The Wyverns knew that this would be a difficult match against the strongest team in the league, so they brought their “A” game to put up a spectacular fight (25-21, 13-25, 16-25, 23-25). The first set was a battle on both sides. The opponent’s strong, variable hitting forced KO to start with a foundation of strong defense. Allie Arcaro ‘24 and co-captain Keira Sullivan ‘23 produced some unfathomable digs to keep the team afloat in the early points, and Kata Mesterhazy ‘23 and Jill Plaut ‘23 were vigilant at the net, pulling off crucial blocks of the opponent’s outside hitting. This solid defense allowed the team to move forward on offense. Lindsay Bailey ‘22 and Arcaro did a fantastic job with their serving in high-pressure points, finding spots that hindered the opponent’s development of offensive plays. Bailey’s clutch serving brought us from a tied up scoreboard to being a single point away from taking the set. At the net, Ava Cashman ‘24 found effective ways to hit through the block from the outside. Also on the outside, Sullivan used powerful hitting to keep the opponent on their toes, which ended up being the decisive factor in many of the close points. Taking the first set 25-21 against such a talented opponent was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the season! In the second set, Loomis came back with a vengeance and forced the Wyverns to regroup. Bailey continued our team’s solid defensive efforts with momentous blocking against outside hits from the opponent. Plaut and Naomi Wong ‘22 helped lead some offensive pivots from the right side with well-placed hitting deep into the back of the court. Mesterhazy went on the offensive for key net balls by tipping at important moments. With all of these efforts, the Wyverns were met with a strong response from the opponent, losing the set and tying up the match. In the third set, the pressure remained on the Wyverns to respond, and despite losing the set there was a clear change in momentum for the team. Cashman supplemented her outside hitting with tipping to force the opponent to adjust. Bailey had an impressive run of smashed hits from the middle, as well. On the right side, Quin Kearney ‘23 was thinking on her feet to combine adaptive passing with hitting from the right side. The team mounted a comeback thanks to pinpoint serving from Arcaro and Sullivan, but Loomis eventually took the third set. In the fourth and final set, The Wyverns showed great resilience and brought the fight to the opponent for a nail-biting conclusion to the match. Sullivan produced clutch hitting to all areas of the court, which was backed up by Plaut’s clever attacks from the right side (including a surprise 1-2 punch hit off of the initial pass). Bailey was ready to put away any ball in the middle, and Caruso used accurate, consistent serving to bring KO back from a deficit in the middle of the set. Though it didn’t end up going our way, it was a fantastic match for the Wyverns that they can be proud of! To pull off that kind of performance in front of a home crowd and on a meaningful night like Dig Pink was even more special. 

With the successes of this match in mind, the team moves on to play at Berkshire on 11/6. Great work, KOVB!