The Middlesex Varsity Volleyball squad hosted their cross-town rivals on Wednesday, November 4 in what turned out to be a thrilling 5-set match.
In the first set, strong passing was key, as libero Nina Huttemann '18 sent a perfect serve receive to setter and opposite hitter Lily Renneker '17 to set up a cross-court kill by outside hitter Avery Light '18. Defensive specialist Sarah Ong '16 was next to show off her passing skills as she received a hard topspin serve, allowing Lily to set up another kill by Avery. Lily then rotated into the front row, and setter Leyla Hotamisligil '18 rotated in to serve. Her tricky float serve caused some trouble for CA, and on the next play, middle blocker Mimi Larrieux overhead passed a tip to Leyla who set up a kill by outside hitter Hadley Jevon '19. Mimi was next to score with a perfectly placed kill just past Concord's libero. Middlesex and Concord continued to trade sideouts through a series of long rallies in the middle of the set before the Zebras pulled into the lead in the final third of the set, which ended 25-21, Middlesex, with a big kill by middle Lydia Paddock '17 off of Leyla's set.
In the second set, Middlesex fell behind early with some unforced errors and then a series of kills by Concord's strong middle hitter. The Zebras' defense adjusted, however, and began rallying to close the gap, which was 11 points early on. Lydia gave a quick overhead pass to Lily to set up a kill down the line by Avery for a big side out to begin Middlesex's comeback. Lydia then rotated into the back row to serve and immediately dished up an ace. Middlesex continued to chip away at the deficit, with several kills by Avery and Hadley and some quality work at the net by Mimi to challenge Concord's hitters. Lydia rotated back into the front row and Nina began a great run with her jump float serve. Lydia scored four kills and three blocks, and Nina put up three aced serves in that incredible run, which brought the score to 17-18 and kept Middlesex firmly in the game. Another aced serve by Lily wasn't enough, though, and the Zebras lost the second set 19-25.
The third set found Middlesex again with an early deficit, but with some strong serves, including aces by Sarah and Lydia and great defense by the whole squad, the gap stayed fairly narrow through the whole set. Mimi put up a great kill to side out Concord's best server, and Lydia and opposite hitter Natalie Burden '18 put up a strong double block to shut down Concord's outside. On the next play, Sarah's powerful topspin serve got overpassed, and Lydia was there to block it right back down. However, the Zebras were not able to string together enough runs to close the gap entirely, and the third set ended 18-25, Concord.
In the fourth set, both teams came out determined-- Concord wanted to finish it, but the Zebras wanted to extend the match. For the third set in a row, Middlesex fell behind early, but this time, they were able to overcome the deficit and win the set to extend the match. The whole squad pulled together in this set, with great plays by the back row to dig up Concord's powerful hits, quality sets by Lily and by Leyla to assist some crushing kills by every front row player. The Zebras' excellent serving was again a highlight, and the set ended, appropriately enough, with an ace by Nina to put the score of the fourth at 25-22, Middlesex.
The deciding fifth set opened with a long rally that included quality plays by the back row to set up first a big swing by Natalie and then a decisive kill by Lydia. Middlesex once again fell behind by a few points early on, but stayed right with Concord, trading sideouts after long and intense rallies. A big block by Avery and Lydia was followed shortly by an aced serve by Leyla. Another ace by Avery put the score at 8-11. A few errors were enough to give Concord the last few points, and the fifth set ended 9-15, Concord.
Throughout this exhausting five-set match, the Zebras showed remarkable grit and resiliency, and the team is now looking ahead to Friday, November 6, when they will travel to Dedham to face Noble and Greenough at 2pm.
