EHS Boys Volleyball Opens With 3–0 Victory
The Everett High boys volleyball team opened its 2024 season on a winning note with a 3-0 shutout over non-league opponent Wakefield last Thursday.
“The team did well in our opener,” said EHS head coach Mike Fineran. “It was a solid win, but not without its bumps. We lost to Wakefield early last year, so we knew we needed to be focused to get the win. We were clearly nervous to start, missing serves and hitting long.
“But we settled in, and we were led by junior captain Henrique Franca, who hit seven kills in the first set, which we won 25-18,” continued Fineran. “Henrique is a tremendous player and he emerged as a star last season. He has the ability to calm things down with his passing, but he is also one of the most powerful hitters in the league.
“One of the promising things about this team is that we don’t need to rely solely on him to win games. We have a deep and talented team,” Fineran said. “Senior captain Hyan Soares is another three year starter and he added two kills in the opening set. The two senior assistant captains shined in the second set, which ended 25-16. Outside hitter Nischal Tamang had two kills and hit all seven serves in and setter Mark Pierre led the team with 11 serves and four aces.
“Sophomore Christian Ramirez was a solid defender in his varsity debut,” Fineran added. “Christian has been devoted to volleyball since last season and he will be one of our key players this season. He was 9-for-9 serving with two aces in the match.
“In the third set, we found ourselves down 17-7, but juniors Steve Flores and Matheus Queiroz led the comeback,” Fineran continued. “Steve made a number of big plays at the net and Matheus served four in a row to tie the set 25-25.”
Franca delivered his 12th kill of the match to give Everett a 27-26 lead and the Crimson Tide won the next rally to end the match.
“We showed a lot of heart coming back like that in the third set,” concluded Fineran. “It wasn’t perfect, but good teams find ways to win. I’m excited to see what we can do as we get more experience and grow more confident.”
Fineran and his crew are scheduled to host Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Chelsea today (Wednesday). They will travel to Lynn Classical next Monday and will return home to entertain Lynn English next Wednesday.
The Crimson Tide will play a 19-match schedule, meeting their seven GBL rivals (Medford, Malden, Somerville, Chelsea, Revere, Lynn Classical, and Lynn English) twice and facing non-league opponents Wakefield and Essex Tech twice each and Pioneer Charter once.
EHS Spring Sports Set To Open Seasons
The Everett High spring sports season is scheduled to get underway this week, though Mother Nature may play the spoiler role for some of the opening-week festivities.
The EHS softball team, which was rained out of its season-opener last Thursday with Cambridge, was hoping to beat the arrival of the foul weather this week with a contest against Greater Boston League (GBL) rival Chelsea yesterday (Tuesday). Coach Stacy Schiavo and her squad will travel to GBL foes Lynn Classical on Monday and to Lynn English next Wednesday.
The Lady Crimson Tide will play a schedule of 20 games, with 14 against their seven GBL rivals (Chelsea, Malden, Medford, Revere, Lynn Classical, Lynn English, and Somerville) and six vs. non-league opponents Cambridge (2), O’Bryant High of Boston (2), Boston Latin Academy, and Lowell.
The EHS baseball team, under new head coach Malik Love, was hoping to open its season this afternoon (Wednesday) at Glendale against Chelsea. They will host non-league rival Lowell on Friday and entertain GBL opponents Lynn Classical on Monday and Lynn English next Wednesday.
Love and his crew will play a schedule of 20 games, with 14 against their seven GBL rivals (two each vs. Chelsea, Malden, Medford, Revere, Lynn Classical, Lynn English, and Somerville) and six vs. non-league opponents Charlestown (2), Greater Lawrence Tech (2), Mystic Valley, and Lowell.
Coach Chelsea McNiff and the EHS girls lacrosse team will try to get its season underway tomorrow (Thursday) vs. Malden at 7-Acre Park and then will trek to Somerville on Friday. They will host Medford on Monday
Boys Tennis Drops Trough, 3–2 Match
The Everett High boys tennis team opened its season with a tough, 3-2 loss to non-league rival Lowell this past Monday.
“It was a heartbreaker,” said EHS head coach Greg Bluestein.
The Crimson Tide’s Bryant Jimenez won his match at first singles and Erik Vo won at third singles. The outcome of the match came down to the two doubles contests, with the Tide falling short by the slimmest of margins. Both the first-doubles duo of Tam Tran & Nilabhro Pal and the second-doubles tandem of Anthony Fontes & Gabe Lemus fell in tie-breaker sets that went to the last point.
The EHS girls tennis team fell in its opener vs. Lowell by a score of 4-1. Coach Courtney Meninger and her crew play at non-league opponent Saugus on Friday.