With the rest of the school competing at Groton, the Middlesex Varsity Volleyball team headed down to Weston, Mass. on Friday, October 14th for a second match of the season against the nascent Rivers team, and came home with another league win in straight sets.
During the first set, the Red Wings struggled to find an answer to the aggressive Middlesex servers, as most serves were either aces or returned across the net as free balls, which the Zebras were able to convert to kills. Co-captain and middle hitter Lydia Paddock '17 put Middlesex on the board first as she blocked an overpass of setter Defne Colak's jump float serve. Opposite hitter Maggie Chamberlain '19 notched her first kill of the day off assisted by a great backset from Defne to put the Zebras in the lead. Next, co-captain and outside hitter Lily Renneker '17 had a five-point service run with her tough topspin serve, and libero Nina Huttmann '18 capitalized on all the free balls sent over by the Red Wings to send perfect passes to Defne who set up all the hitters, including several big kills by outside hitter Hadley Jevon '19 and by Lydia from the middle. The first set was decisive, ending 25-6, Middlesex.
The second set was similarly convincing, again featuring strong serves from the whole squad. Grace Chamberlain '19 stepped in at opposite, and picked up a solid kill from Defne's assist via Lily's dig to extend the Zebras' lead. The middle of the set was dominated by the Middlesex middle hitters, as Lydia rotated to the back to serve and had a run of five points. Her solid defense helped to set up a quality hit by Hadley, which was overpassed by Rivers and then stuffed by middle hitter Mimi Larrieux '18. Two more stuff blocks by Mimi during Lydia's service run moved the Zebras into a lead which the Red Wings would find insurmountable. Defne continued to vary the offense throughout the end of the set, which included a strong kill from the back row by defensive specialist Stephanie Li '17. The second set ended after a big kill by Lily assisted by Nina, 25-9, Middlesex.
The Middlesex players eased up a bit in the third set, missing some serves and making some other unforced errors that kept the score close throughout the set. Still, the Zebras managed to put together several excellent plays including a nice cross-court kill by outside hitter Erin Brady '17 and a few strategic tips that caught the Red Wings off-guard. The Zebras managed to find their serves again at the end of the set, and Lily ended the set with an ace, 25-23, Middlesex.
The players now enjoy a deserved long weekend of recuperation and relaxation, before looking ahead to another busy week. Middlesex (11-1, 8-0 ISL) faces both Governor's Academy and BB&N at Milton Academy on Wednesday, October 19 in the final ISL quad match of the season. The first round is scheduled to begin at 2:45 PM. The Zebras will then host the Winchendon School for a non-league match on Saturday, October 22 at 4:00 PM in the Cage.
