LYNN — The Classical volleyball team got off to a slow start Tuesday evening, but eventually the Rams stabilized and earned a 3-1 win over Revere at home. Classical, which hadn’t played or practiced in over a week due to electrical issues in its gym, dropped the first set before taking the final three for the win. The set scores were 21-25, 25-22, 25-17, 26-24.
“That layoff was a little tough on us, and I knew we were going to come out a bit sluggish,” said Classical coach Frank DeLuca. “But once we got past that, we really brought the intensity and played well. When we played in Revere earlier this year it was the same kind of game, so we knew it would be a tough battle.”
Pamela Diaz had a big game for Classical with 23 digs, while Amber Crayton notched eight assists and four kills. Jean Gupton-Morrison had six kills, Cherish Nwoko had five kills and Kiara Edmonds and Chloe Clement each had four kills.
“We were just a little too inconsistent out there and it ended up hurting us,” said Revere coach Lianne O’Hara Mimmo. “We played well at times, but we gave away too many points throughout the game.”
The game was a back-and-forth affair throughout, and it was like that from the opening serve. The two teams battled through six ties and five lead changes in just the first set, with Revere eventually gaining the upper hand and taking a 17-15 lead to force Classical into a timeout. But the timeout didn’t do much good, as the Patriots came out of the break firing and quickly jumped to a 20-15 lead. Classical did battle back to make it a 21-19 set at one point, but the Patriots were able to hold the Rams off. After a kill by Revere’s Olivia Winsor, the Patriots took the set 25-21.
Revere then jumped out to an 8-3 lead early in the second set, but Classical fought back. The Rams chipped away at the deficit slowly but surely, and eventually Classical came all the way back to tie the score at 16-16. The Rams then shot ahead 19-16 and forced Revere into a timeout. That timeout helped the Patriots a bit, as they rallied to make it a 23-22 set, but a service point for Classical’s Kristen Brazell gave the Rams the set win by a score of 25-22.
It was Classical that jumped ahead early in the third set, going up 9-6. Revere fought back to tie the score at 12-12, but the Rams continued to push. Some unforced errors by Revere helped the Rams pull away, and in the end it was a service error that gave the Rams the winning point to take the set 25-17.
The fourth set was the closest of them all, with five ties and four lead changes over the course of the set. It started with a 4-1 lead for Revere, but Classical quickly came back to take a 5-4 lead. After a few back and forth lead changes, Revere took a 10-6 lead and forced the Rams to take a timeout. That timeout proved helpful, as Classical was able to crawl all the way back to tie the score at 18-18. Revere again jumped ahead to a 23-20 lead and looked to be on its way to forcing a fifth set, but Classical rallied with a 4-1 run to knot the score at 24-24. After an unforced error by Revere set up match point, Nwoko ended the game with a kill to take the set 26-24 and win the game.
Next up for Revere (13-6) is a tough matchup with Division 1 Winchester on Thursday (5:30).
As for Classical (14-2), the Rams will take on Saugus Wednesday (5:30).
“We’ve got a bunch of games coming up in a row this week, so hopefully the girls are nice and rested because we’ll need it,” DeLuca said.
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VOLLEYBALL
St. Mary’s 3, Matignon 1
Alyssa Grossi had seven kills and two blocks in the win for St. Mary’s, while Lia Catino had four aces.
St. Mary’s takes on Tech in the Lynn City Tournament Thursday (5).
Tech 3, Fellowship 1
Tech got great performances from Nani Merced (seven aces, 11 kills), KK Carrasquillo (six aces, 15 kills), Derlande Montas (eight kills) and Jasinairy Camilo (15 assists).
The Tigers will go up against St. Mary’s in the Lynn City Tournament Thursday (5).
Peabody 3, Hamilton-Wenham 0
The Tanners won by set scores of 25-13, 25-18, 27-25.
Junior Aaliyah Alleyne led the way with 11 kills and three blocks, while Isabel Bettencourt had 17 service points and 16 assists. Sarah Broughton and Olivia Kiricoples combined for 12 kills.
Peabody (8-9) plays Marblehead Tuesday (5:30).
BOYS SOCCER
KIPP 11, CCSC 0
Kenny deLeon led the way for KIPP with two goals, while Marco Escobar, Anderson Rodriguez, Angel Zuniga, Gabriel Barrios, Jorge Zapata each scored one goal.
Masconomet 1, Lynnfield 0
Luke Martinho played well for the Pioneers in their final regular season game. Lynnfield (9-8-1) now awaits its seeding in the Division 3 North tournament.