In the past week Girls Varsity Volleyball played three matches, two intra-league contests against New Hampton and Choate on Saturday, and one scrimmage against crosstown rival, Andover High on Monday. Andover came up big when it mattered, defeating New Hampton 2-0 and defeating Choate 2-1 in a match which saw Caroline Levin ’06 go 27 for 27 hitting with 11 kills and 23 for 23 serving with four aces. Then on Monday, Andover faced off in a scrimmage against Andover High, losing 3-2. New Hampton, a relatively new team to volleyball, was very athletic and had earlier defeated NMH. Andover defeated New Hampton without difficulty, 30-14 and 30-20, to move the current season’s record to 6-0 including the scrimmage against North Reading. Sarah Thomas ’06 led the team in kills with eight, hit 13 for 16, and served six for eight with three aces. Claire Fox ’06 had five kills, hit five for five, and served ten for ten with two aces. Captain Jackie Price ’06 matched Fox with five kills while hitting eight for ten and serving eight for eight with three aces. Cassidy Carpenter ’08 led the team in both serves and assists, serving 12 for 13 with four aces and 4 assists. Carpenter also had one stuff block on two for two blocking and one kill. Atima Lui ’08 had the most aces with five while serving 12 for 14 with one stuff and one kill. Levin contributed one stuff while blocking two for two, had two kills in hitting three for five, and was seven for seven serving. In the exciting match against Choate, Andover fell behind early in the first game and had to play catch-up. Coming back, Andover closed out the first game on seven straight serves from Levin. The second game was a disaster as Choate led by as many as 13 points at one time partly due to 15 Andover hitting errors. Lindsay Maroney ’07 came off the bench and contributed greatly as Andover regained its balance, but Choate still prevailed. The momentum that Maroney helped initiate carried into the third and deciding game as Andover got out to a 4-1 lead. The score stayed fairly even until Fox’s service which gave Andover a 13-6 cushion. Levin then served out the game at 15-7 and Andover won, bringing its record to 7-0, 6-0 in league play. Levin was on fire against Choate, hitting 27 for 27 with 11 kills, serving 23 for 23 with four aces, and blocking one for one with a stuff. Thomas also had a great game, serving five for six, blocking two for three with one stuff, hitting 26 for 32, and leading the team with 15 kills. Andover lost for the first time all season on Monday against Andover High. It was only a scrimmage, “but it stings nonetheless,” said Coach Clyfe Beckwith. Andover took the first game 34-32 and then made substitutions in the second game, as did Andover High. Andover High won the second game, 30-27. Andover went back to its starters for game three but varied their positions, trying out Sarah Thomas at outside hitter, Lindsay Maroney at middle hitter, and Caroline Levin as libero specialist. Again, Andover High prevailed, this time with a score of 30-25. Andover dominated game four, taking it 30-20. Then in the final game, Andover High got out to a 5-0 lead and went on to win 15-9. Andover still retains its spot at the top of its league with a 6-0 intra-league record and a 7-1 overall record. Andover will travel to New Hampton for a rematch next Saturday and then face off against Exeter on Wednesday at home.
