Rockets Fall to Brookline in State Title Game
June 13, 2025
• The Rockets lost all three games against the Warriors this season.
Brookline defeated Needham in four sets (20-25, 27-25, 25-22, 25-15) in the MIAA State Championship on Friday, June 13 behind a dominant performance from Kristaps Vaivars.
After being swept twice by Brookline in the regular season, the Rockets came out firing, taking the first set 25-20. But the Warriors won the next three sets to win their first state title since 1992.
Needham took a 3-0 lead early in the first and went up by as many as six. They pushed that lead to 23-16, and Will McDonald finished the set with a kill to go up 1-0. Vaivars led the Warriors with five kills in the set.
The Rockets started the second set similar to the first, jumping out to a 6-1 lead and forcing a Brookline timeout. The Warriors battled to tie it back up at 9, but Needham would lead for most of the set. However, Brookline tied the set late at 22 and eventually won 27-25 in extra points, partly due to two service errors by the Rockets. Conor Christopher came alive for the Warriors in the set, collecting four kills after having none in the first.
Christopher and Vaivars continued to dominate for Brookline in the third, as the Warriors took the set 25-22. Needham was up 6-3 early, but after the Warriors tied it at six, the Rockets never fully regained control. Needham went on a run late to pull within one, 23-22, but could not overcome the six-point deficit they found themselves in towards the middle of the set.
The teams exchanged points to six in the fourth set before Brookline took a two-point lead, which prompted head coach Dave Powell to use a timeout. The Warriors added four unanswered points out of that timeout, and Needham burned their second halfway through the set. Vaivars added eight kills to his total, finishing with 27 on the night.
The Rockets were lead by Will Rozman with 12 kills, while McDonald and Cloonan had 11.
Needham fell just short after another great season, finishing with a 21-6 record and making it to their fifth straight championship game.
