Cristina Mommsen ’09 represented Andover’s tremendous talent by capturing the league’s highest honor of MVP at the New England Prep School Volleyball All-Star game. Impressively, league coaches voted all three of Andover’s all-star players into the top 12 tournament competitors. This season, the league was expanded to 30 teams for the first time. As a result, 56 girls came from all over New England to play in Andover for the all-star game. Head coach Clyfe Beckwith said that he could have brought “seven-plus players” from the team due to Andover’s depth. However, because of Andover’s regular season record, only three girls represented the team: Mommsen, Atima Lui ’08, and Isabelle Engelsted ’09. The 56 girls were randomly put into six teams and played a series of 20 minute games. At the end of the games the coaches from all 30 schools submitted votes for whom they thought were the best players at the tournament. Of the top 12, three were from Andover, more than any other school. Even more impressive, Mommsen was voted MVP of the entire tournament. Last year, Andover hitter Dawson Joyce-Mendive ’07 recieved this honor. After the all-star weekend, Andover buckled down and easily defeated Worcester, 3-0. Andover definitely set the tone of the match, easily winning the first game, 30-8. In the second game, Andover controlled the play and won 30-15. The third game was tightly contested with back and forth action, but again, Andover resiliently hung on to win 30-25. In Wednesday’s win, a number of Andover players logged notable statistics. Melissa Yan ’10 continued her amazing play on serve with five aces. In addition, Captain Cassidy Carpenter ’07 had 20 assists. Lui added nine kills and two blocks, while newly crowned All Star MVP Cristina Mommsen provided 8 kills in the victory. The main concern for Andover going into Saturday’s game against Exeter is health. Eleven out of the 12 Andover players earned playing time against Worcester. However, Megan McCafferty ’10, the lone missing player, has been an integral part to the team’s success in the middle. Andover is optimistic that its depth and team composure will enable it to elevate its play against rival Exeter. Last season, Andover defeated Exeter 3-1; however, Exeter only graduated three players from a talented 2006 squad. The combined effects of the Andover/Exeter rivalry and the last regular season match will produce a very even and competitive match. Although Andover is seeded higher in the New England Rankings, Exeter will prove to be a challenging opponent.
