ROXBURY – The third time really is a charm.
After losing its first two matchups to Latin Academy this season, the O’Bryant boys volleyball team delivered when it mattered most Thursday night by edging out a 3-2 (25-23, 16-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-10) win in the Boston City League championship at Madison Park. It marked the Tigers’ (8-10) third straight league title after the Dragons (15-6) had claimed the prior four.
Freshman setter Max Dong (24 kills, four kills, three aces) earned Most Outstanding Player honors, leading O’Bryant in overcoming a 2-1 match deficit with gutsy close-outs in the fourth and fifth sets.
That includes an 8-1 run to finish off the match, in which Dong served for much of.
“This is the best one yet, it’s been a hard season,” said Tigers head coach Paul Pitts-Dilley. “The usual things like driving to Brockton because we don’t have a bus. … This is sweet. They’re great kids. I don’t think that 8-10 justifies how good the boys are. But we won, I’m happy. Hopefully the math works out (for a boost in the power rankings).”
A quick glance at the counting stats might be indicative of a Latin Academy win, as senior Daniel Imasuen (14 kills, five blocks), sophomore Teddy Stylianopolous (10 kills) and freshman James Urbaez (10 kills) each recorded double-digit kills while senior setters Son Vo and Johnson Le combined for 42 assists in a big showing.
But even after losing the second set handedly and just falling short in the pivotal third, O’Bryant got what it needed in critical times.
Latin Academy surged to a 7-0 run late in the fourth set to swipe a 21-20 lead after the Tigers started pulling away, but a Dong kill and ace coupled with a string of Dragons errors to help O’Bryant answer with a 5-1 run and a 25-22 win.
Senior middle Tochukwu Njoku (seven kills, five blocks) and sophomore outside Otavio Perks (13 kills, two blocks) each notched a pair of kills for the Tigers in a back-and-forth fifth that Latin Academy led 8-7 in, keeping up with Imasuen as he erupted for three kills and a block. Once Dong connected with Perks twice to knot the score at 9-9, his two aces and other serves paced a 6-0 run for a 13-9 lead. An error helped the Dragons get a point back, but O’Bryant earned the next two for the match.
Composure played a large role.
“We’ve found ways to give up leads late in sets (earlier in the year),” Pitts-Dilley said. “We saw a lot of that, and the emphasis was, if it happens again, what are we going to do differently? … We have a couple young guys who are really well-composed.”
Balance also was a major factor, with the Tigers shifting away from force-feeding Perks the way they did earlier in the year. Louis Chiu (three kills, two blocks) complemented Njoku in the middle and Raymond Huynh added a pair of kills.
“Offensively, I thought (Dong) did a really good job about using multiple people,” Pitts-Dilley said. “Early in the season, there was a game (Perks) got 65 percent of attempts, and that’s ridiculous. That’s not good volleyball. So, I think offensively, we’re much better about diversifying the offense. The freshman did a great job of doing that.”
