Latin Academy tops O’Bryant to capture BCL boys volleyball title

BOSTON There is a new king of the Boston City League Defending back-to-back-to-back boys volleyball champion O Bryant no longer wears the crown as a tenacious Latin Academy squad swept the champs - at Emmanuel College This was a rematch of last year s city championship Latin Academy was on the verge of a title a year ago ahead - entering the fourth set but a resilient O Bryant pulled off the comeback That was not the event this year as Latin Academy won each set - - and - in convincing manner Last year hurt reported Latin Academy coach Nick Mone It really stung This year we were determined not to let that happen again We focused on one point at a time Everybody stepped up and we did what we needed to do going to win this challenge Powered by gang captain outside hitter Otavio Perks kills and setter Max Dong assists O Bryant refused to relinquish its title without a proper fight But Latin Academy - spread the ball defended exceptionally well and showcased its firepower with a balanced attack from opposite hitter Gabriel Ugoji seven kills outside hitter James Urbaez four aces eight kills opposite hitter Timmy Lewis nine kills and outside hitter libero Teddy Stylianopoulos seven kills two assists Every member contributed to the win revealed Mone whose team-oriented approach paid dividends It s been a tough year We played the tough teams in DI and we took our lumps But the goal is to compete with anyone It s been hard but it s all about building and growing Seeing the players improve each day makes it all worth it Latin Academy won a back-and-forth affair in the opening set It was even at - before Latin Academy finished on an - run to seize the set - and grab the early advantage O Bryant - was dealt a blow in the second set when outside hitter Louis Chiu was forced to leave the encounter with a right ankle injury It was even at eight apiece when Chiu left the meeting and that was when libero Tri Duong the maestro of Latin Academy s defense led an attack that prevented O Bryant from generating any sort of consistent offense That s my job never let the ball hit the ground explained Duong who captured the meeting s The greater part Valuable Player award And it makes my coach happy Latin Academy won the set - to take a commanding - series lead With a deftness at reacting positioning and reading the hitter Duong stifled opportunities that would have led to O Bryant seizing momentum We were close last year and it was tough to lose so we worked extra hard to make this our year noted Duong Winning this title winning MVP winning with my teammates it all feels amazing O Bryant coach Paul Pitts-Dilley was unable to make the contest as he was present for his son s surgical procedure Filling in were assistant coaches Liam Healey and Nathan Tan Had a scant breaks went its way in that second set the outcome could have been a whole lot different Pardon my expression but that s the way the ball bounces mentioned Healey The boys left their hearts on the court Hopefully they use this as fuel for the playoffs These kids have a lot more fight in them A senior leader Ugoji played a pivotal part in Latin Academy s preeminence After watching his older brother play for O Bryant Ugoji vowed to rearrange the hierarchy in the city It resulted in a tremendous amount of sweat tears and turmoil but ends with the city championship finding a new home with Ugoji at Latin Academy A lot of struggle went into this mentioned Ugoji We leaned a lot from the seniors before us from their guidance and backing Personally I got a lot of endorsement from my teammates and coaches I can t thank them enough for helping me enjoy the ride And it s not over we still have states We ll go back to practice lock in and be ready for whatever comes next After losing in last year s Round of Latin Academy looks to extend its winning avenues in the Division state tournament where it is accomplishable it once again will see O Bryant We re not done yet explained Mone That s the message here We have a lot to still play for We had a tough finish last year and we re out for redemption