Both the Varsity and the Junior Varsity volleyball teams faced off against the Newton Country Day School Falcons for late afternoon matches on Wednesday, September 22, and came away victorious, winning 3-1 (Varsity) and 2-1 (JV).

In the Varsity match, both Middlesex and Newton started slowly in the first set, showing some nerves at the beginning of their first match in twenty-two months, trading sideouts mainly on unforced errors. Newton's outside hitter notched several kills early on, but the Middlesex defensive corps held their own and helped the Zebras to rally. Middlesex started to pull away during a service run by outside hitter Sydney Feeney '22, when a great dig by libero Romy Ahn '23 to co-captain and setter Sofia Dickinson '22 led to a kill by outside hitter Anna Buell '22. The next server for the Zebras was middle hitter Annabelle Lerner '23, who put together a 4-point run for Middlesex, forcing a Falcons timeout to regroup. The set ultimately ended at 25-20, Middlesex.

The second set started off like the first, with the two teams trading sideouts, but with more intense, longer rallies, as both teams reduced the number of unforced errors and improved their play. Co-captain and middle hitter Morgan Clapp '22 notched several consecutive kills, as defensive specialists Antonia Baylor '22,  Julie Chen '23, and Romy held down the back row. Opposite hitter Marissa Fadely '22 stepped back to serve near the end of the set, and dished up a first-serve ace, which was immediately followed by a big kill by Annabelle, but the set then ended 22-25, Newton.

Middlesex controlled the scoreline early on in the third set, as the Middlesex servers found their groove and forced the Falcons to adjust their serve receive. The Zebras were also buoyed by a boisterous home cheering section helping the team maintain its lead throughout the set. The third set ultimately ended 25-20, Middlesex.

The fourth and final set remained closer, as the Falcons were determined to take the match to five, and the Zebras were just as eager to win in four. A great serve receive by Anna opened the set, allowing Sofia to set up a kill by Morgan for the quick sideout starting a four point run for the home team. The Falcons then caught up and moved ahead after a couple of consecutive errors by the Zebras, but then a service run by Julie tied up the score again. Caroline Cervini '23 then subbed in to serve and to play defense, and her hard float serve proved to be a great weapon-- she recorded a five-point run for the Zebras, gaining them a solid lead that they would maintain for the rest of the set, which ended 25-22, Middlesex.

Middlesex (1-0) looks forward to facing Marianapolis on Saturday, September 25 (time TBA), and then to opening their ISL season next week with home contests against Tabor Academy (Wednesday, 9/29) and Milton Academy (Saturday, 10/2).