Against almost any other team, the Woburn High boys volleyball team’s performance on Saturday would have allowed the Tanners to come out on top.
Woburn, however, was going up against Needham, one of the top programs in the state and winner of three of the last four state titles.
The Tanners gave the Rockets all they could handle, however, before falling 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-21, 25-14) in the MIAA Division 1 state round of 32 at NHS’ DeFazio Gymnasium.
“The guys played fantastic,” said Woburn coach Scott Roy. “We tried to hang in their with the mindset that they’re playing against future Division 1 college players and you might as well go in there and do all you can and what’s the worst that can happen.”
Woburn, the 30th seed, finished its season at 14-8. The Tanners, in the third year as a varsity program, won seven straight matches before Saturday.
Needham, seeded third, advanced with an 18-5 record.
In the first set, the score was tied at 22 before the Rockets pulled away to close out the set.
Woburn came back to win the second set, however before Needham won the next two sets and the match.
“We kept it together and won the second set,” Roy said. “We stayed with them point for point in the third until it got into the 20s.”
Senior Marcio Castro made 19 kills. Ryan Le made just two errors, both late in the match. Trey Skumin added 12 kills and two blocks.
On Thursday, Woburn won its first tournament match in the program’s history, defeating North Quincy 3-1 (25-14, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21).
Castro made 16 kills and Le added 14. Castro also made five blocks.
Mateo Qirjazi made 37 assists.