The Varsity Volleyball team traveled to Weston, Mass. on Wednesday, October 27 for a midweek match, and despite some hard work by the whole team and many long rallies, ultimately fell short 1-3.

The Zebras came out energized in the first set, and were able to keep the Redwings from attacking by keeping their defense under pressure. Setter and co-captain Sofia Dickinson '22 led off with a three-point service run. An attack by right side Annabelle Lerner '23 led to an error by Rivers, and outside Julie Chen '23 then stepped back to serve and extend the Middlesex lead. An early sideout came when libero Romy Ahn '23 dug up a ball which Sofia set up for a kill by middle and co-captain Morgan Clapp '22. Romy then had a long service run which forced Rivers to take a timeout to regroup. The Redwings put together a service run of their own later in the set, but the Zebras' lead was too big to overcome. A quick sideout came off of a perfect serve receive by Romy which Sofia set to Julie for the kill to put the score at set point, and a kill by Annabelle ended it 25-19, Middlesex.

The Zebras fell behind early in the second set off of a strong serve by the Redwings. Some strong play in the middle of the set helped to narrow the gap as middle Parker Boyden '23 had a good service run, during which defensive specialist Caroline Cervini '23 and defensive specialist Antonia Baylor '23 held down the back row allowing Sofia to mix up the offense. Later in the set, another run by Romy brought the score to 17-20, but a few unforced errors by Middlesex let the Redwings pull further ahead. A big kill by outside Sydney Feeney '22 wasn't enough to close the gap, and the second set ended 20-25, Rivers.

The Zebras' fatigue after their difficult week began to show in the third set as their energy flagged, and they lost some points to slower reaction times or miscommunications. Julie continued to find holes in the Redwings' defense, and Morgan and Parker each scored impressive blocks, but the third set ultimately ended 18-25, Rivers.

The Zebras came out stronger in the fourth, and actually pulled ahead with a modest lead through the middle of the set, but then allowed the Redwings to narrow the gap and then pull ahead with their strong, consistent serve, and the fourth set ended 21-25, Rivers.

Middlesex (8-3, 5-3 ISL) now looks ahead to hosting Thayer Academy this Saturday, October 30 at 2:30pm for Family Weekend.