Classical draws tough volleyball tourney foe

The MIAA volleyball pairings are out and let’s just say Classical has its work cut out drawing Central Catholic in the first round of Division 1 North play.The Rams, the only team in the city to make the postseason, will play the Raiders Thursday at 6 p.m. at Classical.Although Classical (16-4) is the higher seed at No. 5, the Raiders (10-9. 12th seed) have a reputation for being strong in just about anything they play. The two teams met two years ago and Central Catholic won handily, but Classical coach Frank DeLuca expects a much different match this time around.”We’ll find out how far we’ve come,” DeLuca said. “Two years ago we just wanted to make the tournament (it was the Rams first time doing so). We were happy doing that. Now we want to see how far we can go. We’re going there to play.”DeLuca said one of the problems two years ago was that his team had a tough time receiving the ball.”I think we’re a lot better at that now,” DeLuca said. “As long as we don’t make unforced errors and mistakes, I think we can play with them.”This is the third year in a row the Rams have qualified for the state tournament. They’ll head into the postseason not only riding a great record, but they also have a Lynn City Tournament title under their belt. Classical defeated St. Mary’s in the championship game last Saturday, led by tournament Most Valuable Player Ivy Martin and all-tournament team selection Cassie D’Agostino. Both are senior captains.Peabody, at 17-1, is the No. 2 seed in Division 1. The Tanners will have a first round home match against Malden on Thursday at 4 p.m. Malden is seeded 15th.In Division 2 North, Bishop Fenwick will travel to Bedford Friday for a 6 p.m. match. The Crusaders (14-6) are the No. 9 seed and Bedford (14-6) is No. 8. Fenwick had a great run last year, defeating Melrose 3-0 to win the Division 2 North title before losing to Notre Dame of Hingham in the state semifinal.Also in Division 2 North, Marblehead (16-4) will play Stoneham Friday at 4 p.m. in a first round match at Marblehead. Marblehead has been quite a success story. This is only the second year of the program and after going 5-15 last year, the Magicians pretty much flipped the numbers.Coach Kileen Ross said her numbers both years have been great (approximately 80 girls) and their interest in the sport has extended into the offseason. She said girls as young as eight have been getting out there playing. There’s a USA volleyball program in town that has girls from 10-18 years old. It starts in about two weeks and goes until May. Girls from outside the town have also gotten involved.The Lynnfield High volleyball team will be hoping for a repeat of last year’s success in the Division 3 state tournament. The Pioneers defeated top seed Notre Dame in the D3 North final before losing to Fairhaven in the state semifinal. This year the Pioneers bring a 15-3 regular season record to the party which was good enough for the third seed. Notre Dame is once again the top seed.The Pioneers will start what they hope will be a long run when the play the Whittier Tech vs. Austin Prep winner Nov. 3 at 6 p.m. at Lynnfield. This will be a quarterfinal matchup.