In the penultimate match of their regular season, the Middlesex varsity and JV volleyball squads traveled to Cambridge, Mass on Wednesday, November 6 to face ISL opponent BB&N, and both the JV and varsity teams brought home straight set victories, with strong play by the whole team resulting in one of the best serving (92% accuracy) and hitting (0.250 hitting percentage) performances of the season.
The first set started well for the Zebras, as setter Sophia Poplyk '21's strong serve caught the Knights off guard, making them scramble to put together their offensive weapons. The first kill of the game came off of a perfect pass by libero Sevilla Jin '21 that allowed Poplyk to set up a kill by captain and outside hitter Mayu Lee '20. With that sideout, Sevilla then stepped to the line to serve, and immediately dished up an ace. Her tricky serve forced BB&N to take their first timeout to regroup. After eventually losing the serve, Middlesex earned another first-ball sideout on a great receive by Sevilla that allowed Poplyk to vary the offense and set up a crushing kill by opposite Natalie McCall '21. A few points later, Mayu's serve receive allowed Poplyk to assist a kill by captain and middle hitter Kiley Briand '20 for another first-ball sideout. Toward the middle of the set, a dig by Mayu let Poplyk set up a kill from the middle by Morgan Clapp '22. At that point, the Zebras ran away with it-- another service run by Poplyk, which included three aces, brought the scoreline to 20-8. A few plays later, outside hitter Katy Qin '21's hard float serve was returned as an overpass, which Morgan was right there to kill. The first set ended with Sevilla's serve forcing an error by the Knights, ending it 25-11, Middlesex.
The second set included more strong attacks by the Knights, but the Zebra defense, anchored by Sevilla, was always there to make the play. The front row, too, was alert at the net, and scored several stuff blocks. The first kill of the set came off a dig by Mayu that allowed Poplyk to set up a kill by outside hitter Sydney Feeney '22. Later highlights included a great dig by defensive specialist Angela Bi '21 that Poplyk then converted into a kill by Mayu to put the score at 23-14. The next Middlesex point was scored by Kiley, who killed an overpass, and the second set ended 25-17, Middlesex.
The third and final set again featured strong play by the whole squad: early on in the set, a solid attack by right side Claire Ngugi '21 got returned by the Knights as a free ball, which Sevilla picked up, allowing Poplyk to set up a kill from the middle by Morgan, who ended the day tallying six kills and two blocks. A few plays later, defensive specialist Emily Pyne '21 had a perfect serve receive, which Poplyk set to Mayu for a first-ball sideout. Defensive specialist Sofia Dickinson '22, too, was alert-- she picked up a tip by the Knights' outside hitter, allowing Poplyk (24 total assists) to set up another kill by Mayu, who led the team with eight kills in the match. Toward the end of the set, right side Anna Buell '22 subbed in and notched a kill right away off of Poplyk's assist to put the score at 17-12. A quick kill by Poplyk, assisted by Sofia, put the score at match point, and then the final point of the match was a dig by Mayu of a cross-court attack by the Knights' outside hitter-- Poplyk stepped in to set up a hit by middle hitter Parker Boyden '23, who scored the final point, ending it 25-16, Middlesex.
Middlesex concludes the ISL season with a 8-2 record (11-4 overall) guaranteeing a top three finish in the league. The Zebras now look forward to hosting class-A, non-league opponent St Paul's School at 2:30pm on Saturday, November 9 for the final match of the regular season.
