The Boston Globe - 20.09.2019

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2019 The Boston Globe Sports C7

Las Vegas

line

Julian

Benbow

Christopher

Gasper

Greg

Lang

Craig

Larson

Michael

Vega

Last week 6-4 4-6 5-5 6-4 7-3

Season 20-10 20-10 21-9 21-9 20-10

Boston College

atRutgers

Boston College

by 8 ½

Boston College Boston College Boston College Boston College Boston College

Coastal Carolina

at UMass

Coastal Car.

by 17

Coastal Car. Coastal Car. Coastal Car. Coastal Car. Coastal Car.

Harvard

at San Diego

No line San Diego Harvard Harvard Harvard San Diego

Holy Cross

at Yale

No line Yale Yale Yale Holy Cross Yale

UConn

at Indiana

Indiana

by 27½

Indiana Indiana Indiana Indiana Indiana

Michigan

at Wisconsin

Wisconsin

by 3

Wisconsin Michigan Michigan Wisconsin Wisconsin

Notre Dame

at Georgia

Georgia

by 14½

Georgia Georgia Georgia Georgia Georgia

Auburn

at Texas A&M

Texas A&M

by 3½

Auburn Texas A&M Texas A&M Texas A&M Auburn

Colorado

at Arizona State

Arizona State

by 8½

Arizona State Arizona State Arizona State Arizona State Arizona State

Washington

at BYU

Washington

by 6½

Washington Washington Washington BYU Washington

Selections are not against the pointspread.

Globestaff’scollegepicksWEEK4

By Julian Benbow
GLOBE STAFF
As deflating as its loss to Kansas last week
might have been, Boston College has been there
before.
The building blocks the Eagles put together
the first two weeks of the season — opening with
a win against an Atlantic Coast Conference oppo-
nent at home for the first time since 2007, then
casually stepping over Richmond of the Football
Championship Subdvision — were important but
fragile. It was a lesson they could have learned
from a year ago, when they started the season
3-0, went to Purdue (ranked for the first time in a
decade) favored by 6½ points and lost, 30-13.
The confidence-building process felt like a
game of Jenga. One of the buzzwords around the
Heights this week, as the Eagles washed off the
loss and prepared for their first road game of the
season against Rutgers on Saturday, has been
“complacency.” Once again, the Eagles had to
learn the hard way that the difference between
confidence and complacency is razor-thin.
“I just think that our team had the tendency to
get complacent and satisfied with two wins and I
think a little bit of that went into the Kansas
game,” said BC linebacker Max Richardson. “And
I’ll speak for myself personally, we did not play to
our potential and we’re going to learn from the
loss and we’re going to be angry and we’re going
to keep trucking along.”
If the Eagles believed they could sleepwalk
through their early schedule, getting stung by a
Jayhawks team that was on the rebound served
asfairwarning.
“It’s a wake-up call,” quarterback Anthony
Brown said. “It shouldn’t have happened, but it
did. Now we have to learn from it and build from
it.”
Going in as an 18½-point favorite against

Kansas was foreign territory for BC. The Eagles

hadn’t been favored by such a margin against a

Power 5 school since 2006 (and that was against

Duke).

“When we start getting a little too comfort-

able, we ease up a little bit,” defensive back Bran-

don Sebastian said. “That’s not what we’re sup-

posed to do. We’re supposed to go against every

team and go as hard as you can. We can’t ease up,

no matter who the opponent is. You’ve just got to

go there with the same mind-set that you have in

camp.”

In a perfect world, that mind-set would be

consistent, whether the Eagles were favored or

underdogs, but that hasn’t been the case.

“I don’t think anybody enjoys being the under-

dog, but it gives you more humility to understand

where you are,” Brown said. “Just us knowing

that we have our backs against the walls is a little

bit different than us being complacent and we

need to learn how to not be complacent when we

are up and just learn how to have the fight of an

underdog when we are the team that’s not picked

to win.

The Eagles can hardly afford to overlook a 1-1

Rutgers team that trucked UMass, 48-21, in their

season opener but fell flat against No. 20 Iowa

last week, 30-0.

For Brown, the starting point should be atten-

tion to detail.

“I just feel like we need to be on the same

page, play together and execute,” Brown said.” A

lot of plays, we missed [against Kansas] that we

had there and just execution was down and we

needed it. I just feel like the only people that can

really stop us right now is ourselves and last

week, we definitely put a stop on our own play.

“We harp on it and it gets redundant, over and

over again hearing it, but it’s the truth,” BC coach

Steve Addazio said. “We have to pay attention to

the details and focus on each rep. Each rep has its

own set of things that come at you. And I would

say, just me focusing more and playing at a high-

er level, playing faster would help.”

It took a sobering pratfall vs. Kansas to hum-

ble them, but the Eagles will once again go into

Rutgers with the same edge they had at the start

of the season.

“Just keeping the same energy,” Brown said.

“Never switch up because you never know what’s

going to happen. Last week was a complete dip in

our season. Of course, we have the rest of the sea-

son to go, but it shouldn’t have happened in the

first place. So we’ve just got to learn from it and

grow from it.”

Julian Benbow can be reached at

[email protected].

BC hopes Kansas debacle a thing of the past

By Frank Dell’Apa
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
FOXBOROUGH — While
the Revolution were in the
midst of their recovery from
the poorest start in team histo-
ry, captainCarlesGiltold team-
mates to consider each remain-
ing regular-season game as a fi-
nal.
Since then, the Revolution’s
increased intensity has helped
them rally within sight of
clinching a playoff spot with
four matches remaining.
The Revolution (10-10-10,
40 points) have a game in hand
and hold a 3-point edge over
the Chicago Fire and Montreal
Impact for the final Eastern
Conference spot. The Revolu-
tion have home matches re-
maining against Real Salt Lake
Saturday and against New York
City FC Sept. 29, and visits to
the Portland Timbers next
Wednesday and Atlanta Unit-
ed Oct. 6.
“It’s the same thing now,”
Gil said after practice Tuesday.
“We have four games left, and
with the close point difference
over the eighth-place team,
these games are key. It stands
to reason these are all finals.
Truthfully, the team is on the
right path and we can do it.”
The problem is, many of the
Revolution’s opponents are ap-
proaching games with a similar
sense of urgency. Orlando City’s
desperation seemed apparent
as the Lions rallied for a 3-3 tie
with the Revolution last Satur-
day. If the result turns out to
have eliminated Orlando City
(36 points), it went down fight-
ing.
“That’s what happens in
these games — other teams
come at you hard —and that
will be the case on Saturday, as
well,” Revolution sporting di-
rector/head coachBruceArena
said.
The Revolution held a 3-1
halftime lead but seemed to be
knocked off their game by Or-
lando’s hard-charging ap-
proach in the second half.
“We made some mistakes
defensively, and we could’ve
been a little bit better in the at-
tack and maybe finishing off
another chance or two,” Arena
said. “Over the 90 minutes, we
had some real good moments
and we also had some mental
lapses that cost us dearly in the
second half.”
DomDwyerredirected a
Nanicross in the 47th minute
and Nani curled in a shot from
the penalty arc in the 54th
minute. Both goals were con-
verted after throw-ins, the
equalizer validated after a VAR
review that was apparently
overruled by refereeFotisBaza-

kos.

“First of all, every goal they

scored was a pretty good goal,”

Arena said. “Unique finishes. I

think the one Dwyer had, he

wouldn’t make in a hundred

tries. And Nani’s first goal was

a glancing header, was a very

good goal, as was their third

goal.”

With the Revolution lead-

ing, 3-2, Gil appeared to have

earned a throw-in near the

halfway line. Instead, posses-

sion was awarded to Orlando

City, while Gil and the Revolu-

tion bench protested, Nani

scoring seconds later. Nearly

two minutes after the throw-in,

Bazakos confirmed the goal.

“The explanation I got was

the ball was out of bounds off

of Orlando, and it was our

throw-in,” Arena said. “That

was the explanation I got. It

was overruled by the referee.”

The Revolution had two

VAR calls go against them in a

2-1 loss to New York City FC

the week before. But they have

been resilient in compiling an

8-2-8 record since May 8.

“We need to get maximum

points; we don’t really want to

rely on other results,” Revolu-

tion forwardTealBunbury

said.

Guestappearances

Former Premier League

startersAlexButtner, 30, and

JackRodwell, 28, both out of

contract, are training with the

Revolution. Buttner played 13

games at left back for Man-

chester United’s 2013 champi-

onship team. Rodwell, a defen-

sive midfielder who has gener-

ated $30.5 million in transfer

fees, won the 2014 title and

League Cup with Manchester

City. Neither player can join the

Revolution, since the MLS

transfer deadline has expired.

SurpriseinPortugal

FC Famalicao (4-0-1, 13

points), promoted to Portugal’s

first division for the first time

since 1994, is the surprising

league leader after five games.

Famalicao never finished high-

er than 14th during a four-year

run in the top flight from 1991-

94, when it was coached by

BrazilianAbelBraga. Famali-

cao has been relegated four

times since then, falling to the

fifth division in 2008-09.

Famalicao is coached by

JoaoPedroSousa, an assistant

underMarcoSilvaat Everton

last year. TheAzuis e Brancos

(Blue & Whites) are the only

team in Portugal’s Liga NOS

that did not buy or sell in the

offseason transfer market,

building the roster with several

players on loan.

SOCCERNOTEBOOK

Urgency clear

for Revolution

No. Rec. Last

1. Newton North 4-0 1


2. Hopkinton 5-0 6


3. Winchester 6-0 12


4. Lincoln-Sudbury 5-0 4


5. Lawrence 4-0 3


6. Barnstable 3-2 2


7. Dartmouth 6-0 5


8. Melrose 5-0 7


9. Duxbury 5-0 10


10. Needham 5-0 11


11. Concord-Carlisle 5-0 13


12. King Philip 5-1 -


13. Canton 4-1 8


14. Franklin 4-1 9


15. Lynnfield 6-0 17


16. Acton-Boxborough 3-2 16


17. Burlington 4-1 20


18. Belmont 3-1 15


19. Natick 3-2 18


20. Reading 3-3 14

GlobeTop20

Angie Grabmeier, Hopkinton—Inwins

over Barnstable (3-1) and Norwood

(3-0), the senior tallied 17 kills, 7 aces,

18 digs, 36 assists, a block, and served

at 95.1 percent for the 5-0 Hillers.

Kelly Joyce, Burlington— The senior

has a team-leading 75 kills, racking up

51 last week in wins over Reading (20

kills), Wayland (14), and Wilmington

(17). Joyce also had six aces, three

blocks, and 45 digs.

Melissa Morelli, Lynnfield— A senior

rightside hitter, she has at least 10 kills

in five of the Pioneers’ six matches. She

registered 10 vs. North Reading, 18 vs.

Reading, and 17 vs. Masconomet in a

3-0 stretch. She also had five aces, two

blocks, 26 digs, and 49 assists.

Lindsay Oliveira, Dartmouth— The se-

nior outside hitter registered 33 kills in

wins over Brockton, Sandwich, and

Bridgewater-Raynham to go along with

eight aces, and two blocks.

Catherine Waldeck, King Philip— The

Warriors went 3-0 against North Attle-

borough, Taunton, and Canton thanks

to strong offensive performances from

the senior middle hitter. In three match-

es, she collected 33 kills in 11 sets (3

per set) and hit .446.

BRANDON CHASE

Playersoftheweek

By Brandon Chase

GLOBE CORRESPONDENT

EmmaRandolph’shitting

motion isn’t one that raises

eyebrows.

A 5-foot-11-inch senior out-

side hitter on the Melrose girls’

volleyball team, Randolph

notched 12 kills in the Red

Raiders’ 3-0 Middlesex League

win over Stoneham on

Wednesday.

Each time she approached

the ball off a set from junior

EvaHaralabatos, Randolph re-

peated the same motion with

ease. Two steps, and then a

slight jump with her arms

swinging to propel her as high

as possible. Her right arm goes

up, making square contact

with the ball, and in a flash,

the ball hit the floor.

Randolph has a team-lead-

ing 71 kills, 20 ahead of fellow

senior outside hitterErinTor-

peyfor the team lead, but ap-

proach to hitting has more

substance than style. She

doesn’t have a high vertical

and her arms don’t gesticulate

wildly on the jump or the fol-

low-through. The power is

there, but it’s refined, con-

trolled with precision attacks.

Randolph’s commitment to

repetition, like that of many of

the top outside hitters in the

state, is what helps separate

her from the pack.

“When it comes to your

best hitters, they can adjust to

any ball that comes to them,”

said Dartmouth coachRachel

Lassey.

Lassey, who has Dartmouth

off to a 6-0 start, said there’s

more to an elite hitter than

just a powerful swing. She

broke down the characteristics

of a top hitter into four catego-

ries — timing, footwork, jump-

ing ability, and explosiveness.

Jumping ability and explo-

siveness aren’t things that can

be taught, only improved in

concert with the other two.

But for players who don’t have

big verticals, like Randolph

and Torpey, the proper timing

and footwork, which leads to

solid contact with the ball, can

make them difficult to defend.

“Timing is everything and

just kind of getting used to the

sets,” Lassey said. “If some-

body’s got good timing, that’s

going to make or break a good

hitter.”

Randolph said she is still

working on getting her outside

hit consistent.

“I have to keep transition-

ing all the way off the court

and swinging my arms all the

way back every single time be-

cause that’s how you get high

up in the air,” she said.

When a hitter’s hits are

consistent, however, coaches

know to keep setting them.

They can tell when their top

attacker will have a strong

match early, almost how like a

basketball coach knows if their

top shooter will go off for 25,

30, 40 points.

“When they get going, we

go to them,” Melrose coach

ScottCellisaid. “We don’t let

up on the outsides, but the

thing is... they beg for the

ball. They want the ball and I

think that’s a good thing. One

of the keys of them being good,

solid outside hitters is that

they want the ball at any mo-

ment, whether it’s up 20-2 or

at 24-23.

“Especially with Emma.

Early on, you know if she’s go-

ing to get 15 or 20 kills.”

Torpey, on the other hand,

has the same characteristics

and abilities her teammate

does, but she’s a couple inches

shorter than Randolph. What

she lacks in height, she makes

up for in excellent court

awareness, another trait that

comes only with experience

and turns good hitters into ex-

cellent ones.

“The thing that I’m focus-

ing on is hitting away from

people, trying to find certain

spots that are more effective,”

Torpey said.

“As I go up to hit, some-

times I can see, or as I’m out to

approach [the set], I look be-

fore I get the set to look and

see where the players are in

their defense. Also, after the

first couple of plays, you can

see, oh, they play farther back,

or the middle is more open.

“It’s much easier to read a

defense as you hit.”

Torpey’s approach to the

ball is unique. Hitters are

taught to use a three or four-

step approach to the ball, al-

most like a kicker approaching

a football. Instead, Torpey ap-

proaches the ball, then takes a

slight crow hop.

Hitting a volleyball proper-

ly is tougher than it looks.

There are multiple vari-

ables that need to be refined

over the course of a player’s ca-

reer to commit the proper

technique to muscle memory,

and when all are combined

through years of experience,

the ball will hit the floor more

often than not.

Servicepoints

RWhen Winchester defeat-

ed Barnstable, 3-1, on Monday,

it was the second straight set-

back for the Red Raiders. It’s

the first time Barnstable (3-2)

has lost more than one regu-

lar-season match since 2014.

Last Friday, in a 3-1 victory,

Hopkinton halted Barnstable’s

streak of 48 consecutive regu-

lar-season wins dating back to

Oct. 4, 2016. Their last regular

season loss before these two?

Sept. 30, 2016, 3-2 against

Newton North.

RIn a division usually dom-

inated by Franklin and King

Philip, the Hockomock Kelley-

Rex is now a close three-team

race between first-place Oliver

Ames (6-1, 5-0), second-place

King Philip (5-1, 5-1), and

third-place Franklin (4-1, 4-1).

OA has rattled off six consecu-

tive wins after a season-open-

ing loss to Brockton behind se-

nior outside hitterJordan

Bosse(56 kills, 20 aces, 49

digs), senior setterAllison

Kemp(27 aces, 8.2 assists per

set), and senior liberoAlison

Barth(98.1 serving percent-

age, 148 digs).

RThere will be bragging

rights on the line on Monday

when Melrose hosts Arlington

Catholic at 5:30. AC assistant

coach,RyanCelli,isthesonof

Melrose coach,ScottCelli.Ry-

an joined the Cougar staff this

season.

Brandon Chase can be reached

at [email protected].

MARK LORENZ FOR THE GLOBE

Senior outside hitters Emma Randolph (center) and Erin Torpey (10) and junior

setter Eva Haralabatos (39) have worked to perfect Melrose’s offensive attack.

HIGHSCHOOLGIRLS’VOLLEYBALLNOTEBOOK

Elite outside hitters rely on precision