After Andover Boys Volleyball lost in three straight games to Choate, powerful serves from Howie Kalter ’07 helped Andover defeat Lawrence High JV, a team with varsity players that Andover had lost to earlier this season. Andover also had some inspirational plays, such as some power hits by Alex Schwartz ’07, and a serving streak by Kalter. However, Choate topped Andover in points, winning 3 games to 0, by scores of 16-30, 29-31, and 24-30. The usually reliable starters, Schwartz , Miguel Fernandez-Galiano ’05, Kalter, Kenechi Igbokwe ’05, Alex Moris ’05, Ekow Essel ’07, and James McGuiness ’08, all played strong-willed, spirited, but careless games. Andover had some strong plays but was overtaken by a more focused Choate squad. Andover played its second game this week against Lawrence High school’s fortified JV team for the second time. This time they brought down a couple of their varsity members. Because some of their varsity helped out, this match turned out to be a very close match. Andover pulled off a come-from-behind win against a very competitive Lawrence High, winning the match 3-2. The first game was littered with errors, and Andover let Lawrence grasp an early lead, and the win. The score of 26-30 exhibited the Andover team’s low energy and a lack of concentration on the court. In the second game, PA came back aggressively and won it strong, 30-19. The second string played the third game, and gave up another game with a score of 26-30. Andover came back and won the next two games, beating Lawrence 30-23, and 15-11. In the final game, Kalter brought Andover to a 4-0 lead with his blistering serves before a Lawrence High player brought his team back into the game by scoring eight points in a row. The teams became tied at 11-11, but Andover broke through, winning it all, 15-11. The starters for the Lawrence High match were Schwartz, Kalter, Igbokwe, Essel, Moris, Fernandez-Galiano, and McGuinness. Kalter, the standout of the game, had many crucial hits and aggressive top-spin jump serves that carried the team throughout the match. Schwartz impressed the crowd with his powerful hits as usual, and Essel had some incredible plays on defense and serving. Fernandez-Galiano played an inspiring game as setter, and Igboke had some key hits and blocks. The second string, although they lost their game, played a energetic game as well. So Andover is now 1-4 in the prep school division and hopes to raise a win against the #1 seeded NMH this Saturday. This will be their last home game on their schedule. Their final game this season will be against Loomis for the third time in the tournament on May 28th.
