This has been one of the busiest weeks in recent history for the Girl’s Varsity Volleyball team, yet they seemed to handle it and even flourish while managing a hectic schedule. On Saturday, the varsity team traveled the long bus ride to Northfield Mount Hermon to play a doubleheader against NMH and Taft School. In its first game against NMH, Andover dominated play, winning 3-0. After coming out victorious in a close first set, 25-18, they improved the next two, 25-13 and 25-14 respectively. In the one-sided contest against the weaker NMH squad, Coach Clyfe Beckwith had the opportunity to play all twelve players. Co-Captain Meghan McCafferty ’10 led the charge, contributing 9 kills and 10 aces in the first match. Kemi Amurawaiye ’11 chipped in with four blocks, and Jamie Shenk ’12 with 19 digs. Although plagued by numerous serving errors early on, increasingly consistent serving by Chelsea Ward ’12, Co-Captain Melissa Yan ’10 and McCafferty propelled Andover to a decisive victory. Andover won their second match against Taft 3-0. Despite the shutout, this contest was a much closer and hard-fought win than against NMH. In the first set, Taft got off to a quick start, leading the set for the first nine rotations. However, Andover stayed close, tying the score at 7, 14, and 16 points apiece before falling behind 17-16. Once again, Andover relied on the serving of Ward late in the match, who led the team with nine consecutive serves to a 25-17 victory over a strong Taft squad. In the second set, Taft again came out with fire, taking an early 7-6 lead. Andover then racked off 13 consecutive points behind serving streaks from McCafferty, Shenk, and the varsity team’s newest player, Alexi Bell ’13. McCafferty again led the team in the second set with five kills and four aces, while Ward and Yan each added seven assists. After taking a commanding lead, Andover never looked back, eventually riding to a 25-16 victory. Sweeping the double-header, Andover obtained a 4-0 league record. In addition to these two league wins, Andover also beat Andover High School and Reading High School in scrimmages this week. The team can look forward to more of the same from league rival Choate this week. Yan said, “It’s an advantage for our team to play teams outside of our league. It gives us a chance to try new plays, vary up our lineup and just to gain playing experience against some solid teams.” She continued, “The scrimmages have also served as good preparation for our game against Choate, which could be a good matchup.” Going into Saturday with a perfect record, Andover looks to stay unbeaten against Choate.
