Last season it took the John Stark boys’ volleyball team 11 matches to win two, and the Generals snuck into the 2015 playoffs as the 12th, and final, seed. After Friday night’s 3-0 win against Coe-Brown (1-3), Stark is 2-3 this spring and the Generals have their sights set nowhere but up.
“Absolutely I think we’ve taken a step forward this year,” Stark Coach Dave Simeone said. “I see us being a solid playoff contender. We’re a couple steps behind the elite teams, but I see us having the athletic skills and ability to get to that point. But it will take a lot of work by the boys to get there.”
The Generals got straight to work on Friday, claiming the first set, 25-13.
“We were passing well, making good decisions with the ball, and the guys did a good job keeping the ball alive. They were alert and athletic,” Simeone said.
They lost a little of that alertness in the second set, but still pulled out a 25-22 win.
“Coe-Brown made some plays and they did a nice job keeping the ball alive in that second game. They’ve improved a lot from last year, too,” Simeone said. “We also stopped making good decisions and were trying to do too much.”
The Generals regained their focus in the third set, taking care of one hit at a time, and claimed a 25-18 win.
Stark junior Justin Bowen played the entire match and made solid contributions in all aspects. Libero Griffin Caswell led the defense with his consistent effort, as usual, and covered the entire court. And setter Sawyer Lemay, “really made good decisions throughout the entire game,” Simeone said.
Outside hitters Cody Lemay and Tyler Bossart had productive offensive matches for the Generals and middle hitters Aedan McCarron and Robbie Yelle, “were solid blocking and had some really good, heads-up play,” Simeone said.
Londonderry 6, Concord 1
Key players: Concord – Stephan Moran (2-for-3), Kurtis Stadnicki (RBI single), Griffin Gilbert (7 IP, 8 H, 5 K, 0 ER)
Highlights/key moments: The Crimson Tide scored in the bottom of the fourth to tie things at 1-1, but Londonderry scored three unearned runs (all of the Lancers’ runs were unearned) in the sixth to go back on top.
Coach’s quote: “Griff (Gilbert) pitched a great game. We made too many defensive mistakes to stay in the game. We need to clean things and we will be okay.” – Concord’s Scott Owen
Records: Concord 2-2; Londonderry 5-1
Coe-Brown 4, Kennett 2
Key players: Coe-Brown – Taylor Dow (complete game 2-hitter), Jayson Cleveland (3-for-3, 2 RBI, double), Brody Ashley (2-for-4, stolen base, run), Noah Dubois (1-for-1, RBI)
Highlights/key moments: Dow gave up a run in the top of the first, but the Bears answered with single runs in the first and second and two in the third, and their pitcher did the rest. Dow located with his fastball, mixed in his off-speed stuff as needed and walked just one while striking out six. Ashley scored Coe-Brown’s first-inning run when he singled, stole second and came home on a single from Dubois, who reached base three times (hit, walk, hit by pitch).
Records: Coe-Brown 4-1; Kennett 1-4
Goffstown 11, John Stark 1
Key players: John Stark – Leif Mailloux (1-for-2, home run, RBI, stolen base), Noah Greene (1-for-2), Callahan Loos (1-for-2)
Coach’s quote: “Tough day. Our pitching after (Egan) Nickerson and our bats need to step up for us. I believe they will, we just need to get there.” – John Stark’s Dennis Pelletier
Records: John Stark 2-2; Goffstown 4-1
Mascenic 5, Bishop Brady 2
Key players: Bishop Brady – Alex Gamache (5 IP, 0 earned runs, 2 runs), Martin Hecka (2-run homer), JP Nemcovich (played well defensively)
Highlights/key moments: Mascenic took advantage of six walks to take a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Hecka blasted a two-run shot in the seventh, but the Giants couldn’t close the gap any further.
Coach’s quote: “We got in a 3-0 deficit early and we just couldn’t dig ourselves out of it. Right now we can’t string any hits together to get enough runs on the board.” – Bishop Brady’s Skip Foy
Records: Bishop Brady 2-3; Mascenic 3-1
Merrimack Valley 19, Milford 0
Key players: MV – Dillon Arrant (2 goals, 5 assists), Warren Campbell (5 goals, 2 assists), Alex Lacy (4 goals, assist), Matt Jarvis (3 saves)
Highlights/key moments: Arrant scored the first goal of the game and then assisted on four of the next six as the Pride jumped out to a 12-0 halftime lead.
Coach’s quote: “We’re steadily improving and if we can continue to do that we’ll be a tough team to beat at the end of the season.” – MV’s Sean O’Brien
Records: MV 3-1; Milford
0-4
Pembroke 7, Kennett 5
Key players: Pembroke – Glenn Dion (4 goals, assist), Pat Berry (goal, assist), Josh Dion (goal, assist), Ryan Phelps (defense)
Highlights/key moments: Kennett took a one-goal lead with 7:46 left in the game, but the Spartans tied it back up a minute later then scored two more goals to secure the win. The game-winner was on a nice feed from Josh Dion to older brother Glenn Dion. Senior captain Phelps led a strong defensive effort.
Coach’s quote: “When you dig yourself into an early hole you have no choice but to dig yourself out. Our goal was to chip away at their lead while maintaining control of our emotions. (We knew if we took) care of each possession down the stretch we (would be able) to close this game out.” – Pembroke’s Tim Vasconcellos
Records: Pembroke 3-1; Kennett 1-3
Lebanon 10, Coe-Brown 5
Key players: Coe-Brown – Gage Desrosiers (won 13 of 18 faceoffs), Liam Taylor (3 goals), Ben Heyliger (goal, assist), Andrew Dziuba (2 assists), Jack Percy (goal)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears had a sluggish start, trailing 7-0 after the first quarter, but closed the gap the rest of the way. The Bears trailed 8-2 at halftime and 9-4 after the third quarter.
Coach’s quote: “We went down after the first quarter and we made some adjustments that helped us bounce back. It was definitely a flat first quarter. We’re looking forward to making some adjustments and seeing what they can do next week.” – Coe-Brown’s Ryan Hanavan
Records: Coe-Brown 1-2; Lebanon 1-1
Pelham 15, Hopkinton 8
Key players: Hopkinton – Owen Kanter (3 goals, 3 assists), Sam Schuster (2 goals), Joe Cullinan (2 goals, 7 ground balls), Carter Quiet (great defense), Derek Amoth (13 saves)
Highlights/key moments: The first half was very tight, ending with the Pythons holding a 5-4 lead, but Pelham built a large lead in the third quarter that the Hawks were unable to overcome.
Coach’s quote: “We played a good game but became exhausted in the second half as a result of injuries and missing players. However we continued to push the ball on offense and created some good scoring opportunities. Credit to Pelham for keeping the pressure on with high quality shots.” – Hopkinton’s Deacon Blue
Records: Hopkinton 2-2; Pelham 3-0
Kearsarge 15, Campbell 0
Key players: Kearsarge – Jakob Arnold (10 saves), Justin Norris (4 goals, 3 assists), Colton Wilhelm (3 goals), Lucas Muzzey (3 goals), Brandon Butcher (14 face off wins)
Highlights/key moments: Kearsarge was in control throughout the game, leading 4-0 after the first quarter, 9-0 at halftime and 11-0 after the third quarter en route to its fourth straight win.
Coach’s quote: “No complaints today. Great all-around effort from everyone on the roster.” – Kearsarge’s Zach Matthews
Records: Kearsarge 4-1; Campbell 2-2
Bishop Brady 11, Gilford 4
Key players: Bishop Brady – Bryce Johnson (5 goals, 2 assists), Chris Thurber (2 goals, 2 assists), Rich Sullivan (2 goals, assist), Colby Garcia (goal, assist), Kyle Cioffi (goal), Craig Newcomb (16 saves)
Highlights/key moments: Brady led 5-1 after the first quarter and had a 7-3 advantage at halftime. Johnson had his second straight game with five goals and Garcia scored his first varsity goal to go along with an excellent game at the faceoff X.
Coach’s quote: “Very happy to snap a three-game losing streak. Going into April vacation 2-3 feels a lot better than 1-4 and we can build on this win going forward. We took 10 penalties and killed all of them, so we know our defense is hitting their stride.” – Bishop Brady’s Justin Loring
Records: Brady 2-3; Gilford 1-4