Peter Yao ’07 had 31 assists, carrying Andover to yet another win 3-0 over Loomis as the team stayed undefeated at 6-0. Andover dominated all three games with scores of 30-15, 30-23 and 30-19. Andover will probably see Loomis again in the Founding Four tournament starting this weekend. Last Tuesday, Howie Kalter ’07 had six aces and Alex Schwartz ’07 had 16 kills as Andover hosted Central Catholic High School for a scrimmage. Andover won the match 3-0, once again dominating the games 30-19, 30-16, and 30-25. Andover won despite missing its starting setter Yao. Andover stayed undefeated heading into a tough matchup with Choate. Yao had another great game setting with 44 assists, and Schwartz had 20 kills as Andover defeated a very tough Choate team 3-1. The scores of the games were 23-30, 30-27, 30-27, and 30-24. Andover started the game with a 6-2 formation with six hitters and two setters and took a 13-5 lead in the first game. However, Choate completely took over the game from there, stringing together 12 unanswered points to take the lead 17-13. Andover regrouped and started to come back on Alex Svec’s ’08 three-point serving streak and Jason Zhu’s ’07 five-point serving streak. It proved to be too little too late for Andover as ir fell in the first game 23-30. Riding the momentum from the end of the first game, Kalter went on an eight-point serving streak to put Andover ahead 8-2 early in the first game. Choate slowly came back and took the lead at 14-13 before Jonathan Lee ’07 served Andover ahead 15-14. The game continued to go back and forth, but Andover finally came out on top 30-27. In the third game, Andover quickly jumped out to an 11-4 lead. Choate slowly chipped away at the lead and eventually took the lead at 19-18, its only lead in the game. Yao served four straight points putting Andover up 29-23. Andover would go on to win the game 30-27. Choate dominated the beginning of the fourth game, as Andover had to come from behind and tie Choate at 7-7 and 10-10. Choate managed to turn back any rhythm Andover had. Choate had a lead at 20-16, when Zhu took the serving line and served Andover ahead 22-20. From there Andover would cruise, winning the final game 30-24 and the match 3-1. Several Andover players delivered very strong performances against Choate including Yao, who in addition to 44 assists had two stuffs and was 14 of 15 serving. Schwartz hit 35 of 41 for a team-high 20 kills in addition to his serving 12 of 13 with one ace. Kalter had a great day serving, as he served 27 of 29 with six aces. He also hit 39 of 46 and had 18 kills. Ekow Essel ’07 was a strong force on the front line, blocking 14 of 22 with eight stuffs. Brian Watson ’08 blocked seven of 10 and hit a perfect 10-10 with eight kills. With the win ,Andover completed an undefeated 6-0 league schedule and improved to 10-0 overall. Andover dropped its first set of the season, having won every previous game 3-0. Tuesday, Andover beat a strong Lawrence High School team in a tight game 3-2. Lawrence High took the first and fourth games, but Andover was able to come out on top. Yao had an amazing 75 assists and Schwartz had 26 kills in the win. Andover finishes the season with a 6-0 league record and a perfect 11-0 record. This weekend, Andover will compete in the Founding Four tournament, facing Loomis in the first game.
