The Middlesex Varsity Volleyball team hosted Newton Country Day for a late afternoon midweek match to open the 2019 season, and fought a thrilling five-set battle lasting almost three hours to come away with the victory, 3-2.
The first set opened in front of a raucous home crowd, and the team took a little while to settle into their groove as the two teams traded sideouts and sized each other up. A highlight of the first set came when setter Sophia Poplyk '21 artfully tipped the ball over to put Newton out of system, forcing them to send back a freeball. Libero Sofia Dickinson '22 was there for the pass to Poplyk who assisted a kill by captain and outside hitter Mayu Lee '20 for the sideout, rotating Mayu back to serve. Her first-serve ace put the score at set point, and the set then ended at 25-19, Middlesex.
Newton made some adjustments in the second set to adapt to the Zebras' offense as well as exploit defensive holes. The two teams traded sideouts for most of the set, with some key plays from the whole team, including a great kill by outside hitter Sydney Feeney '21 for a sideout off of Poplyk's assist, followed immediately by a tough serve by Sofia, which Newton overpassed. Captain and middle hitter Kiley Briand '20 was right there to kill the overpass, putting Middlesex on top 7-6. Another big sideout came off of a dig by defensive specialist Angela Bi '21 to Poplyk who assisted a kill by Kiley. Sydney then rotated back to serve and immediately dished up back-to-back aces. A few plays later, opposite Parker Boyden '23, in her first Middlesex game, put a well-placed ball in the corner to end a long rally. Toward the end of the set, Mayu sent a perfect serve receive to Poplyk, who assisted a kill by outside hitter Natalie McCall '21 to inch the Zebras ahead. However, a series of unforced errors by Middlesex pushed the Falcons back into the lead, and the set ended, 23-25, Newton.
The Zebras were on the board first in the third, with a solid dig by defensive specialist Sevilla Jin '21 that allowed Poplyk to set up a kill by Mayu. A few plays later, a great defensive play by Julia Li '21 allowed Sophia Poplyk to set up a kill by middle Morgan Clapp '22. The scoreline evened out toward the end of the set, and the two teams kept trading sideouts causing both teams to run out of substitutions resulting in both coaching staffs improvising their lineups. After numerous hard-fought plays to save set points by both teams, Newton finally prevailed in this marathon set, 36-34.
Even after that disappointing end to the long, drawn-out third set, Middlesex was determined to take the match to five sets, and the fourth set was a battle from the start. It opened with a great pass by outside hitter Katy Qin '21 to Poplyk, who assisted a kill down the line by Mayu. Some more excellent team plays by Middlesex kept the Zebras feeling composed and in control even though the scoreline stayed fairly even, and the fourth set ended 25-22, Middlesex.
With the momentum now firmly on the Zebras' side, the fifth set opened with a great service run by Poplyk, who put Middlesex up 4-0 before Newton earned the sideout. Another service run by Katy, with some great work at the net by Morgan and Kiley anchored by the rock solid defense by Sevilla, Mayu, Angela, and Sofia allowed Middlesex to pull away, and the fifth set ended 15-5, Middlesex after an emphatic stuff block by Kiley.
The Zebras will travel to Thompson, CT on Saturday, 9/21 to face Marianapolis Prep (4:00pm start), and then look forward to hosting Tabor Academy next Wednesday, 9/25 at 3:30pm to kick off their ISL season.
