Newton North boys’ volleyball needed a new setter. All-Scholastic hitter Adam Christianson has filled the void. - The Boston Globe (2024)

Then Adam Christianson stepped up.

With 227 kills and 145 digs in 16 matches last year, the 6-foot, 3-inch senior established himself as one of the best hitters in the state, earning Globe All-Scholastic honors. He had never set in a high school match before.

But with Christianson taking rotations at setter (typically splitting with classmate Joaquin Cuevas-Torres), the Tigers have emerged as a serious contender in Division 1. After an 18-7 run last spring, Newton North is 6-2 and sits at No. 3 in the Globe’s boys’ volleyball poll.

“Everybody had to trust the system and buy into what we’re doing,” said North coach Nile Fox. “Adam setting was a big thing at first. Taking him off three rotations to set is a big thing, but we’ve been trusting it, practicing with setters. It forces us to step up, that’s the good thing about it.”

With a monster 21-assist, 16-kill, 6-ace, and 4-block performance, Christianson was the catalyst as the Tigers snapped Needham’s historic winning streak at 77. A signature victory so early in the season, it shows the ultimate goal is within reach.

“It says that our team has really a lot of potential,” junior Simon Vardeh said of the win. “[Christianson is] not a setter, he hasn’t set in a very long time. He picked this up really quickly. He’s come a long way but he has a lot more he can improve on. We have the potential to be a really, really good team.”

Christianson has had the desire to set. To do it well while filling a dire need on the team has been gratifying. He compiled 52 assists and 40 kills in his first five matches.

“I know that I’m able to help out my teammates as much as I can — not just setting, but hitting,” he said. “Setting, I try to set them up well as you do; and hitting, trying to be that guy, be the guy.”

Taking a powerful hitter off his main position and maintaining the quality of the team requires teammates to step up. Vardeh and senior Sam Huang lead the effort on the receiving end of Christianson’s passes. Vardeh was tied with Christianson for the team lead in kills through five matches, and Huang added 26.

“It gives us a lot of confidence knowing that [Christianson is] one of our best players, probably our best player,” Huang said. “Knowing he can do all these things inspires us to also try and do new things.”

In practice, Christianson focuses mainly on setting. Having the mind-set of a hitter, he can tell who is heating up at the net to feed the right teammate to go for the kill. Having the best hands on the team, Fox said, made Christianson a sensible choice for a setter.

“I’m just really proud of him,” Fox said. “He works hard when he comes to practice every day. He really wants to learn it. He’s coming along really well.”

When the team needs a change, like trailing in Monday’s match against Natick, Christianson’s versatility makes it possible. He smacked six kills in the third set to lead the shorthanded Tigers to their only win of the match.

“Everyone knows he’s our hitter,” Huang said. “We know if we give a ball to him, whether it’s inside, pushed too far out, we know he can work with it. Most of the time we know it’s going to be a kill. We’re pretty confident with him as our guy.”

With each victory and further development of the team’s new-look rotations, getting back to that final seems more and more realistic.

“It was hard last year because obviously we lost,” Christianson said. “Coming in, we didn’t think that we would be able to [win a championship]. But as the season has gone on, we start to realize, ‘Wow, we can really do this.’ That only motivates us more.”

Set points

• Tuesday, Peter Suxho’s Redhawks delivered former No. 1 Newton North its first loss of the season. Thursday, Natick honored their boys’ and girls’ volleyball coach since 2005 with a plaque for his 500th victory.

“It’s not just me,” Suxho said. “The school gave me an opportunity, parents, coaches, players, all together we can do it. We got all this working together, but in the end, you have to work hard. It’s all about working hard and smart. I did that, so I’m happy.”

The team, now ranked No. 2, kept the presentation a secret. With their dominant victory, they delivered Suxho a memorable week.

“We try very hard to keep our program high level like it is now,” Suxho said. “We did very well. I got two good things. It’s awesome for me.”

• On the strength of the Cleary brothers (senior Mason and sophom*ore Ben), BC High rebounded from a loss to Methuen last Friday with a win over Milford in five sets on Tuesday. Like Natick, the No. 8 Eagles had the skill, but needed to keep their performance up for a full match.

Milford took the third and fourth sets, but BC High stormed back to take the fifth 15-7.

“The leads that we build show how good we are, but when we build a lead sometimes I feel like we’re almost a little shocked at ourselves, not believing we’re up there yet,” said BC High coach James Chen. “It’s something we’ve continuously worked on. I think we saw the improvement we’ve been working on over the past week.”

• Just a few teams remain unbeaten in the state: Westfield, Methuen, Greater Lowell, and New Bedford. Having taken down a Medfield team that swept them last season, Nate Howe is realizing just how much his Greater Lowell squad has grown.

“I just think they love playing for each other,” Howe said. “Somebody makes a mistake, they don’t get mad. They play for each other and really care for each other. Their mentality is great. They want to fight for one another.”

Games to watch

Monday, No. 12 St. John’s (Shrewsbury) at No. 9 Wayland, 4 p.m. — The Pioneers look like they are starting to find their game after a win over the Prep, and both teams have been unlocking a deeper offense.

Monday, No. 7 Milford at No. 4 Winchester, 5:15 p.m. — The Scarlet Hawks have been in three five-setters with ranked teams in the past week (North Quincy win, Needham loss, BC High loss). Winchester will bring another battle.

Thursday, No. 6 BC High at No. 9 Wayland, 5:30 p.m. — A battle of top-10 teams, between the Catholic Conference leader and the Dual County League leader.

Friday, No. 3 Newton North at No. 7 Milford, 5:45 p.m. — A battle of two strong Division 1 contenders looking to bounce back after losses to other top-10 teams.

AJ Traub can be reached at aj.traub@globe.com.