The Middlesex Varsity Volleyball squad traveled to Milton, MA on Saturday, October 10 facing off with two ISL opponents, Thayer Academy and Milton Academy, in a double-header. Middlesex won both matches, taking Thayer 2-0 before beating Milton 2-1.
The first set against Thayer started strongly in the Zebras' favor, with an unreturnable serve by setter Leyla Hotamisligil '18 followed by a kill by outside hitter Lily Renneker '17 from a dig by Avery Light '18. Middle hitter Lydia Paddock '17 stepped in for the assist. Later highlights included kills by Avery and middle hitter Mimi Larrieux '18 off of Leyla's assist, with digs by libero Nina Hutteman '18. Sarah Ong '16 dug up another tough hit by Thayer to set up senior co-captain Abby Meyer's set to co-captain Alyssa McNally '16 for the right-side kill. Lydia and Lily both had a series of quality kills off of Leyla's assists as they rotated back into the front row, and the Middlesex lead was extended as Mimi and right-side hitter Natalie Burden '18 blocked a Thayer overpass of Lydia's serve to bring the score to 21-12. A series of unforced errors by Middlesex allowed Thayer to close the gap, but in the end, an unforced error by Thayer ended the first set 25-20, Middlesex.
The second set found the Zebras determined to clean up their game and reduce the number of points given up to unforced errors. Leyla was again the first to serve, and she dished up a series of aces to put Middlesex in the early lead. Leyla also stepped in on defense, digging up a tip for Natalie to set up a kill by Lydia. The next Zebra server was Lily, who aced her first serve. On the next point, Lily dug up a ball to Leyla who was able to set up a crushing kill by Avery down the line. Maile Cowell '17 stepped in to set in the second set, as well, and her ace extended the Middlesex lead to 14-8. Her very next serve was overpassed, and Mimi pounced to block it, extending the lead to 15-8. More aces by Avery, Leyla, and Sarah brought the score to 23-18, then an off-speed kill by Natalie from Leyla's assist, followed by yet another blocked overpass by Mimi off of Lydia's hard serve finished the second and final set 25-18.
Immediately after the Thayer match, the Zebras collected themselves and prepared to face Class-A opponent and the day's host team, Milton. The match turned into the battle of the middles, as both Lydia and Mimi showed off their skills at the net, putting up season-high blocks and kills from the middle. Lydia first put Middlesex on the board by blocking an overpass off Leyla's consistently tough serve. Digs by both Avery and Nina to Leyla helped to set up another pair of kills by Lydia. Yet some unforced errors-- including a series of missed first serves-- allowed Milton to stay in the game, and despite some great plays by the whole squad, the first set ended 23-25, Milton.
Middlesex came out determined to clean up the unforced errors and to keep their serves in the court in the second and third sets, and they did just that, with only two total missed serves in the second set, with four aces. The Zebras stayed focused, managing to come up with quality plays to end long and intense rallies. A kill by Natalie with the assist by Leyla put the Zebras at set point, and the following play ended in a dig by Nina to Leyla for an unreturnable hit by Avery to end the second set 25-13.
The momentum for the final set stayed firmly in the Zebras' favor, as they opened with a crushing cross-court kill by Lily off of Leyla's assist, followed by an ace by Leyla, and then a blocked overpass by Lydia. Other highlights in this set included a kill by Natalie to the corner off of the overpass by Milton, a perfectly timed block by Mimi, and kills by the entire front row. The final point of the match was earned by a kill from Alyssa off of Abby's assist from Nina's dig, ending the deciding third set 25-15, Middlesex.
The Zebras look forward to hosting Dana Hall on Wednesday, October 14 at 4:45pm in the Cage.
