The Varsity Volleyball team played their first away match of the season against Marianapolis Prep. on Saturday, September 23, losing 2-3 in five closely-contested sets.

The Zebra's young team continues to improve, starting strong in Set 1 with Moran Liu '26 serving two early aces.  Charlotte Heafey '25 got her first kill of the match off a high outside set by Clair ("CJ") Jennings '25, increasing the lead to 6-4.  CJ followed with a front-row dump, extending the lead to 7-5.  Charlotte got on a nice serving run, with three straight aces.  Senior co-captain Devon Coyle '24 got in on the action with a middle block to get the score to 11-7.  Moran extended the lead to 12-8 with a nice attack off the block.  Natalia ("Talia") De Leon '24 stopped a Marianapolis comeback run by getting a nice kill to put the Zebras ahead 13-12.  Charlotte painted the line on a fine outside kill that was initiated by a fantastic pass from libero Clara Szeman '27, increasing the Zebra lead to 15-10.  Marianapolis went on a serving run, gaining the lead, until Devon broke the momentum with a service ace to tighten the score to 18-21.  Moran kept the game close with a kill off a great Charlotte dig and CJ set, with the Zebras down 19-23.  Marianapolis closed-out Set 1 with a 19-25 win.

Middlesex came out fighting in Set 2, with an initial side-out off a great service receive from Clara, and middle attack Alyssa Aslam '25 dinking to the floor for an early 1-0 lead.  Charlotte got her first kill of the set with another line shot, taking the score to 2-1.  Clara extended the Zebra lead to 4-2, with a well-placed free ball into the back corner.  Charlotte followed with a service ace, increasing the lead to 6-3.  Clara hit the floor twice in the longest rally of the set, sending another free ball winner to knot the score at 10-10.  Moran got in on the action with a strong serve, putting the Zebras back on top 11-10.  Jane ("Janie") Martin '26 got her first kill of the game to tie the set at 13-13.  Service aces by Sara, Charlotte, and Jackie Brown '25 put the Zebras up 21-20.  Marianapolis went on a service run, until Charlotte put a stop to it, with strong back row support from Jackie, narrowing the lead to 22-24.  Clara stepped up in a high pressure situation, serving four consecutive balls that put the opponent out of system, gaining the Zebras their first winning set of the season, 26-24.

The Zebras started Set 3 slowly, until Alyssa got in on the action with a nice dig, assist from CJ, and a middle dink to narrow the score to 2-4.  Clara continued her strong serving, with her 1st ace of the set, closing the gap to 3-4.  Jackie continued her fine back row defense, with a strong dig, keeping the Zebras close at 5-7.  The opponents went on an extended service run, until Devon got a kill off a middle set by CJ and Sarah dig, stopping the run at 7-15.  Moran's strongside kill, and a Devon ace narrowed the score to 9-15.  Alyssa followed with a nice middle tip getting the Zebras to 10-15.  Janie used the opponent's block to her advantage, keeping the Zebras within five, 12-17.  Clara's service ace, and another outside line kill for Charlotte weren't enough to close the gap, with Marianapolis winning Set 3, 16-25.

Down 2 sets to 1, the Zebras came out for Set 4 with renewed energy and grit.  Janie got the Zebras on the board with a cross court kill off an outside set by CJ, with Zebras up 1-0.  Alyssa kept the momentum with a roof block on the outside, extending the Zebra lead to 2-0.  Moran got in on the action with a service ace, 4-0.  Both teams traded side outs, until Devon had a nice middle block, which she followed by her first kill of the set, putting the Zebras back on top, 9-8.  Charlotte contributed with an ace of her own, and a dig/kill combination to tie the score 11-11.  Jackie continued her fine back row play with a dig that was followed by CJ's middle set to Alyssa's kill, putting the Zebras back on top 12-11.  After a number of side outs, Charlotte got in on the action with a free ball winner, strong pass & kill, and teaming with Devon on a block to extend the Zebra lead to 18-14.  Clara continued her strong serving attack with another ace and nice back row dig, taking the Zebras to a 20-14 lead.  Jackie got her first back row kill of the season, and Devon followed with another middle attack off a fine CJ set.  The Zebras stayed in the match, winning Set 4, 25-18.

Marianapolis came out for the tie-breaking Set 5 strong, taking the score to 0-4.  Alyssa stopped the run with a nice middle attack, putting the Zebras on the board, 1-4.  Marianapolis went on another service run until Sarah stopped the momentum with a service ace, with the Zebras down 4-10.  The opponents ran their score to 14, before Charlotte stopped the run with a fine kill off a high outside set from CJ, followed by two service aces to narrow the lead to 7-14.  Unfortunately, the early lead in a final set to 15 was too great to overcome, with Marianapolis winning Set 5, 7-15, thus gaining the win for the match, 2-3.

Charlotte (14 kills, 7 aces, 7 digs) earned the team helmet for the match for her tenacity through all five sets, her strong hitting, and solid serving. The Zebras showed grit through adversity during this match, twice coming back from set deficits to tie the match.  The team will continue building upon the foundation of this early season with a home match versus Tabor Academy at 3:30pm on Wednesday, September 27, 2023.