Redemption for Newton North Girls' Volleyball Team

The Tigers faced King Philip in the Central/East Div. 1 finals on Saturday.

After the championship slipped out from their hands last season, the Newton North girls' volleyball team held on this season to bring home the Central/East Div. 1 title.  The Tigers swept King Philip High School Saturday night at Babson College to take the sectional championship with a 3-0 victory.  Similar to last season, the Tigers entered the playoffs in the No. 1 spot and moved through the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds with two 3-0 victories. But last year, the No. 3 Brookline High stopped Newton North's playoff momentum and took the sectional title.  This year, though, the Tigers pounced early with a 25-9 victory in the first set. Later in the second set, King Philip kept it close again early on, taking a 5-3 lead a one point, but…

• Photos (1)

PatchCast

PatchCast: Bear Sighting Leads to Precautionary Measures for Schools

Plus other regional news from the Boston area.

For more on today's stories, please visit the following links:

•  1 Comment
• Videos (1)

Patrick Clark

7:07 pm on Wednesday, June 1, 2011

The picture of the black bear featured in PatchCast is from Boxborough, MA.   more ›

Comeback Falls Just Short for Newton South Boys Volleyball

Bouncing back from a two set deficit, South lost 3-2 to host Lincoln-Sudbury on Wednesday.

The two-set comeback by Newton South's boys volleyball team was an impressive effort, but not quite enough to bring the Lions a "W" Wednesday night. After coming back from a two set deficit, the second place Lions dropped the deciding set to lose 3-2 to Dual County League (Large) leaders Lincoln-Sudbury. “We came in knowing we were going to have our backs against the wall,” said South coach Todd Elwell. “It took us a little while to get warmed up and acclimated, but we showed a lot of courage by hanging in there during games three and four.” After dropping the first two sets 25-18 and 25-17, the Lions (11-4, 9-2) bounced back to win the next two sets 25-22 and 25-21, respectively. L-S (12-1, 11-0) responded by grabbing a 15-11 victory in …

• Photos (8)

A Strength That Carries

Looking ahead at next year's Newton South volleyball team and the strength it has behind it.

Todd Elwell has a problem with his Newton South girl's volleyball program: he will be losing nearly his entire team that helped get to three straight Div. 1 North finals. But Elwell has a solution. In his six years as head coach, Elwell has built up a program that has more girls coming out to try volleyball then any other time in school history. That depth and that passion for the sport—one that many girls come in with no experience at all—has allowed the coach to replenish and re-tool whenever a talented senior class leaves. "Our volleyball IQ over the course of six years coaching has been ratcheting up," said Elwell. "You think you are going to have to take a big step back, but you don't." Elwell will be losing seven seniors, highlighted…

• Photos (1)

Revenge Not So Sweet For Newton South

The Lions squandered a 2-0 lead to lose to Quincy.

QUINCY—What started out as a dream scenario for the Newton South girl's volleyball team quickly turned in to a nightmare, as the No. 4 Lions squandered a two game lead to drop the Div. 1 Central0East division semi-final to No. 1 Quincy, 3-2 (25-20, 25-22, 16-25, 21-25, 9-15), last night. Quincy will play their cross-town rival North Quincy, who dropped Newton North just a day before, in the finals on Saturday. The Lions were looking for a little revenge for last year's rude 3-2 exit from the finals versus Quincy, and at first, it looked like they were going to get it. In the first game, the two teams played tight the entire way, but Emily Shames served home the final five points after being locked up at 20. Jessica He's tip over a defender…

• Photos (1)

Newton Teams Make Statement in MIAA Tournament

Catching you up with the latest tournament results and games.

Over the last couple of weeks, Newton sports teams have been representing the city's top-notch athletic program and fighting through MIAA tournament play. Several teams from Newton North and Newton South High Schools made it to playoffs this year and some are still working for a title. Here is an update on what has happened so far: Newton North High School   Newton South High School

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Melanie Graham

2:52 pm on Thursday, November 11, 2010

Did we miss a game, team or important moment in Newton's MIAA tourney play? Feel free to leave a comment here or e-mail Melanie.Graham@patch.com.   more ›

Newton South Volleyball Blanks King Philip

The Lions beat the Warriors 3-0 to advance to the Div. 1 Central-East semi-final round.

The Newton South girls volleyball team set the tempo early last night in its Div. 1 Central-East quarterfinal match by dominating early in game one over No. 12 King Philip 25-9. The fourth-seeded Lions didn't miss a beat in game two and three winning both to earn the 3-0 victory. The last two set scores were 25-21 and 25-22, respectively. The win propels the Lions to the semifinals where they will face No. 1 Quincy. It will be a rematch of last year's Central-East final match that Newton South lost 3-2. The starting time is slated for 7 p.m. Thursday at Quincy High School. "It's nice to put the other team on their heels with serving right away," Lions head coach Todd Elwell said about game one. "We know they're going to be a little …

• Photos (5)

Newton North Serves Itself Into Semifinals

No. 2 Newton North looked strong after a 10-day layoff.

The rust was clearly visible for the Newton North girl's volleball team on Monday night, but once the tarnish rubbed off the Tigers proved why they are the No. 2 seed in the Central/East Div. 1 bracket. In front of a home crowd last night, the Tigers dismantled No. 10 Boston Latin Academy, 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-10). The quarterfinal game came after 10 days off from competition for the Newton team. The Tigers will play No.3 North Quincy in the semi-final game Wednesday at home. The match time has yet to be announced. "For some of them this is their first tournament experience," said head coach Richard Barton. "They were nervous beyond the situation given, because we are a stronger team. But they settled down and finished very strong." The …

• Photos (19)

What to do This Weekend in Newton

There's plenty of things going on around the city this weekend, so you have no excuse to stay at home on the couch.

It's Newton Community Weekend at the Jackson Homestead & Museum. This Saturday and Sunday Newton residents will get free admission to the museum. Learn all about Newton's historic past as well as the Jackson Homestead's role in the Underground Railroad. Museum is open noon - 5 p.m. Newton North High School Tigers football will look to continue their winning streak in a game against Natick Saturday afternoon. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. at the Newton North Dickinson Stadium. The Newton South High School girls volleyball team will have their first match of MIAA tournament play Saturday at 6 p.m. The 14-5 team will host Chelsea at home. Newton North boys and girls soccer will also have their first game of MIAA tournament …

• Photos (3)

Newton South Volleyball Enters Tourney

The Lions hope to continue the momentum of their 14-5 season.

The old cliché of taking the tournament "one game at a time" still runs through the blood of the Newton South girl's volleyball team. But when the team has come so close to tasting the semi-finals of the Division 1 state tournament for the past two years, one can excuse the team if they have a little forward thinking. The Lions enter the postseason as the No. 4 seed in the Central/East Division after a 14-5 campaign this year. Their first tournament game is Saturday night at home against No. 13 Chelsea, who finished the season with a 7-12 record. Game start is scheduled for 7 p.m. In their last two playoff runs, the Lions had a 10 seed and a 6 seed, respectively, and head coach Todd Elwell is O.K. with his girls feeling that they can get …

• Photos (1)