The Middlesex Volleyball team played one of its best matches of the season, losing in five hard-fought sets to the Noble & Greenough School in an away match on Saturday, October 21, 2023, 2-3.

After trading side-outs early in Set 1, the entire Middlesex team contributed to a long defensive rally, putting the Zebras ahead 2-1.  Freshman libero Clara Szeman '27 went on a service run, knotting the score at 4-4.  Clara got in on the offensive production with a back row hit that was set up by a great dig by setter Sarah McLaughlin '25, taking the score to 8-6. Senior co-captain Devon Coyle '24 served strongly to get the Zebras into double-digits, 10-9.  Middle blocker Alyssa Aslam '25 had a strong block, extending the lead to 11-9.  Devon added a service ace, 12-9.  Alyssa contributed offensively, with a nice kill out of the middle, 13-11.  Setter Clair ("CJ") Jennings served an ace, extending the lead to 14-11.  Senior co-captain Dela McCaghren '24 added a tip from the right side, 15-13.  Jackie Brown '25 then went on a strong service run, scoring two consecutive aces and extending the lead to 19-13.  Alyssa's middle attack to terminate a full-team defensive scramble took the score to 20-14.  Devon then scored a kill after another all-team defensive scramble, and her service ace ended Set 1, with the Zebras winning, 25-17.

The Zebras came out strong to begin Set 2, with CJ's ace, Jackie's outside kill, and Alyssa's middle attack, registering 4-0 on the scoreboard.  Nobles came back strong, with tough serves and strong defensive play, putting them in the lead 7-10.  The Zebras showed their grit, mounting a comeback that started with Devon's middle kill, and Charlotte Heafey '25 added two consecutive service aces, knotting the score at 10-10.  Nobles regained the lead, until Jackie's roll shot from outside stopped the momentum at 11-14.  Lucy McGaraghan '27 got in on the action with a kill, narrowing the deficit to 12-14.  Jackie's kill off a fine defensive play from Clara and assist from CJ, tightened the score to 13-14.  The Bulldogs went on their second service run of the set, extending their lead to 14-20.  A side-out, and Jackie's strong serve brought the Zebras to within 16-20.  After trading side-outs, Charlotte's kill, and Devon's service ace narrowed the lead to 18-22.  Devon's third-ball scored to culminate a full-team defensive scramble, edging closer, 19-22.  After trading side outs, Sarah's strong serve allowed the Zebras to stay within reach, 21-24.  Nobles closed out Set 2 with a strong serve, winning 21-25.

Middlesex got off to a slow start in Set 3, until Alyssa got the Zebras on the scoreboard, 1-3.  Charlotte recorded two consecutive kills to tie the score at 3-3.  After a number of long defensive rallies by both teams, Clara's service ace put Middlesex ahead 7-4.  Sarah continued her aggressive serving in Set 3, notching 10-8 on the scoreboard.  Devon kept the pressure on, registering a middle tip, keeping the two point lead, 12-10.  Devon's service ace and Jackie's outside kill extended the Zebra lead, 15-11.  Another middle kill from Alyssa, and CJ's service ace put the Zebras ahead, 17-12.  After trading side-outs, the entire team had another defensive scramble, ultimately scoring the point, 19-15.  Jackie's service ace won the sprint to 20, taking the score to 20-15.  Clara went on another service run, scoring four consecutive aces, serving-out Set 3 for Zebra's win, 25-16.

The Zebras were unable to build upon the momentum of winning the third set, and started slowly again in Set 4, with Nobles jumping out to an early 0-4 lead.  Alyssa got Middlesex on the scoreboard with a fine middle attack, 1-4.  After trading side outs, Clara scored a winner on a free ball, 3-7.  The Bulldogs went on a service run, extending their early lead, until Charlotte's service ace took the score to 5-11.  Nobles' strong serving continued, until Charlotte scored on a backrow attack, 6-16.  Devon's aggressive serving cut the lead in half, 8-16.  More strong serving from the Bulldogs extended their lead, until Devon's middle block paused the action at 15-24.  Charlotte added another back row kill, keeping the Zebras in Set 4, 16-24.  Nobles' early lead and aggressive serving were too much for the Zebras to overcome, losing Set 4, 16-25.

CJ got the Zebras off to a fast start in the fifth set tiebreaker with strong serving, 2-0.  The Bulldogs returned the strong serving favor by going on a run of their own, taking the lead, 3-5.  Charlotte's outside kill, followed by tough serving kept Set 5 close, 8-10.  Jackie's block knotted the score at 10-10.  Alyssa kept the score tied with another middle attack, 11-11.  Both teams played solid defense in the latter stages of Set 5, trading side outs in the closely contested final set.  Nobles ultimately prevailed, closing out Set 5, 13-15, and winning the match, 2-3.

Freshman libero Clara Szeman '27 earned the team helmet for her composed play, determination, solid serve receiving, timely and tough serving, and overall strong defensive performance. The team continues its ISL schedule by traveling to the Rivers School on Wednesday, October 25, 2023 for a 3:30pm contest.