The Middlesex Volleyball team lost in three sets to the Rivers Red Wings, one of the top teams in the ISL this season, in an away match on Wednesday, October 25, 2023, 0-3.

Middlesex started Set 1 strong, recording the first side-out of the match, jumping out to an early 1-0 lead.  Freshman libero, Clara Szeman '27, served strong, extending the lead, 3-1.  Lucy McGaraghan '27 got her first kill from the opposite side, keeping the Zebras ahead, 5-3.  After trading side-outs, senior co-captain Devon Coyle '24 got in on the action with a service ace, doubling the Zebra lead, 8-4.  Jackie Brown '25 recorded her first kill of the match, off a fine set from Clair ("CJ") Jennings '25, taking the score to 9-6.  Middle blocker Alyssa Aslam '25 made her presence felt at the net, scrambling for a kill to extend the lead, 10-6.  Alyssa followed with another kill, and Jackie added a service ace to take the score to 12-8.  In the most exciting play of Set 1, Clara had an excellent defensive pass to CJ, who got the assist off of Charlotte Heafey's '25 kill down the line, 13-9.  Devon added another middle kill, extending the Zebra lead to 16-11.  The Red Wings came storming back via an extended service run, until Alyssa stopped Rivers' momentum with another middle kill, 18-20.  Jackie added another service ace, and kept the Red Wings out of system with a tough serve, keeping the Zebras close, 21-22.  Rivers finished-out Set 1 with a hard-driven ball, taking the first Set, 22-25.

Middlesex came out slow in Set 2, following behind early, 0-6.  Alyssa's middle kill that was set up by a fine pass from Clara took the score to 2-6.  The Zebras were challenged by Rivers' strong servers, who had found their groove in this set. Lucy contributed with a kill from the opposite side, temporarily stopping River's momentum, 4-17.  However, Rivers finished off Set 2, just as they began it – with another strong serving run – winning Set 2, 5-25.

Middlesex started Set 3 much better, with Jackie recording two service aces, 2-0.  The early lead was quickly given back to Rivers on the back of their tough serving, 3-9.  Jackie's kill from the back row put a stop to the Red Wing service run, 4-9.  Sarah kept Middlesex within reach with some strong serving of her own, cutting the lead in half, 7-14.  Devon's middle kill, followed by Lucy's block took the score to 10-17.  Charlotte's excellent service receive allowed Sarah to set Alyssa in the middle for yet another kill, 11-18.  Charlotte kept the Zebra momentum with a kill of her own, taking the score to 12-20.  The entire team continued to hustle on a defensive scramble, keeping the Zebras within contention, 13-21.  Jackie's back row kill and Sara's service ace took the score to 16-23.  As in prior sets, the Rivers finished off Set 3 with strong serving, earning the victory 16-25, and 0-3 in sets.

Junior Sarah McLaughlin '25 earned the team helmet for her strong serving, setting, and overall positive attitude during the match. The team looks ahead to hosting Thayer Academy on Saturday, October 28, 2023 at 3:00pm for Family Weekend.