Last weekend, the Andover Boys Volleyball Team took on the top seeded NMH team. Although Andover showed flashes of brilliance, it failed to defeat the Hoggers. The NMH team, composed mostly of seniors, played very competitive volleyball from the start. The Andover Boys played sluggishly at first, and lost the first game with a score of 30 to 19. The second game, however, was filled with heart. Andover quickly picked up their game and challenged NMH for every point. With an early lead, the second game went to Andover with a score of 30 to 27. In the last two games, a trend was apparent: Andover would take an early lead, lose it to one server, and then tie it up again. Andover lost both games to NMH’s powerful hitting, 30-20, 30-26. Kenechi Igbokwe ’05 had a field day, spiking every ball as hard as his arm could swing. His serving, like his spiking, was ferocious, putting incredible top-spin on every ball, and keeping NMH on their toes. Captain Alex Moris ’05 was also on his game. Finding his timing early on, Morris was able to put speed into his spike and find the ground on a lot of hard kills. James McGuiness ’08 played a smart and quick game. He was able to anticipate NMH’s hitters and dig a couple of would-be-kills. Miguel Fernandez-Galiano ’05 acted as playmaker for the team. His setting, even off of passes that could be considered lost, allowed Andover’s hitters to have one of the most successful matches of the season. Kalter served like there was no tomorrow. On and off the ground, his powerful serves surprised and scared the NMH team. Alex Schwartz ’07 was hitting from outside with powerful spikes across the net and into enemy territory, as well as blocking the NMH weak-side hitter. Ekow Essel ’07 successfully blocked NMH’s middle hitter. This weekend, the boys have a tournament at Loomis with all of the other teams in the league: Choate, Loomis, NMH, and Andover. Andover has all the ingredients it needs to have success in the tournament. The boys will start their day off with another game against NMH.
