In front of an enthusiastic home crowd on Saturday, the Andover Girls volleyball team beat rival Exeter 3-0. With the resounding win, the team finished off the regular season undefeated, with a league record of 12-0. Exeter came into the season finale with a notable record of 10-2 and were ranked fourth in the league. One of their losses came earlier in the season against Andover, and on Saturday, the Big Red were motivated to avenge their defeat. Both Andover and Exeter came into Saturday’s game hoping to feed off the energy of the crowd and wrap up their respective seasons with a win. In the opening game, Andover got exactly the start that they were looking for and jumped out to an early 5-0 lead. Exeter was forced to call an early timeout to gather composure and eventually was able to retain serve. Even after the change in possession, Andover, led by captain Cassidy Carpenter ’08, controlled the points and created leads of 13-4 and 26-13. However, Exeter All-Star Lucy Abell stepped up and won ten straight service points for the Big Red. This impressive series of serves narrowed the score to 26-24, in favor of Andover. Despite the change in momentum, Andover recovered and calmly closed out the game. The important first game win gave Andover a 1-0 overall lead as the teams switched sides. Game two in the match featured intense back-and-forth action. Neither team was able to create a substantial lead or sustain possession. Exeter pulled ahead early 7-6 behind consistent serving and play at the net. After points were traded between teams, the score was knotted up at 17-17. At this point, Atima Lui ’08 took control with five straight service winners, and Andover opened up a solid lead. Exeter was unable to mount a comeback and the second game ended with Andover on top, 30-25. Although they had won the first two games, Andover knew that the lead was not safe. In Andover-Exeter matches, any team can catch fire or just as easily lose momentum. In 2004, Andover stormed back from a 0-2 hole and won the match in the fifth game. Exeter, realizing that its chances of victory were on the ropes, came out strongly in the third game. After some shaky play on their part, Andover fell behind 3-5 and 7-8. As Andover and Exeter fans in the crowd loudly supported their teams, Dawson Joyce-Mendive ’07 came up to serve. Joyce-Mendive proved why she was named league MVP by winning five points on her jump serve. From then on, Andover never looked back and took the both the final game, 30-22, and the match. Along with the aforementioned Lui and Joyce-Mendive, several players played key roles in leading the team to victory. Carpenter delivered another great performance as the primary setter, garnering 30 assists on the day. In addition, Sarah Beattie ’07 had ten kills on the day and went 10-14 blocking. Although the Andover players are excited about their undefeated regular season, they are still focused on their goal of winning the championship. With the win against Exeter, the team earned a first round bye in the playoffs. Andover will play Loomis, who defeated Exeter 3-0 this past Wednesday in the quarterfinals, in Saturday’s morning semifinal. The Big Blue enter the final tournament as the number one seed, while Hotchkiss is the number two. Last year, Hotchkiss ended Andover’s bid for a championship with a 3-1 win in the finals. This year, Andover is determined to cap off the successful season this Saturday with a New England Championship.
