Co-Captain Alex Tamkin ’14 spiked his way through Choate’s defense to give Andover Boys Volleyball its first win of the season on Saturday. Andover swept Choate 3-0.
The team, however, was unable to sustain the momentum against Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH). With the score tied at two apiece, Andover fell in the final set, the team’s second loss of the season.
“Since today was a close game, it could have gone either way. We definitely had the potential to win both matches,” said Alex Kwon ’14.
Andover’s strong serves paved the way for victory against Choate. After winning 25-18 in the first set, Andover looked to Tamkin to bring it back from a 7-2 deficit in the second set. Tamkin’s spikes, combined with Co-Captain Ji Tae Park ’14’s digs and Kwon’s sets, allowed Andover to take the lead, 14-13, and win the set, 27-25.
Andover won its final set against Choate in a close 25-23 thriller. The sweep over Choate was a drastic improvement from its 3-0 loss to Central Catholic on April 2.
“We have definitely been working on service receiving. When the other teams would serve, we previously dropped the ball to the sides, but today we got the ball to the setters so we could make plays,” said Kwon.
Facing NMH with a win on its back, Andover rode the momentum to win 25-20 in the first set. Blocks from David Yoon ’14 and Andra Gusman ’14 allowed Andover to hold a lead for the entire set.
Andover’s success in the first set did not transfer to the second set. Errors led to Andover dropping the set 25-14.
Looking to regain the advantage, Andover took a 22-16 lead in the third set. Tamkin’s ability to locate spikes and blocks from Brendan Deorocki ’15 were crucial to the lead.
NMH, however, would not settle and rallied back to send the set to overtime, ultimately winning 27-25.
Down 2-1, Andover fought to stay in the game by winning the fourth set 25-18.
At 2-2 and battling back and forth, NMH finally took an 8-10 lead and never looked back, capturing the fifth set for a 3-2 victory over Andover.
“During the game, we would make a cheer, but no one would respond until after the play,” said Kwon. “When the energy is low, we tend to stand there watching the ball drop.”
Andover will face Exeter and Wilbraham at home on Saturday.
