The Middlesex Varsity Volleyball squad traveled to Milton on Saturday, September 26 for the first of three ISL quad-matches, facing off first with Lawrence Academy (winning, 2-1), and then against St Paul's School (losing 0-2).
In the first set against Lawrence, the Zebras traded sideouts through most of the set, with strong offense by the entire squad, including kills by middle hitter Lydia Paddock '17 and outside hitter Lily Renneker '17 assisted by co-captain Abby Meyers '17 and by outside hitter Avery Light '18 off of the set by Leyla Hotamisligil '18. The team's strong serves won the set, as the girls dished up aces by Leyla, Avery, Lydia, and Abby. Lily fittingly ended the set with an ace to earn Middlesex the 27-25 win. In the second set, despite opening up an early six point lead Middlesex was caught off guard by a more resilient Spartans squad. A series of hitting errors and net violations shifted the momentum in Lawrence's favor, and the set ended 19-25. The Zebras gathered themselves and came out swinging in the third set, winning on strong front row attacks by middle hitter Mimi Larrieux '18, Avery, Lily, Lydia, and co-captain Alyssa McNally '16. Middlesex protected the early lead and did not look back as they comfortably secured the deciding set 25-12.
The girls were tired as they began their second game of the afternoon, but still played some of their best volleyball of the season as they squared off with the strong St Paul's squad. The exhilarating first set featured a number of intense and high caliber rallies as Middlesex stayed neck and neck with St Paul's through the beginning of the set. Highlights included kills by Lily assisted by Leyla from Avery's dig followed shortly thereafter by a kill by Avery off of Mimi's dig to Lydia. Abby's service ace brought the score to 7-7. Lydia had more strong work at the net, notching several kills and a big block. In the end, Middlesex fell short losing the set 17-25. The final set caught the exhausted Zebras scrambling on several plays, and they fell behind early, but still managed to stay in the game until the final points. Lydia's ace was followed by an unforced error as the set ended 14-25.
After playing three matches in three days, the Zebras look to regroup for another big week ahead. We look forward to our home opener on Wednesday 9/30 when we will be hosting Nobles at 4:15pm in the Cage.
