With its 72nd straight win, Needham boys’ volleyball surges into Division 1 final against rival Newton North

The Rockets (26-0) were locked inan 11-11 tie before laying down 10 straight points in the first set. They trailed 21-18 in the second before a tide-turning 7-2 surge. Then, at 15-all in the third set, Needham used a 10-2 surge to close out the match.

Powell said at the beginning of the season that his team boasted rare depth, and it allows him to tinker with combinations even in the state tournament.

“It’s definitely come a long way since the beginning of the year, and the kids have worked really hard,” he said.

Needham boasts two elite setters and several capable hitters. Raymond Weng (11 assists) and Devin DellaMarggio (17 assists) took turns dishing out quality passes. Ethan McCarron was often the beneficiary with 14 kills, and Weng, who played at both setter and right side, added 12 of his own.

“It feels really good,” Weng said. “We’ve learned to grow with each other. We hang out with each other outside of practice, so it makes it even better that we have this kind of chemistry.”

The Rockets will face Bay State Conference rival Newton North Thursday at Worcester State (7:15 p.m.) with a chance to secure a third consecutive state championship. Weng has been a key cog on the prior two title teams, and his even-keeled leadership has him ready for another bout.

“I like to hold myself [as] confident,” he said. “It’s a good mindset to have… [But] I don’t want to be too overconfident to where it’s affecting my game.”

Newton North 3, Brookline 2 — After allowing a commanding two-set lead to evaporate, nerves were admittedly creeping in for the seventh-seeded Tigers (14-6) as they regrouped for the fifth set against 11th-seeded Brookline.

The momentum had completely flipped. Brookline’s large traveling fan section was deafening at Newton South.

But with their backs against the wall, the Tigers buckled down.

Powered by senior setter Tyler Randall and star junior Adam Christianson, Newton North clawed back for a thrilling 25-16, 25-12, 24-26, 18-25, 15-13 victory.

“It was an emotional roller coaster,” Randall said. “Going up two [sets], we’re feeling really confident. And then to have those next to go their way . . . I loved it, but I wish we could have put it away in three.”

After the Bay State rivals split their two prior meetings — Newton North took the first match 3-2 in April, and Brookline won 3-1 in May — Tigers coach Nile Fox was confident headed into the rubber match. But as the lead narrowed, he could sense his team tightening.

“At some points, we were nervous. You could see it on our faces,” Fox said. “But I think they played good enough and they got their nerves [settled] enough to just get us to the point we needed to be at.”

Division 2 State

Westfield 3, Milford 1 — The defending state champion Bombers (23-2) can feel the target on their back.

“I do think everybody is out to get us a little bit,” Westfield senior captain Nick Maslar said.

On Tuesday, No. 4 Milford would not go down easily. After the Bombers surged to a 2-0 lead, the Hawks responded with a dominant third set, eventually winning, 25-20. Still, Westfield survived and put together a quality fourth set, winning 25-21 to clinch the semifinal win at Worcester North. The Bombers will have to get through neighboring Agawam, which swept O’Bryhan 3-0, in Thursday’s final at Worcester State (5:30 p.m.). They split two regular-season matches, both going five sets.

“We got beat up pretty good in that third set, we saw the best of Milford there,” Westfield coach Tyler Wingate said. “We knew it was going to be a slugfest … we just willed ourselves to victory there.”

Maslar put on a show, finishing with 19 kills including the winning point. Also, Ryder Finnie dished 40 assists and defensively, Jonathan Bulan recorded 21 digs.

For Milford (16-7), junior Alex Guerra was difficult to stop from his outside hitter spot, and he, along with most of Milford’s lineup, will return next season.

“They didn’t back down even when they were down which was great,” Milford coach Andrew Mainini said. “They battled back and that shows the heart that we have.”

Agawam 3, O’Bryant 0 — Outside hitter Dan Yovenko surpassed 1,000 career kills, recording a team-leading 18 and propelling the second-seeded Brownies (14-1) over No. 6 O’Bryant (19-5) in a semifinal at Assabet Valley in Marlborough. Though O’Bryant fought to stay in the match, Agawam proved to be too much for the City League champions in a 25-17, 25-21, and 25-21 win.

Son Nguyen, who helped power O’B to its first final four appearance, broke Ricky Lee’s career assist record of 1647.

Agawam advances to face top-seeded and league rival Westfield in the state final.

Matty Wasserman reported from Newton South, and Colin McCarthy from Worcester North. Julia Yohe also contributed.