Middlesex Girls' Varsity Volleyball hosted cross-town rivals Concord Academy on Wednesday, September 21. Despite still suffering from a few injuries and illness, the team continued its early season momentum to notch another straight sets victory, which was also the first win in program history over CA.
The first set featured the Zebras' consistently strong serve: Middlesex first got on the board with an ace from setter Leyla Hotamisligil '18, and then the next server, co-captain and outside hitter Lily Renneker '17 scored a run of 10 points off a combination of aces and great plays by the Middlesex squad when Concord returned Lily's serve. Other highlights included tremendous display of power in the middle from co-captain Lydia Paddock '17 and quality defense in the back from both libero Nina Huttemann '18 and defensive specialist Stephanie Li '17. The set ended 25-12, Middlesex.
The second set began even more decisively, with the Zebras starting with an immediate sideout and then putting up 13 unanswered points off of Leyla's powerful serve to open up a 14-0 lead. As Concord rotated their strongest server to the back, however, they managed to tally some points off their own serve to chip away at the deficit. After the Zebras regrouped during a tactical timeout, Concord Academy lost the serve, and Middlesex continued to extend their lead, making kills and intelligent tips to earn points from all players. An unexpected dump from setter Defne Colak '18 put MX up 18-10, and Middlesex continued to push. The set ended 25-12 after a well-placed ball by opposite hitter Hadley Jevon '19 followed by a big stuff block by Lydia.
The third and final set was more competitive, as Concord found their rhythm, and although the Zebras maintained the lead, Concord stayed close almost the entire set. Middlesex had to up their game, with strong tactical plays by the whole squad, including kills from the back row by Lily with an assist from Nina, a big kill from outside Avery Light '18 off of Defne's set, and a quick kill in the middle by Mimi Larrieux '18 from Defne's assist. The Zebras pulled ahead 21-16 off of a kill by Hadley, but Concord once again closed the gap through strong serving. However, the Zebras regrouped after a timeout, and the game ended on a strong note, with an unreturnable serve from Stephanie, followed by a big block by Mimi, and finally Lily's kill to end the match. The score in the final set was 25-20.
After a strong showing at home in their first three matches, the Zebras next travel to travel to St. Paul's School in Concord, N.H. on Saturday, September 24 for a double header. Middlesex will first face Lawrence Academy at 3:00PM followed shortly thereafter by a match against St. Paul's.
