The Middlesex Varsity Volleyball team faced off with last year's Class B New England champion Nobles & Greenough in their home opener on Wednesday, September 30, coming up short in 3 tough sets, 20-25, 19-25, and 19-25.
In the first set, Middlesex came out swinging with a kill to sideout Nobles' first serve by middle Lydia Paddock '17 off of the pass by opposite Natalie Burden '18 to setter Maile Cowell '17. When she rotated to the back row, Lydia served up an ace to tie up the score at 4-4 before being replaced by the libero Nina Hutteman '18. Middlesex lost a series of points to unforced errors before pulling together as a squad and earning a few kills to shift the momentum again, first by middle Mimi Larrieux '18 off of Maile set from the pass by outside hitter Avery Light '18 and then by Natalie off of Maile's assist from Nina's dig. Lydia and Mimi's work at the net with a few big blocks made Nobles think twice about swinging in the middle; they began pushing the ball to their outsides and going with deceptive, off-speed hits to try to find the holes in the Zebra defense. More scrappy plays by Nina and our other backrow players, along with critical aces by Lydia and Mimi, kept Middlesex in the set until the final points. A kill down the line by the Nobles' outside hitter closed out the set 20-25 in Nobles' favor.
In the second set, the Zebras came out determined to give up fewer points on missed serves and other unforced errors. Unfortunately, Middlesex lost the serve on a missed block and lost a series of points on some tough calls and a hard serve by Nobles' libero. Senior captain Alyssa McNally '16 came up with a kill for that critical sideout off of the assist by Leyla Hotamisligil '18 and Avery's dig. A few points later, Avery rotated into the front row and almost immediately put one away down the line off of Leyla's set and the dig by outside hitter Lily Renneker '17. More aced serves by Leyla and Lydia brought the score to 16-17, and the Zebras continued to trade sideouts through the final third of the set, until Middlesex lost the final point on an unforced error.
All of the Middlesex hitters came out strong in the third: Lydia put up the first point for the Zebras off of Nina's assist, followed by a kill by Lily off of Leyla's assist from a perfect dig by Nina. Another kill by Lydia followed immediately by a huge double block by Lydia and Alyssa shifted the momentum, at least for the moment, in Middlesex's favor. A few hitting errors and a block by Nobles' strong middle made the Zebras hesitant, and they lost a series of points to put Nobles more definitively in the lead. Great plays, including a back row kill by Avery off of Maile's assist, more aced serves by Lydia, Leyla, Maile, and Avery, allowed Middlesex to reduce their deficit to 19-22. However, more strong serving allowed Nobles to earn the final three points to complete their win.
The coaches and players were encouraged by the strong level of play and competitive rallies featured in this contest, and the team looks to continue to improve and build upon this result. Middlesex next travels to Cambridge on Saturday, October 3 to face BB&N at 3PM.
