This Saturday Andover traveled to Choate Rosemary Academy for a rematch with the Boars. In an exciting match, Andover took Choate down in the fifth game. The Choate court seemed to favor one side over the other, since wins happened on only one side of the court. The final score was 3-2. Andover’s win ties the team with Loomis and Choate with their in-league record. Menelik Washington ’09 served game one into victory for Andover. The game was tied a total of eight times, with Andover’s biggest lead at 20-14. Choate managed to pull ahead to a 29-28 point lead, but Washington’s serves gave Andover an impressive win. The stats for game one include 11 kills, four stuffs and 10 blocks. The final score was 32-30. Game two was tied a total of seven times, but at 15-15 Choate pulled ahead for good to score a seven-serve streak. Andover had another successful round of plays, with 7 kills, 2 stuffs and 5 blocks. The final score was 19-30. Game three was tied a total of six times. Choate managed to take the lead for as much as 4 points for a 11-15 deficit, but Andover’s captains came to the rescue. Co-captain James McGuinness ’08 had a four-point serving streak, while co-captain Alex Svec ’08 had a 10-point point serving streak. The final score was 30-20. Game four saw seven lead changes. Andover was under pressure to win, but with the score tied at 9-9, Choate was able to pull ahead once again and leave Andover in defeat. Andover came back to trail as little as two points at 17-19, but the team was unable to pull ahead of Choate as the Choate team had two serving streaks of three points and four points. Stats for this game include 10 kills, nine stuffs and 13 blocks. The final score was 20-30. Game five was perhaps the most exciting of all, as both teams were determined to claim victory. The game started of with Choate in the lead at 7-8, but when the players switched courts, Andover went ahead 10-8. Andover lost the lead, going down to 10-14, but Co-Captain Svec soon tied the score again to 14-14. Choate managed to side-out, holding the 14-15 advantage. Zach Dixon ’08 served Andover into victory, barely putting two serves over the net. Andover took home the gold, scoring eight kills, two stuffs and three blocks. The final score was 17-15.
