limit the damage Tigers star Sasha Selivan could do on the court.
“We figured if we could serve aggressively, we could get them out of system so Sasha isn’t killing us on every set,” Harless said. “She still had her moments but I think we neutralized her a bit more than we did last time.”
Newton North (10-2) led for the majority of the opening set but Natick rebounded and eventually tied it at 19. The Redhawks held a brief lead, but eventually the Tigers claimed the set 25-23.
While Natick faced a deficit, keeping the score close was something that Harless felt was a momentum boost. The second set was back-and-forth and featured nine different lead changes. A big key for the Redhawks was excelling at returning serves, which senior libero Scarlett Jones said was a reflection of the growing chemistry.
“It really helps having people back there that you can trust,” Jones said. “We work every day on serve receive, and I think we nailed that today. It was awesome.”
The RedHawks grabbed a set lead at 18-17 and did not relinquish it, eventually winning 25-21. That was just the sixth set loss of the season for the Tigers and Natick carried this momentum over to the third set.
The Red Hawks took a 4-3 lead and held it from there. A key to this was middle hitter Brooke Barnett, who squashed numerous Tiger charges with blistering kills at the net.
“Asking for the ball and calling for the ball was big for me,” Barnett said. “The connections I had with the setters were really working today.”
The fourth set saw some final pushes from the Tigers, who even held a set point at 24-23. However, Natick continued to stay within range and eventually finished the hob with a 27-25 victory.
“It’s definitely a shock feeling,” Barnett said. “I’m just so proud of our team and what we accomplished. This meant a lot for us.”
As Natick prepares for the rest of its schedule, Jones said this victory set the tone for how they can perform going forward.
“Beating a team that is top five in the state really brings some momentum toward our team,” Jones said. “We just lost to Wellesley last week, which was tough, but now beating Newton North will help us with rankings and confidence overall.”
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