Young Lowell shines on big stage

HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL

Red Raiders sweep talented Boston Latin squad, 3-0

Lowell’s Bobby Pappas and Ian Mao rise to meet a spike from Boston Latin’s Johan Pineda during Lowell’s 3-0 state tournament win Thursday. JAMES THOMAS FOR THE LOWELL SUN

Lowell’s Vitou Seng powers a kill past Boston Latin’s Johnny Liang during Tuesday’s Division I state tournament match in Lowell. The Red Raiders swept 3—0. JAMES THOMAS FOR THE LOWELL SUN

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By Jason Cooke

Correspondent

LOWELL >> Thursday’s round of 32 boys volleyball clash between Lowell and Boston Latin was a useful barometer for Red Raider head coach Paul McCarthy as he witnesses his inexperienced team blossom on the big stage.

Lowell earned a 3-0 win on its home court, as the Red Raiders relied on timely play in 25-16, 30-28, 30-28 sets that McCarthy believes is a product of his squad’s development this spring.

Headlined by Aundre Rivera (11 kills, 13 digs) and Vitou Seng (33 assists), a Lowell team riddled with youth gutted out a win more often yielded by a seasoned class of veterans to advance to the round of 16.

No. 14 Lowell (19-2) will likely meet No. 3 Needham in the next round of the Division 1 state tournament as No. 19 Boston Latin (13-6) ends its season with a valiant effort on the road.

“It could have gone either way, and that’s what’s surprising,” McCarthy said. “My team is so young. At the beginning of the season, we’d lose that match. But they’ve grown up a little bit.”

The teams were knotted at eight in the first set until Lowell broke it open with a 5-0 run and never looked back to secure what would prove to be an important cushion ahead of the subsequent sets. Logan Uy (32 digs) showcased his defensive abilities with eight digs in the frame to support the Red Raiders.

It was a marathon to the finish line of the second set, as both sides traded blows until Lowell clinched the 30-28 win.

Boston Latin’s Nicolas Tse (13 kills) countered with a pair of timely kills to keep the Wolfpack alive, but clutch digs by Rivera mitigated the damage to set the table for a block from Gianni Rodriguez (10 kills, six blocks) to seal the win.

Like the previous two sets, Boston Latin had an answer to an early Lowell lead in the final set while on the brink of elimination to eventually tie the game at 19 to trigger a back-and-forth rally to the end.

Seng doled out 17 assists in the set and was the anchor of Lowell’s resilience. A junior captain, Seng has been a key cog in Lowell’s leadership group this season to mentor a young team.

“No one thought we were going to win, and we just use it as motivation during practice and always try our best,” Seng said.

Meanwhile, Rivera tallied some crucial kills, including a dagger to tie the third set at 26 amid a myriad of action, to propel Lowell to victory.

“Any big moment kill just means a lot because we keep the game alive and keep our game going,” Rivera said. “We just don’t want the season to end. We want to keep on going.”

Cory Tse (19 digs) and Ryan Nguyen (15 assists) fueled the comeback efforts for Boston Latin.

“They really fought, and I really believed the second and third set could have gone either way,” said Boston Latin head coach Kai Yuen. “Kudos to (Lowell), they definitely did enough to win those sets, and they move on.”