Co-Captain Jamie Shenk ’12 and Zoe Roschach ’12 led the volleyball team to two victories this week, combining for 27 kills. On Wednesday, Andover cruised to a 3-0 victory over St. Paul’s School. Andover started out strong, jumping out to an early 5-0 lead. St. Paul’s, boosted by a long serving run, tightened the game, but Andover pulled through, taking the set 25-22. A bright spot for Andover was Roschach, who boosted the team with impressive kills. Andover took the second set handily, 25-17. Shenk came alive with six kills. “Its one of the most satisfying feelings to get one down. It’s a point for your team, and it’s also a big boost for the team’s momentum,” said Shenk. After suffering a blow to the lineup with the injury of Chioma Ngwudo ’11, Amanda Simard ’13 filled in the gap, dominating the third set with an 11-point serving run. “I was really nervous. Everything is always flustered after an injury, and Chioma left me with big shoes to fill. I just tried to focus and do what I could to help the team, and I guess that came through my serves.” On Saturday, Andover faced a defensively skilled Loomis team. In the first set, Loomis took an early lead, going up 6-0. Andover battled back to tie it at 16-16, eventually breaking through to win the set, 25-22. Again in the second set, Loomis came back strong, handily maintaining the lead throughout. In the third set Andover had to battle back from an early lead by Loomis, eventually taking the lead at 20. After a few miscommunication errors, Andover found themselves again fighting for the set. Co-Captain Kemi Amurawaiye ’11 finally closed out the set with her serve, and Andover took the set, 27-25. Andover took the last set to close out the match with a 3-1 win. Earlier in the week, Andover hosted cross town rival Andover High School in a scrimmage. Facing one of Andover High’s strongest squads of the past few seasons, Andover struggled to control Andover high’s dominating serve. Andover High capitalized on Andover’s lack of a middle hitter, as regular starters Alexi Bell ’13 and Ngwudo were unable to play. Andover closed out the week 2-1 in league play, and will face Northfield Mount Hermon and Taft at Northfield Mount Hermon on Saturday.
