SCHOOL ROUNDUP

Dragons serve up another title

By Jack McCluskey, Globe Correspondent | November 1, 2006

The Latin Academy girls' volleyball team captured its third consecutive Boston City championship yesterday by dismantling a dangerous O'Bryant team, 25-13, 25-10, 25-11, at Hyde Park High.

The victory improved the Dragons to 18-1 and 16-0 in Boston City play – their third straight undefeated season in the league.

‘‘We work very hard on discipline, serving, passing, the basics,'' said Latin Academy coach Robert Huie. ‘‘We don't try anything fancy. These girls worked hard all year, came to every practice, they worked hard and drilled and this is what they got for it.''

That hard work showed as O'Bryant didn't hold a lead until the third game and recorded almost as many points on Latin Academy miscues (15) as it did on offense (19).

‘‘It feels awesome,'' said Latin Academy junior Evis Muhameti of her third city title in three years. ‘‘It took us a while but we managed to get together and bond and we're a family.''

Whenever the Tigers mounted an attack — their longest run was 2-0 — Latin Academy would shake it off and come right back behind Muhameti, who had four aces to go along with a couple of kills, senior middle hitter Shayne Perkins (1 block, 2 kills, 1 ace), and the strong passing of sophomore setter Ruth Le.

The Dragons charged to a quick lead in the first game, using strong serves and solid passing to score easy points against the Tigers, who often seemed unsure and out of place. After an O'Bryant timeout, the Dragons used Perkins's strong serving to go on an 8-0 run and push the score to 17-5, essentially ending the first game.

The second game started much like the first, with the teams trading points, and stayed close until a couple of O'Bryant mistakes — a missed serve, a touch on a hit that was sailing out of bounds, and a pass into the net — opened up a lead the Dragons wouldn't relinquish.

O'Bryant coach Trudy Fisher exhorted her team between games. ‘‘The referees are checking their watches to see if they will be done in under an hour,'' Fisher exclaimed to her players. ‘‘Act like you're proud to be here.''

The Tigers did their best in the third game and took their first lead of the afternoon (5-4) on a kill by senior middle hitter Jacquelyn Reid-Sturgis (5 digs, 3 kills).

With Reid-Sturgis all over the court, the Tigers kept the score close until Muhameti stepped up with five blistering serves, including two of her four aces.

‘‘We have a great coach,'' said Muhameti, her teammates celebrating behind her. ‘‘He has a quote and that is ‘Bring it on,' and that's what we live by, that's what we play by.

‘‘Bring it on. Any team, any time.''

Football
Division 3: Senior running backs Jay Pena and Joe Penney combined for 237 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries in unbeaten Whittier 's 36-14 win over Shawsheen in Commonwealth Large play.

Field hockey
Division 1 South: Juniors Jill Caramello and Erin Levesque provided the offense for Duxbury in its 2-1 victory over Norwood . Jill May had seven saves for the Green Dragons ..... Jeney Diamond had a goal and an assist in Masconomet's 2-0 win over Brookline .

Boys' soccer
Bay State : Aamel Segal scored three goals and added one assist as Brookline topped Braintree , 6-1. Segal has 16 goals and four assists this season.

Nonleague: Junior striker Kyle Cronin scored twice as Weymouth ( 13-1-6 ) tied Brockton , 2-2.

Globe correspondent Steve Crowe contributed to this report.