The Middlesex Varsity Volleyball team squared off with Class B rival Dana Hall on Wednesday October 14th for a high-intensity showdown that ended with another win for Middlesex.
Middlesex immediately drew first blood, with an aced serve by setter Leyla Hotamisligil '18. More aces by outside hitter Lily Renneker '17, followed by a kill by outside hitter Avery Light '18 off of the assist by Leyla put the Zebras up 7-2, and then on the next play, a back row kill by Lily off the assist by co-captain and opposite hitter Alyssa McNally '16 extended the lead and gave Lily another serve. Middlesex continued to showcase their strong serve with more aces by middle hitter Lydia Paddock '17 and Avery. In the middle of the set, setter Maile Cowell '17 entered the game in the back row, and she set up a back row kill by Avery off a great dig by libero Nina Hutteman '18. A big kill by Lydia off of Leyla's assist brought the score to 20-15 and another ace by Lily extended it, and then a series of errors by Dana Hall put Middlesex on top 25-19 in the first.
The second set found Dana Hall eager to close the gap and extend the match, but Middlesex was still first on the board with a pair of kills down the line by Lily, first off the assist by co-captain and setter Abby Meyers '16, and then assisted by Leyla. A crushing cross-court kill by Avery with Leyla's assist from Nina's dig extended the early lead 9-6. A dig by Lily to Abby found middle hitter Mimi Larrieux '18 ready for a smart play at the net, and she laid down a deceptive off-speed kill to confound the Dana Hall defense. Despite some more great plays by the whole squad, including a back row kill by Nina assisted by Lily, Dana Hall managed to pull ahead in the final points to take the second set 22-25.
The two teams traded sideouts for much of the third set, but Middlesex managed to control their own play to pull ahead in the final third of the set. Lily put The Zebras on the board again to start the set, again, with a pair of kills down the line off of Leyla's assists. Dana Hall's best server rotated back to serve after Middlesex lost the serve, and managed to rack up a couple of points to pull ahead 3-5. However, a well-placed kill by opposite hitter Alyssa off of Leyla's assist from Nina's perfect pass closed the gap to one. Another clever play by Avery off of Abby's assist tied the game, and then as Avery rotated to the back row and dished up a pair of aces, MX took the lead and kept it for the rest of the set. Highlights included kills by Lily and by Lydia, more aces by Lily, and a powerful kill by Alyssa off of the set by Mimi on Avery's dig. A big block by Mimi sided out the Dana Hall serve and rotated Mimi to the back to serve. She played some solid middle back defense on her serve, digging up a hit to Abby who set up another kill by Lily. Sarah Ong '16 then stepped in to serve, and helped extend the Middlesex lead. A phenomenal dig by Leyla on a tough shot set up Alyssa to set Avery for the big kill to win the final point of the set. The third set ended 25-21, Middlesex.
The momentum in the fourth and final set stayed firmly with Middlesex, as Dana Hall lost their serve immediately, and then lost a series of points to kills by Lily and a big block by Lydia. An unreturnable serve by Lily was then followed by a three blocks in a row by Lydia, extending the Middlesex lead to 8-1. Sarah stepped in again to serve, and immediately dished up an ace to bring the score to 9-1. Her next serve was low and hard, and Dana Hall overpassed it-- Lydia pounced and put away yet another block to put the score at 10-1. An ace by Nina was then followed shortly by a kill by Avery. Dana Hall's strong server helped to close the gap in the middle of the set, bringing the score to 15-13, but then a big block by Lydia and then another kill by Lydia off of Leyla's dig to Alyssa pushed Middlesex more firmly into the lead, which they kept until the end of the set, which ended 25-19.
Middlesex looks forward to their final ISL quad match next Wednesday, October 21, where they will square off with Governor's Academy at 4pm and BB&N at approximately 5pm-- both games will be held at BB&N in Cambridge, Mass.
