The Middlesex Varsity Volleyball squad traveled to Cambridge, Mass. on Wednesday, November 8 to take on the BB&N Knights for their final ISL contest of the year, and won in straight sets, securing the ISL title for the second straight year.
The first set began slowly, as the Zebras shook off their lethargy from the bus ride to find their groove. Outside hitter and co-captain Avery Light '18 was able to notch a few kills early (she totaled 11 kills in the match), as libero and co-captain Nina Huttemann '18 sent a series of perfect passes to setter Defne Colak '18 for the assists. A few plays later, a great dig by outside hitter Hadley Jevon '19 to Defne then set up a kill by co-captain Mimi Larrieux '18 for the sideout. Middle Natalie Burden '18 stayed consistent throughout the match, with a great service run early on that opened with a pair of back-to-back aces. The next big service run was by Hadley-- she notched four consecutive aces (5 total in the match) before the Zebras lost the serve. The score was still close in the middle of the set, when a kill by Natalie Burden (who totaled 9 kills in the match) sided out the Knights, putting the score at 14-12 and rotating Defne back to serve. Defne then served out the set, earning four aces on an impressive 11 consecutive points, ending the first set 25-12, Middlesex.
Middlesex again took a little while to pick up steam in the second set, though Natalie Burden was again consistent as she scored the first three kills for the Zebras, first assisted by Defne and then by setter Sophia Poplyk '21. A solid service run by Nina in the middle of the set extended the Zebras' lead. A highlight during that run was a great dig by defensive specialist Sevilla Jin '21 to Defne, who set up another kill by Nat Burden. The set ended on Avery's serve, with a dig by Defne which was picked up by Mimi, who set up a kill by Nat to put the score at set point. The set ended as Mimi easily blocked an overpass of Avery's tricky serve, ending the second set 25-12.
The third set opened with an immediate sideout of the Knights-- a perfect serve receive by Nina to Defne set up a kill by outside hitter Grace Chamberlain '19. A few plays later, Grace rotated back to serve, and had a nice service run to put the Zebras further in the lead. After the sideout, defensive specialist Angela Bi '21 subbed in to help anchor the back row defense alongside Nina. The scoreline moved out of the Knights' reach after a stuff block by Mimi sided out BB&N's strongest server and rotated Avery back to serve. During Avery's service run, great block cover by opposite Natalie McCall '21 allowed Defne to set up a kill by Avery from the back row. A few plays later, a great pass by Nina to Defne set up another kill by Natalie McCall. The third set ended on an unforced error, 25-18, Middlesex.
This win brings Middlesex's overall record to 15-1, and concludes their ISL season with an undefeated league record (9-0). The Zebras look forward to finishing their regular season play with a competitive, non-ISL match against Class-A opponent St. Paul's School at home on Saturday, November 11. The match will start at 2:00pm, after a brief ceremony honoring the program's senior students before their final regular season home match.
