Leaping in the air, Susan Yun ’17 nailed consecutive serves to put Andover three points over Exeter 19-16. Yun’s serves gave Andover the momentum it needed to sweep Exeter 3-0 this past Wednesday. Yun replaced injured Captain Kate Wincek ’14, who had to leave the game after being stung by several bees in the third set. “Seeing Kate so upset was scary for a second. We all thought that she was really badly injured,” said Erica Shin ’16. “Susan stepped in and played phenomenally, especially under so much pressure serving,” she continued. Against Exeter, Andover took the court wearing “Dig Pink!” uniforms in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. After battling back-and-forth in the first set, Andover edged out Exeter in the final three points with sharp serves from Mandy Reichenbach ’14, Wincek and Shin. The team captured the set 25-22. Wincek and Shin continued their stellar play in the second set, firing off a combined ten service points to put Andover up 14-4. Well-placed touches by Co-Captain Alex Becker ’15 constantly created difficulties for Exeter’s defense. “Becker changed up the game and put down quite a few balls where there was nobody [to defend],” said Coach Clyfe Beckwith. Andover earned a 25-11 victory in the second set. “We had crazy leads throughout the set. We were communicating fabulously, and it really elevated our playing,” said Eden Livingston ’15. After falling behind early in the third set, Andover battled back to 11-10 with three aces from Reichenbach. The set, however, was briefly interrupted following a medical timeout and substitution for Wincek. Despite the loss of Wincek, Andover took the third set 25-22 with the assistance of Shin and Yun, who combined for three service points. “We had some really smart playing the entire match, and everyone pulled through, especially towards the end of the third set. Shin was incredible on defense, and Annette Bell [’16] did a great job of getting to the ball and distributing it well,” said Beckwith. Andover also defeated Dana Hill on Saturday 3-1. Against Dana Hill, Andover took both the first and second sets 25-13. “Dana Hall had some strong hits from the outside, so we shifted positions and closed the block to counter that, which worked really well,” said Shin. Down 2-0, Dana Hall shifted strategies, switching from a defensive stance to an offensively aggressive one. “Dana Hall really fired themselves up and our energy was too low. Learning to stay energized even when we’re losing is something we struggle with consistently, and it’s something we definitely need to work on,” continued Shin. Andover started the first set off with confidence, quickly gaining a 7-0 lead thanks to powerful serves by Shin, who totaled six aces throughout the match. “Shin, our libero, really stepped up. [Wincek] was away and [Shin] played outside, a completely new position for her, and she killed it,” said Becker. Seven unanswered serves from Dana Hall’s powerful hitter disrupted Andover’s momentum, putting the team on the defensive edge as Dana Hall took the second set 25-14. Andover then went on to take the third sewwt. With Dana Hall only one point behind Andover at 13-12 in the fourth set, Shin and Isabel Taylor ’15 fired off six combined service points to put Andover up 21-13. Andover would eventually go to win the set 25-16. “We kept the team on their toes in the fourth set by changing the pace. It really swung the momentum in our favor,” said Annette Bell ’16. Andover will look to use its confidence from its victories over Dana Hall and Exeter to defeat Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) at home during Family Weekend.
