Girls’ volleyball defeated Belmont at Wellesley High School this morning 3-0 to win the MIAA Central East Sectional Championships. “It was a match that was dominated by our whole team,” said head coach Richard Barton.
North started the match off strong by winning the first two sets 25-12 and 15-11. Early in the second set, seniors Erin Carey and Hannah Kett, captains with seniors  Shaelyn Fitzgerald, Lauren Gobler, Sarah Hiranandani, Cecily Powderly, Chelsea Simmons, and Ashley Wang, made several blocks to give North a commanding lead.
According to Barton, Kett and Carey were “a real key to the match” because “they made no errors and had many kills.”
North jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the third set after Wang made an impressive kill. However, Belmont made several plays to keep themselves in the match and cut North’s lead to 13-10. They had several serves that North was unable to return, and was able to expose several gaps in North’s defense.
“I knew we just had to regain focus and win the next couple of points,” said Simmons.
North then scored two quick points to increase their lead to 15-10.
Junior Liisa Halloran returned from an injury several weeks ago and had a significant impact on the match due to her leadership skills. Halloran kept the team alert by calling plays and the score of the set. According to Barton, everyone on the team was “on the same page and very confident on the court.”
Kett and Wang helped the Tigers down the stretch by making several key blocks to clinch the match.
North will face the winner of the North Sectional Championship game on Tuesday night at 5 p.m. at Natick High School.