On Wednesday, October 4, the Middlesex Varsity Volleyball squad traveled to Lawrence Academy for a rematch of last fall's NEPSAC quarterfinal. The result was an exciting battle with some of the highest quality volleyball yet played this season featuring a shootout between three of the best hitters in the ISL. Although Middlesex ended up coming up just short the fifth set, the squad was overall pleased with their level of play, and eager to rebound from this loss to face and overcome challenging opponents over the next few weeks.
 
The first set featured a high sideout rate on both sides, as the defenses worked on both sides to adjust to the powerful offense on both teams. Co-captain and middle hitter Mimi Larrieux '18 notched the first kill (she totaled 18 kills in the match), as co-captain and outside hitter Avery Light '18 sent a great pass on serve receive to setter Defne Colak '18 who assisted Mimi's crushing first kill. Despite some excellent work by the Zebras, including kills by Avery (who totaled 21 kills in the match) and blocks by middle hitter Natalie Burden '18 (who totaled 3 stuff blocks in the match), the Zebras came up short in the first set 17-25.
 
In the second set, the Zebras cleaned up their play, minimizing unforced errors and keeping the Spartans on their toes to keep them from consistently capitalizing on their strong offense orchestrated by Defne, who had 46 assists in the match. Outside hitter Hadley Jevon '19 put the Zebras on the board first with a stuff block, and also had the first kill of the set as Defne took a great dig which was picked up by Mimi for the assist. Hadley then rotated back to serve, and her service run allowed Middlesex to take a small lead which they would maintain throughout the set. Libero and co-captain Nina Huttemann '18 then ended the set with an aced serve, 25-21.
 
Nina's spectacular defense (14 digs in the match) continued to ground the Zebras, allowing them to set up their offense and control the third set. Natalie Burden dominated at the net in the third set, with a series of quality hits and kills that caught the Spartans on their heels and allowed Middlesex to pull ahead. Sophia Poplyk '21 rotated in to serve, and her service run, which included two aces, forced the Spartans to take a timeout to regroup. The set ended on another service run by Avery, with the final point won on a dig by Nina to Defne who set up a kill in the middle by Natalie Burden, ending the third 25-19.
 
With Middlesex up 2 sets to 1, the Spartans came out swinging hard in the fourth hoping to extend the match, and, although the scoreline stayed even through most of the set-- the score was tied at 17-17-- a few errors in the final points of the set allowed Lawrence to pull ahead enough to take the fourth set 20-25 and force the deciding fifth set.
 
The fifth set was again a battle as both teams dug deep, trying to exploit the other side's weaknesses. Nina's defense grounded the Zebras, as she allowed virtually nothing to hit the ground on the Middlesex side. Avery's serve during the middle of the set allowed Middlesex to pull ahead 9-6, but then a couple of errors and some hard-hit kills by Lawrence's talented outside hitter allowed the Spartans to close the gap and then pull just ahead. A great dig by Nina to Defne set up a crushing kill by Mimi to allow the Zebras to even the scoreline at 11-11, and still, despite some quality plays and long rallies, Middlesex came up just short in the deciding set, 13-15.
 
Players, coaches, and fans all enjoyed the chance to play and watch this high-level match, and the Zebras look forward to seeing Lawrence again later in the season for their ISL league match. For now, Middlesex (6-1 overall) is looking forward to traveling to Cushing Academy (Ashburnham, Mass.) for a 3:45pm match on Saturday, October 7.