The Middlesex Varsity Volleyball team hosted Thayer Academy on Saturday, October 28 to end the day's events for Parents' Weekend, and offered the parents in the stands a great taste of the team's talents, with contributions from every member of the team, while winning in straight sets.
In the first set, outside hitter Hadley Jevon '19 had the first long service run, earning 8 consecutive points for the Zebras. During that run, which included 4 aces, an overpassed ball was taken by libero and co-captain Nina Huttemann '18, who sent a perfect pass to setter Defne Colak '18, who assisted a kill by outside and co-captain Avery Light '18 (7 kills in the match). After Thayer eventually got the sideout, Nina received Thayer's serve, sending another perfect pass to Defne, who assisted a crushing kill by middle and co-captain Mimi Larrieux '18 for the immediate sideout. Defne continued to vary the offense-- the next kill was by opposite Natalie McCall '21, who put a hard-hit ball in the corner for her first kill of the match. Defensive specialist Angela Bi '21 then rotated in to serve, earning Middlesex three consecutive points on her tough, deep serves before the Tigers earned the sideout. Defne (who totaled a team-record 18 aces in the match, which also brings her season total over the 50 mark) rotated back to serve and ended the set 25-10 with three consecutive aces.
Middlesex's first point in the second set was earned on serve receive, as Nina passed Thayer's serve to setter Sophia Poplyk '21 who assisted the kill by Defne. A few plays later, defensive specialist Lyn Wu '19 came in to serve and immediately dished up an ace. Defne's service run extended the Middlesex lead with a series of aces and forced errors before Thayer finally earned the sideout. A great serve receive by outside hitter Mayu Lee '20 to Defne then set up the kill by Avery to earn a sideout for the Zebras. A couple of plays later, a great pass by Avery to Defne set up a good angled shot by Mayu for the kill. That kill rotated Sophia back to serve, where she immediately serve up another ace. With the score at 20-14, Defne rotated back to serve. A great dig by defensive specialist Sevilla Jin '21 allowed Defne to set up a kill by Avery. On the next play, Defne had to pick up the dig, and so Lyn stepped in to set up another kill by Avery. With the score at set point, the gritty Thayer team dug deep and pulled out a long rally eventually earning the sideout. However, the set then ended 25-15 after a service error.
The final set began with the Lyn sending a perfect pass of a serve to Defne, who set up a kill by Mimi. When Sevilla rotated back to serve, she dished up two consecutive aces before siding out. The offensive highlight of the set began with a great pass by Angela to Defne, who set up a crushing right-side hit by Mimi. The set ended with an impressive 8-point service run by Defne, ending 25-9.
This victory marked the 50th win for the Middlesex Varsity Volleyball team (50-26 overall record since its inception in the fall of 2014). The Zebras (12-1, 7-0 ISL) look forward to hosting two of fellow top teams in NEPSAC Class B this week as teams continue to jostle for seeding and playoff position in the final weeks of the regular season. #2 Middlesex will face cross-town rivals #5 Concord Academy on Wednesday November 1st at 3:30pm, before playing #1 Lawrence Academy on Friday November 3rd at 2:30pm. There will be some great volleyball in the Cage this week!
