Salem Observer : Salem, Londonderry

Up to the challenge – Salem, pushed by Londonderry, pushes back for win

Salem Editor — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 21:50:00 GMT

It wasn’t pretty, but the boys of Salem High volleyball certainly took satisfaction in the final result.

Traveling to face Londonderry in a highly anticipated Division I match-up, the Blue Devils kept their undefeated streak intact, earning their 60th consecutive win despite facing more than 300 doubters in the stands.

“They thought we’d go into the Lancer-Dome and wouldn’t be able to take it,” said Blue Devils head coach E.J. Perry of Salem’s 3-1 win on Wednesday, Sept. 12. “They had a huge student body cheering them on, the biggest I’ve ever seen in any regular-season match since boys volleyball was sanctioned by the NHIAA (New Hampshire Interscholastic Athletics Association), and we just had to look it straight in the eye and decide whether we wanted to be undefeated or not when we walked out of there.”

The Blue Devils took the first game, 25-22, before the Lancers took game two by the same score. Senior Dan Kinney, a 6-foot-4 outside hitter, came up with 22 kills, eight blocks and 14 service points. Starter Josh Klecan completed 100 percent of his 28 passes and added seven kills.

Ryan Woelfel controlled the backcourt with 11 kills, while defensive specialist Mark Graziani returned to the starting lineup and contributed five digs; junior Sean Stewart finished the night with four digs.

The Blue Devils took the third game, 25-13, before quieting the crowd with a 25-21 victory in the final game.

Jumping to a 23-16 lead in the fourth game, Londonderry fought back with a 5-1 run, tightening the score to 24-21. Kinney’s final kill came unexpectedly, ending the game and preserving the Blue Devils’ untarnished record.

“He came out of nowhere with it,” said Perry of the game-winning play. “It was so back-and-forth the whole night, especially that third game. We had the lead, they made it close and then Dan … He was the story, the star, the ‘it’ of the night.”

Setter Tim Briggs put up a career-high 39 assists and had six kills; sophomore sensation Dan Tiner had eight kills playing outside hitter, and Billy Webster played his best game of the year, according to Perry, with seven kills and seven blocks.

• • •

On Thursday, Sept. 13, the Blue Devils took down Mascenic Regional, 3-0. Salem took the three games, 25-12, 25-7, and 25-15, for its 61st consecutive win.

Tiner led the crew with 15 kills, four blocks and two digs, while defensive specialist/setter Chris Barnes added 14 assists, and sophomore outside hitter Jared Scali finished with seven kills and nine service points.

Salem hosts Keene on Thursday, Sept. 20, in a rematch of last season’s Division I championship.

“We’re the only undefeated team in the NHIAA (boys volleyball standings), and everyone’s making contributions,” said Perry. “These teams are challenging us and making us work hard, but we’re all up for it.
And these guys, every single one of them, are ready to step up when they have to.”

Back on top – Salem whips Londonderry for second straight title

Salem Editor — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 17:16:00 GMT

BY SAPNA PATHAK

Cross Londonderry off the list – the list of opponents Salem has rolled through during its Class L softball reign. The Lancers are just another squad which settled for the runner-up plaque after facing the Blue Devils for the state title.

And they’re not alone.

Winning eight of the last 10 Class L championships – and taking the top prize in 14 of the program’s 16 seasons – the Blue Devils completed back-to-back titles with a convincing 5-1 victory at Memorial Field on Saturday, June 9.

Three dramatic, one-run wins moved the locals to the finals, and, afterward, Salem head coach Harold Sachs simply thanked his squad for not letting this one come down to the wire.

“The other three games, they were really close,” said Sachs after the win on Saturday, June 8. “We beat (Nashua) South, 1-0, then the quarterfinals we had to come from behind to win by a run. The Dover game (in the semifinals) came right down to the final out and final hit. I was just glad we didn’t have anything like that again. I’ll take a game like this over a close one any day.”

Maybe testing their coach’s nerves during the tournament’s first three games was enough: this time, top-seeded Salem came out swinging early – and hard.

Leadoff hitter and shortstop Brenna Morrissey drew a walk to open the bottom of the first, coming around on a one-out hit-and-run play when No. 3 hitter Katie Bettencourt slammed an RBI triple to right field on an 0-2 pitch. Senior Casey Stoodley scored Bettencourt on an infield out for a 2-0 lead.

The Blue Devils defense showed style of its own when center fielder Meghan St. Pierre preserved the lead, making a leaping catch with two outs and a Lancer on first in the top of the second.

“They have really good hitters,” said Bettencourt, who finished with two RBI and two extra-base hits. “So if it’s 5-1 or 10-1, we’re really trying to do everything not to let them score because they do it fast if you let them. We know they have good hitting, good pitching. It’s like playing ourselves.”

Salem extended its lead in the third when starter Alex Gallant scored on a bases-loaded wild pitch.

Bettencourt blasted a double to score Gallant in the home-half of the fifth before Erica DePinto made it 5-1 with a two-out double.

Gallant, who allowed one run on two hits in four innings, gave way to Emily Wolfe, who struck out two of the three batters she faced. Chelsea Durso closed the door on the Lancers, tossing two scoreless innings.

“We had a lot of pressure coming into this game,” said Bettencourt. “We’re Salem. We’ve got a target on our backs, and we know that. Today, I think, we played like ourselves, instead of how we looked in the last three games. Today, we looked like our normal selves, definitely.”

And “normal,” in Salem’s case, is synonymous with excellence.

Statement sent -Salem wins at Londonderry, expects big things in ʼ07

Salem Editor — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 16:12:00 GMT

BY MATT STOUT

It was a striking statement, though it was said so casually.

Moments after he nailed a three-pointer with 55 seconds left to snap a tie game in an eventual 62-57 win over Londonderry on Friday, Jan. 5, Salem’s Josh Jones confirmed that even three games into the Class L boys basketball season, the Blue Devils are thinking big.

Of course, shots like his game-clincher are as big as they get for the sophomore.

“Yeah, we had to make a statement,” Jones said of Salem’s come-from-behind win, one in which it rallied from as many as 10 points down early in the fourth quarter. “We want to be the No. 1 team. We want to win this championship.”

Of course, the road to the Class L title is a long one, and it continued Tuesday, Jan. 9, at 1-2 Exeter. But considering the intensity, fervor and poise it played with on Londonderry’s raucous home floor, Salem showed that Jones’ statement wasn’t a passing one.

The 6-foot-3 guard, despite playing the entire fourth quarter with four fouls, scored a game-high 26 points to negate the 21 Matt Travalini scored for Londonderry, and Salem’s Stephen Savage, stopped most of the game, moved into the blocks and exploded for seven straight markers at one point in the fourth to finish with 17.

Mike Kimball, who found Jones in the corner for his game-breaking three-pointer, chipped in with nine points, and back-up point guard Josh Frederico put in some quality minutes in replacing Chris Voukides, who fouled out late in the third.

It seemed everywhere Salem coach E.J. Perry looked he got a contribution. But that, like wins this season, is nothing new.

“These guys work every day, and it’s not the first guy or the second guy, it’s up to the 14th, 15th guy,” Perry said. “When (Shawn) Stoodley got in there, he did the job. Kimball was unbelievable as a sophomore just stepping up and making shots.

You have a back-up point guard who has to play 12 minutes in Frederico, but all the time he put in was unbelievable.

“And that’s just what we expect,” he continued. “Our first guy goes down, our next guy steps up.”

Still, it’s hard to argue any team could find a replacement for Jones. Shaggy-haired but able to make as clean a cut as you’ll find in the state, Jones – a week removed from scoring 57 points in three holiday-tournament games in Lawrence, Mass. – hit from everywhere against Londonderry: off screens, from the elbows, through the lane.

Perry said the sophomore can all but write his ticket to the collegiate level. For now, he’ll gladly take him as a second-year player.

“What’s that mean – sophomore?” Londonderry coach Jim Zorbas asked. “He’s out on the floor. I don’t care what he is. He plays for Salem.”