Fall 2024 State Championship Lookahead: Volleyball, Field Hockey, Cross Country

The Fall 2024 State Championship season continues in earnest this weekend -- actually, a day early, as the first of five Volleyball champions will be crowned Thursday, November 14.

The remaining four Volleyball title matches will be played Saturday, November 16, capping a 2 1/2-week tournament run in which all five brackets feature the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds in the final round.

Saturday will be a busy one across the MIAA landscape, with four Field Hockey championship games at Worcester State College, as well as the State Cross Country Championships at the Devens Willard Sports Complex.

Here is a look at what is ahead:

Volleyball

Division 5: Thursday (6:30 p.m.) at North High School, Worcester
Bourne High School vs. Whitinsville Christian School

The two schools previously met in a state final in 2018, won by Bourne (3-1). That was the last state title for the No. 1 seed Canalwomen, who were swept by Mount Greylock in last year's final.

Bourne has not lost a set during its tournament run, sweeping past Springfield International Charter, Blackstone-Millville, Wareham, and Baystate Academy Charter.

The No. 2 Crusaders are looking to not only avenge last year's defeat, but bring home the program's first championship. Whitinsville Christian took down Millis in the state semifinals, 3-1, and had previous wins over Georgetown (3-0), Turners Falls (3-0) and Lee (3-1).

Division 2: Saturday (11 a.m.) at Billerica Memorial High School
Westborough High School vs. Oliver Ames High School

The top-seeded Rangers will look to continue their dominance of Division 2, making their fourth straight title match appearance and gunning for a third straight championship. Westborough has swept past all four of its tournament opponents - Nashoba, Walpole, Duxbury and Westwood.

Meanwhile, that experience is a stark contrast to the No. 2 Tigers, who are in the state final for the first time. OA beat Billerica, 3-0, in the semifinals, and dropped their only set of the postseason in the Round of 8 vs. Longmeadow (3-1). The Tigers also have 3-0 wins vs. Grafton and Burlington.

Division 4: Saturday (1:30 p.m.) at Billerica Memorial High School
Bellingham High School vs. Ipswich High School

This is a rematch of the 2023 title match, when Ipswich ground out a five-set thriller.

The Blackhawks have the upper hand this time in the seeds, and will be looking to parlay that into the program's first state championship. After posting 3-0 wins vs. South Hadley, Norfolk County Agricultural and Ursuline Academy, Bellingham rallied for a 3-1 win vs. Millis in the semifinals.

Building off last year's win, the second-seeded Tigers are looking to make it four in a row overall. Ipswich hasn't dropped a set in the postseason with 3-0 wins over Bethany Christian, Hamilton-Wenham, East Bridgewater and Joseph Case.

Division 3: Saturday (4 p.m.) at Billerica Memorial High School
Weston High School vs. Medfield High School

The only previous state championship for the No. 1 seed Wildcats was a year ago, when they swept Medfield. Weston won a five-set battle against Old Rochester in the state semifinals after previously beating Greater Lowell Tech (3-0), Wakefield Memorial (3-1), and Ashland (3-0).

The No. 2 Warriors are not only looking to avenge last year's final loss, but also earn their first championship since taking three straight in Division 2 from 2008-10. Medfield has lost one set in the tournament, vs. Lynn Classical in the Round of 16, and also has wins over Notre Dame Academy of Worcester, Holliston, and the state semifinal sweep of Wayland.

The regular-season matchup between the schools was a 3-2 classic won by Weston on Sept. 23.

Division 1: Saturday (6:30 p.m.) at Billerica Memorial High School
Newton North High School vs. Brookline High School

The top-seeded Tigers are in the state final for the fourth year in a row and aiming for their third straight championship. North's dominant postseason run includes 3-0 sweeps of Peabody Veterans, Chelmsford, Franklin and Needham.

It has been much longer for the No. 2 Warriors, who made their only previous state final appearance in 1978. Brookline survived a five-set thriller against Acton-Boxborough in the semifinals, but posted its other wins by 3-0 scores (Cambridge Rindge & Latin, Quincy, Barnstable).

The Bay State Conference rivals split a pair of 3-1 matchups during the regular season, Newton North winning on Sept. 12 and Brookline bouncing back on Oct. 22.

Field Hockey

Division 2: Saturday (9:30 a.m.) at Worcester State College
Norwood High School vs. Somerset Berkley High School

After falling to Reading in overtime (2-1) in the 2023 title game, the top-seeded Mustangs will be looking for the first championship in program history. Norwood won a classic 3-2 matchup with Canton in the semifinals, scoring with 8 seconds to play. The Mustangs also beat Melrose (6-0), Scituate (6-0) and Reading Memorial (1-0). 

The No. 2 Raiders are back in the state final for the first time since 2019, when they won the second of back-to-back titles. Somerset Berkley cruised through its first three matchups vs. Wayland (10-0), Masconomet Regional (5-0) and Longmeadow (2-0) before edging past Hingham in the semifinals (4-2).

Division 3: Saturday (12 p.m.) at Worcester State College
Sandwich High School vs. Watertown High School

This is the fourth all-time state final meeting between the schools, including a pair in 2021 and 2022 (also 1989).

The No. 1 seed Blue Knights will be looking for not only their first win in the rivarly, but also the program's first championship since 1987. Sandwich has outscored its four tournament opponents by a combined 25-1 - beating Groton-Dunstable (7-0), Foxborough (6-0), Dover-Sherborn (8-1) and Medway (4-0).

The contrast is stark to the storied history for the No. 2 Raiders, who have won the last three Division 3 titles and 21 overall. Watertown has not allowed a goal in the tournament, with wins over Falmouth (8-0), St. Mary's (2-0), Bedford (8-0) and Dennis-Yarmouth (5-0).

Division 4: Saturday (2:30 p.m.) at Worcester State College
Uxbridge High School vs. Monomoy Regional High School

It's a rematch of the 2023 championship game, which was won by Uxbridge in dominant fashion (4-0).

The No. 1 Spartans are shooting for a fourth straight state championship after having never played in the title game before 2021. Uxbridge has outscored its opponents by a combined 34-0 in the tournament - beating Bromfield School (12-0), Clinton (11-0), Quabbin Regional (6-0) and Frontier Regional (5-0).

Last year's final was the first-ever championship appearance for the second-seeded Sharks. Before beating Sutton in the semifinals (3-0), Monomoy's toughest test was a 2-1 Round of 8 victory vs. Cohasset. The Sharks also have beaten Smith Academy (9-0) and Northbridge (5-0).

Division 1: Saturday (5 p.m.) at Worcester State College
Walpole High School vs. Andover High School

This is the fourth year in a row the two schools have squared off for all the marbles. Walpole won it a year ago after Andover took the previous two, all by 1-0 scores.

No. 2 Walpole, which has 13 championships in all, advanced to the final with a 3-0 win over Winchester. Walpole also has tournament wins over Marshfield (6-0), Acton-Boxborough (3-1) and Franklin (3-0).

The No. 4 seed Golden Warriors are the lone team in any of the four divisions who are not a No. 1 or 2 seed. Last year was the first defeat in the program's six previous title game appearances. Andover's road included wins over Shrewsbury (4-1), Beverly (1-0), Belmont (3-0) and Wellesley (2-1).

Cross Country

The top seven teams from each of the three sectional championship races, plus a pair of wild card entries based on cumulative time, will make up the 23-team fields that will compete for boys and girls championships in Divisions 1-3. The top 10 individuals in each sectional race that were not on qualifying teams also advanced to Saturday's meet.

Here is the schedule of races:

• Division 1 Girls, 11 a.m.
• Division 1 Boys: 11:45 a.m.
• Division 2 Girls: 12:30 p.m.
• Division 2 Boys: 1:15 p.m.
• Division 3 Girls: 2 p.m.
• Division 3 Boys: 2:45 p.m.

(Championship history courtesy of Mike Richard (mikerichard0725@gmail.com).