On Wednesday, October 10, the Middlesex Varsity Volleyball squad hosted perennial ISL rival Governor's Academy, and, despite an impressive rally to fall just short in the second set, lost to a strong opponent in straight sets.

The Zebras earned their first sideout of the match after an attack by right side Grace Chamberlain '19, assisted by setter Sofia Dickinson '22, forced an error by Governor's. The scoreline stayed fairly even, then, as libero Sevilla Jin sent a perfect receive to setter Sophia Poplyk '21 who set up a kill by middle Natalie McCall '21 for a first serve sideout. Natalie continued her strong work at the net, notching several stuff blocks, two of which were assisted by right side Derin Colak '20. Unfortunately, Governor's pulled ahead in the second half of the set on a long service run, closing the first set 16-25.

The Middlesex offense came alive in the second set, thanks to improved serve receive by the passers. The first point of the set was earned on a kill by right side Morgan Clapp '22 off of a great dig by captain and outside hitter Hadley Jevon '19 to Poplyk for the assist. A crucial sideout in the middle of the set came when Hadley sent a perfect pass to Sofia who assisted the kill by outside hitter Mayu Lee '20. Later, a long service run by Sofia evened the scoreline and forced Governor's to take their first timeout. During that run, middle hitter Kiley Briand '20 notched a couple of stuff blocks, making the opposing offense rethink their strategy. Middlesex kept earning first serve sideouts, determined to take back the set-- all the players contributed to the Zebras' comeback in this set-- but the set ultimately went the other way, ending 23-25.

The Zebras appeared to lag after the long and intense second set, and came out flat in the third set, giving up points on serve receive to allow Governor's to pull ahead early. A highlight in the middle of the third set was a solo stuff block in the middle by Kiley, but the momentum at that point was too much in favor of their opponent, and the final set ended 12-25, Governor's.

The players were pleased with their level of play in the second set, and are excited to work on fine-tuning some fundamentals in the coming days and look forward to upcoming matches against Groton and Dana Hall.