The Middlesex Varsity Volleyball girls traveled to Cambridge on Saturday, October 3 to take on BB&N. In an exciting and well-played contest, the Zebras emerged victorious coming back after losing the first two sets.
In the first set, the teams seemed well-matched as they traded sideouts for most of the early part of the set. The Zebras seemed tense, though, and were putting their passes too close to the net and not adjusting well to their sets. In the end, despite some good plays, including a pair of aced serves by Avery Light '18 and Leyla Hotamisligil '18, kills by middle hitter Lydia Paddock '17 and Lily Renneker '17 outside hitter assisted by co-captain Abby Meyers '16, it was unforced errors that lost the first set, which ended 20-25. The second set opened with cleaner play by Middlesex in general, with the first points scored by Lydia's big block followed immediately by an aced topspin serve by Lily. Libero Nina Hutteman '18 found her groove in the second set, digging up some spectacular plays in the back row. In the end, though, unforced errors once again proved to be the difference as the Zebras lost the second set, again 20-25.
Middlesex came out with renewed energy and focus in the third set, already determined to take the Knights to five sets. The two teams stayed neck and neck through the first half of the set, with some big plays by Lily at the net assisted by setter Maile Cowell '17 from digs by Nina and Avery in the back row. Middlesex began to pull ahead on a series of plays that involved the whole squad, beginning with a big kill by middle hitter Mimi Larrieux '18 off the assist by Abby and Avery's dig. Next, the Knights overpassed a tough serve by Nina, which Lydia promptly stuffed, bringing the score to 19-16. The next point was a long and intense rally that ended with a quick assist to Lydia by co-captain Alyssa McNally '16 for a kill, bringing the score to 20-16. The final sideout of the game came from a huge double block by Lydia and opposite Natalie Burden '18 to bring the score to 23-18. A pair of aced serves by Leyla closed out the set, 25-18.
Middlesex fell behind early in the fourth set after a few passing errors. Lydia helped to shift the momentum back in the Zebras' favor with another big block, followed by an aced serve to keep the score competitive at 4-8. The Zebras showed their grit and resilience as they stayed in the game despite a frustrating inability to narrow that four point gap, which remained consistent through the middle part of the set. Every point was hard fought, with some intense rallies. Avery found her swing and logged a number of kills, including a huge one down the line off the assist by Leyla and Nina's perfect dig. Mimi's offense also clicked into place as she put away a big kill assisted by Maile. Natalie's angle shot from Leyla's assist put the score at 11-15. In the final third of the set, the Zebras began to inch closer-- a kill by Lily off of Maile's assist brought the score to 18-20. an ace by Leyla pulled Middlesex to 20-22. Then a huge double block by Lydia and Natalie made it 21-22. A kill by Lydia off of Leyla's dig to Natalie brought the Zebras within a point, at 22-23. Finally, an unreturnable serve by Lily and a backrow attack violation by BB&N put the Zebras at set point, and, appropriately enough, Avery sealed the 25-23 set with a big cross-court kill off of Leyla's assist and Nina's dig.
The momentum in the fifth set stayed firmly with the Zebras, opening with a series of aces by Leyla, a big block by Lydia, and kills by Lydia and Lily. When Leyla's serving run finally ended, the score was at 8-1. A kill by Natalie off of Leyla's assist brought the score to 9-2. A pair of kills by Avery off of Maile's assists brought the score to 12-6. A double block by Mimi and Alyssa put Middlesex up 13-8. The final points were scored by Avery and then by Lydia assisted by Abby, and the set ended 15-10.
The coaches are proud of the resilience and composure exhibited by the Middlesex players as they were able to overcome several large deficits by playing intelligent high-quality volleyball. We look to continue to build upon this momentum as we look ahead to another big week of ISL competition. We host Governor's Academy in the Cage at 3:30 on Wednesday 10/7 before travelling to Milton Academy on Saturday 10/10 for a double-header against Milton and Thayer Academy.
