Andover fell to Choate Rosemary Hall 3-1 on Saturday night in a battle of undefeated teams. In the first set, the teams exchanged the lead six times before Choate took command 13-11 and went on to win 25-22. A combined 10-0 record, a long withstanding rivalry and two hard-fighting teams created an intense matchup. The second set was similar to the first, both in intensity and form, as the teams fought it out until Andover fell again, 25-22. Andover finally pulled ahead in the set and claimed a victory, dominating 25-12 and forcing a fourth set. Melissa Yan ’10 said, “We had a lot of long, intense rallies. Choate came out gunning for us. We had two close games, and it was really unfortunate that we weren’t able to pull through until the third game.” During the fourth set Andover again showed its resiliency. After falling behind 23-15, the team was on the verge of elimination. They came back to take a 25-24 lead, but eventually fell to the very competitive Choate squad, 27-25. Birthday girl Meghan McCafferty ’10 again led the team for the third straight week with 14 kills and Alexi Bell ’13 added six blocks for Andover. Viola Rothschild ’10 added 23 service points in a very competitive effort. Bell said, “One of the most memorable things about our game against Choate was the 10-point comeback we made in the fourth game. That was one of the high moments that shows what our team is really capable of doing.” But Andover did not have much time to gain back its energy and think about the loss. The team’s next opponent was the unbeaten, first place Hotchkiss team. On Wednesday, Andover traveled to a neutral site to play the 6-0 Hotchkiss team. The team started off slow, dropping the first set, 25-18. But after feeding off each other’s energy, they came back to win the second set. Nevertheless, the Hotchkiss team took a commanding 2-1 lead after winning the third set. Hotchkiss’s third set victory led to a make-or-break moment for Andover. After losing on Saturday, the team needed to win against Hotchkiss to have a shot at finishing first in the league. In the fourth set Andover found itself down again, 23-16, and on the brink of elimination. Yet, for the second straight game, they stormed back with intensity and claimed a 28-26 win. In the fifth and deciding set Andover served first, and Rothschild served seven straight for Andover. This victory gave Hotchkiss its first loss. With the weekend off Andover will prepare to face Exeter next Wednesday.
