With a season high of seventeen kills and 49 out of 56 defensive plays, Cristina Mommsen ’09 led the Andover girl’s volleyball squad to another victory. Andover beat an undefeated Choate Rosemary Hall 3-1, improving its overall season record to 5-0. Andover anticipated the match against Choate to be a battle. Year after year, powerhouse Choate has proven to be worthy competition for Andover, and this match was no exception. Coach Clyfe Beckwith was pleased with the win but said, “This could easily have gone the other way too.” Andover fought hard to win game one. Choate had a four point lead at 5-9. Had it not been for Meghan McCafferty ’10, Andover would have trailed even further behind. She stepped up to the service line at 12-15 and brought the score up to 16-15. Possession of the ball was traded back and forth with side outs a couple more times. Choate managed to pull ahead once more at 17-20, but Mommsen executed seven unanswered serves to propel Andover to victory. Andover’s stats for the game were remarkable, with 16 kills, five aces, and 13 defensive saves. The final score was 25-20. Choate took the lead again in game two, leaving Andover trailing behind by six points at 0-6. Despite eight kills and four aces, Andover continued to fall behind for the rest of the match, trailing as much as ten points at 4-14 and again at 14-24. Choate convincingly won the game, tying the match at one game each. The final score was 16-25. Andover took an early lead in game three, with Jamie Shenk ’12 serving four points to catapult the team to a five point lead at 6-1. Throughout the first rotation, Choate scored points only on side-outs, enabling Andover to take a 13-5 lead. Choate forcefully came back into play with four unanswered service points, allowing Andover only five service points and six side-out points. At 18-18, setter Melissa Yan ’10 had to come off the court due to an injury. She was replaced by Shelby Carpenter ’12, who scored an assist and then stepped up to the service line to bring Andover to the lead at 20-19 advantage. Alice Tao ’11 and Caroline Colombo ’09 also came on the court to play in the back row and front row, respectively. All three contributed critical assistance, a feat difficult to accomplish after coming off the bench. With a tied score of 23-23, Andover was able to obtain a side-out point. The winning point was scored by Captain Isabelle Engelsted ’09, ending the game at 25-23. During game four, Andover switched up its rotation to accommodate a 6-2 line-up, which involves two setters. Engelsted played back row setter, while Kemi Amurawaiye ’12 stepped into Engelsted’s usual role of opposite side hitter. With the score tied at 4-4, Andover managed to pull ahead by as much as five points. Choate, however, was not going to go down without a fight. The opposition continued to chip away at Andover’s lead, but Andover prevailed. The team recorded nine kills, five aces, and 14 defensive saves. The final score was 25-18. The Andover girls, however, realize that Choate’s threat to their perfect season is not over. Last year, Andover also beat Choate during the regular playing season but then proceeded to lose in the quarterfinals at the end of season tournament. Andover will play the currently 2-4 New Hampton School squad this Saturday.
