Andover Volleyball captured a five-set marathon victory at St. Paul’s on Wednesday, just a few days after failing to generate success in a 3-1 loss to Loomis on Saturday.
The team was led by Fran Trautmann ’16 and Evelyn Mesler ’17, who contributed 15 and 11 service wins, respectively.
Andover sealed the first set 25-22 and was able to win a tense second set 28-26.
Despite Andover’s early dominance, the team lost energy as the match progressed. After dropping the third and fourth sets, the team regained its form and closed out a hotly contested final set.
All five sets were closely competitive – four of them being decided by fewer than three points. Tiffany Bauman ’16 played a crucial role in Andover’s victory.
“[Bauman] led the team with her energy and played great in the back row for us all throughout the match,” said Darcy Burnham ’18.
On Saturday, Andover suffered its first loss of the season in a four-set match versus Loomis Chaffee at home.
Andover fell victim to a slow start, losing the first two sets 25-16 and 25-12, respectively.
The girls recovered to put points on the board for Andover in the third set, winning 25-12 in a convincing fashion. Andover entered the fourth set with increased momentum.
Head Coach Clyfe Beckwith said, “We rebounded beautifully in the third, completely changing the momentum of the match in our favor.”
After storming back to take the third set, the team nearly forced a decisive fifth set. Andover led 23-19 late in the fourth set, but Loomis was able to bounce back, winning seven out of eight points to conclude the match with a 26-24 victory.
“It looked promising to force a fifth set, and we would have accomplished an amazing comeback,” said Beckwith.
Andover’s record currently stands at 5-1, and it looks to maintain its high energy on Saturday against Northfield Mount Hermon.
