The Varsity Volleyball team traveled to Milton, Mass. on Saturday, October 29 for a match with Class-A ISL opponent Milton Academy and came home with a win, 3-0.
On the heels of a long week, Middlesex appeared low on energy in the first set, and yet they still came out swinging, as defensive specialist Stephanie Li '17 sent a perfect serve receive to setter Defne Colak '18 who assisted a kill down the line by outside hitter and co-captain Lily Renneker '17 to sideout Milton's first server. Middle hitter and co-captain Lydia Paddock's first jump float serve proved too difficult for the Mustangs to receive, and her ace helped to put Middlesex in a stronger position; a cross-court kill by outside hitter Hadley Jevon '19 then extended the lead. A great service run by Defne that included two aces and a huge stuff block by Lydia forced Milton to call a timeout, but Middlesex came back out strong, as a great dig by libero Nina Huttemann '18 allowed Defne to set up a cross-court kill by opposite Natalie Burden '18. A final service run by Lydia-- who tallied two more aces-- put Middlesex at set point before they lost the serve, and an error by Milton ended the first set 25-13, Middlesex.
Middlesex looked stronger in the second set, but Milton also came out motivated, and the second set featured more intense rallies and battles at the net. A block by Lydia assisted by Natalie during Defne's first service run gave Middlesex the advantage, though some unforced errors allowed Milton to keep the scoreline fairly even through the beginning of the set up until 10-10. A spectacular dig by Nina to Defne set up a kill by Hadley to end a long rally, and, a few plays later, another perfect pass by Nina allowed Defne to set a quick to middle hitter Mimi Larrieux '18 who had a crushing kill into a gap in Milton's defense. A service run by Nina in the middle of the set propelled Middlesex into a stronger lead, and Defne varied the offense, setting up kills by Stephanie in the back row as well as by Lily, Lydia, Natalie, Hadley, and Mimi to end the second set 25-13, Middlesex.
The third set was closer, as Milton came out determined to extend the match, and Middlesex allowed their fatigue to slow them down. Missed hits and missed passes allowed the Mustangs to stay neck-and-neck with the Zebras through most of the set, but, with the score tied 20-20, a perfect serve receive by Hadley to Defne set up the kill by Lily to sideout Milton. A run of aced serves by Nina put Middlesex up 23-20 before they lost the serve, and then a block by Lydia put Middlesex at match point. A great serve by Defne then forced an error by Milton, and the third set ended 25-21.
Middlesex (16-1; 12-0 ISL) looks forward to traveling to face their cross-town rivals Concord Academy in a non-league match on Wednesday, November 2 at 3:30PM, and to hosting Nobles on Friday, November 4 at 2:00PM in the Atkins Cage for their final home match of the regular season.
