By Sapna Pathak
Staff Writer
When Tim Sadowski
graduates, he’ll know Salem’s
boys volleyball team is in
good hands. After winning a
third straight Division I title,
Sadowski celebrated with his
seven senior teammates.
Meanwhile, junior Dan
Kinney saw visions of next
season.
The top-seeded Blue Devils
capped off their undefeated
season with a 3-1 win, behind
tremendous efforts from Sadowski
and Kinney, beating No.
3 Keene on Friday, Oct. 27.
“I feel like a big part of
the team,” said Kinney after
the match. “But all the others
work so well together, that’s
why we’ve been so successful.
It’s nerve-wracking to know
I’ll be looked at as next year’s
leader, but other juniors have
done it.”
Though Kinney might have
doubts, Salem head coach E.J.
Perry is quite confident in his
6-foot-4 right-side hitter.
“Sadowski did it for the guy
before him,” said Perry. “And
Dan will be the candidate to
take over for Sadowski. He
took the mantle, and I know
he’s not going to be ready to
give away the championship
plaque next year.”
In front of a packed house
at Pinkerton Academy, Salem
faced the Blackbirds, whom it
beat twice, 3-0, in the regular
season. Game one saw Keene
match up well until the Blue
Devils called a timeout, leading
16-13. Salem outscored
Keene 9-0 to take a 25-13 win.
In game two, the Blue Devils
cruised to a 25-16 win despite
11 straight Keene points
in one stretch.
The Blackbirds used that
momentum in game three,
holding Salem to 18 points in
a 25-18 win.
“[Before the fourth game]
Coach told us to get our heads
in it and play ‘Salem volleyball’,”
said senior middle hitter
Tajh Stokes. “That means
aggressive, smart, get-it-done
volleyball.”
After Keene earned the
fourth game’s first point, Salem
answered with 10 consecutive
points. Ultimately,
Sadowski readied himself for
a game-point serve.
Off an assist from senior
co-captain Casey Swift, Sadowski’s
final kill as a Blue Devil
earned Salem the 25-12 win.
“I told those eight seniors
to leave nothing on the court,”
said Perry. “Our hitting and
passing was unbelievable, and
I know next year’s guys have
learned enough from the seniors
to pick things up where
we left off tonight.”
With the championship
victory still fresh, Kinney can
enjoy this year’s success before
saying goodbye to a graduating
class that led the Blue Devils to
a win streak of more than 50
matches.
Game notes
Senior co-captain Garrett
Piccirillo had 15 assists, three
kills and three aces. Swift
added a record 18 blocks and
five kills, while Kinney came
up with 10 kills. Sadowski finished
with 15 assists, 11 kills
and three aces. Stokes had seven
kills, and senior co-captain
Nick Loomis had five kills.
Junior Josh Klecan was
90 percent accurate with his
passing; he finished with 27
passes. Juniors Mark Graziani
and Tim Briggs played strong
games in the backcourt.