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Nighthawks Complete Historic Week
Morganna Machado’s buzzer-beater to upset Mitchell College and Michael Biuso’s 1,000th defensive dig, capped off a remarkable week for the Nighthawks. All three of Newbury College’s winter sports teams combined for an undefeated 9-0 week.
On Monday, Newbury opened a week that featured nine games, including seven home contests, in six days. Senior outside hitter James Beck started the week out on the right foot as he recorded a double-double, recording 10 digs while being one of three with double digits kills in men’s volleyball’s, 3-1, victory over Lasell.
The next evening, both basketball teams stepped on the Hellenic College court for a double-header against New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) opponent, Wheelock College. Both teams had already beaten the Wildcats earlier in the season and now they were looking for the series sweep.
First up were the women. Sophomore center Catherine O’Connell, who is second in the nation in rebounds per game, registered her 13th double-double of the season to lead the Nighthawks to the 55-42 victory.
In the second game, Newbury staved off a late Wheelock comeback to earn the double-header sweep. Sophomore Rondell Best killed the Wheelock momentum mid-way through the half, draining a long range trey on a pass from freshman Eric Watson. Peterson Bernard put the game to bed, battling defenders under the glass for a lay-up that gave the Nighthawks insurance and essentially sealed the season sweep.
The net was constructed once again on Wednesday night as the men’s volleyball team played host to neighboring Emerson College. In just their third year as a varsity men’s program, the Lions were 0-2 against the Nighthawks in their history. Newbury spread out the offense as Danny Kim paved the way to the 3-0 sweep with a match-high eight kills while freshman Chris Demarco had a solid defensive night recording another match-high 14 digs.
The next evening, Bernard was a force to be reckoned with on both the offensive and defensive glass in a non-conference victory over Eastern Nazarene. The Lions had no answer for the Nighthawk big man. He had his way as he dominated the offensive and defensive low-post, registering a game-high 22 points – six shy of his career game-high – while ripping down 13 boards.
At week’s end all teams were in action on Saturday. Men’s volleyball took the long trip up to Bennington, Vt. for a tri-match against Southern Vermont and NECVA opponent Wentworth Institute of Technology while basketball hosted Mitchell in their final home game of the regular season.
Highlighted by Kendra Bannister’s game-high 17 points, Machado honored Amy Chen and Ashley Monteiro with her first game-winning trey for an upset victory over the, then, second-place Mariners. Chen was instrumental in the victory providing a key bucket at the beginning of the second half, sparking a Newbury 12-3 run.
Freshman Justin Franks came up big against the Mariners in game two with a key steal mid-way through the first. The first-year out of Long Island tipped an ill-advised pass, from the Mariners Tim Quinn, to John Rowley, Jr. who found sophomore guard Tim Young for the transition lay-up at 12:01.
Up in Vermont, the men’s volleyball team completed the weekend sweep. Biuso led the Nighthawks to the 3-1 victory over the Leopards in their first match of the day tallying 18 digs for his 1,000th career dig. In the second game, Newbury experienced a more balanced attack as Kim led the way to the 3-0 sweep over the Mountaineers with eight kills.
- Photo by: Samantha Yanofsky
