Lenox Rallies for Five-Set Win at Lee
LEE, Mass. – The Miracle Millionaires did it again.
For the second straight game and the second time in four days, the Lenox Memorial volleyball team Monday rallied from a two-set deficit to earn a five-set win.
Hailey Armold put down 12 kills, and Kelsey Kirchner had 11 kills, including match point, in a 21-25, 21-25, 25-19, 25-16, 15-13 win over Lee as Lenox won its 13th straight match.
On Friday night at Lenox, the Millionaires bounced back from a 2-0 deficit to take a 3-2 win over Wahconah.
“Our heads weren’t in it enough, and then we were like, ‘OK, if we don’t pick it up right now, we’re losing,’ and we weren’t going to accept that,” Kirchner said. “So we just picked it up, and we knew we had to do everything it took to win.
“We’ve played together for so long. It’s been pretty much the same team. We’ve barely lost any seniors the past few years. So we just know each other so well. We’ve learned what works, we’ve learned how to work with each other, who does well where. And we use our team’s strengths to execute.”
Kirchner had 14 blocks to go with her 11 kills and five digs. Etta Schnackenberg and Grace Julieano each had a double-double. Each setter passed out 21 assists, and they pulled up 15 and 13 digs, respectively.
Libero Emily Barenski led the Lenox defense with 22 digs and had a team-high six aces, and Abby Winger notched 10 kills.
Lenox’s recent flair for the dramatics may not be the way first-year coach Stephanie Armstrong would prefer to see the Millionaires’ matches go. But she agreed that it is good to know the team can rally with its back to the wall.
“We’re just not giving up,” Armstrong said. “They’re getting the confidence in themselves and their teammates to get the job done. It’s a little nerve-wracking to win in five. But the fact that they’re showing that grit and showing that art – sometimes high school aged girls will just, with any type of adversity, they kind of crumble. But our girls have just been really working through it and fighting. I’m really proud of them.”
Lee got 17 kills and 19 digs from Karalynn Hopkins. Claire Davis had 29 digs to anchor the defense. Juliana Schuerer had a double-double with 29 assists and 12 digs, and Lexi Masten finished with 18 digs and nine kills.
The Wildcats built a substantial lead in the first set, going ahead, 22-14. And it survived a five-point run on Kirchner’s serve to give Davis a 23-20 lead when she got the serve after a sideout.
She got Lee to set point, and two points later, a block by Mika Diller (eight kills) secured a 1-0 lead in the match.
Schuerer gave her team a 7-0 lead to start the second set that Lee never relinquished. Matsen had a pair of kills during the six-point run on Schuerer’s serve. It was 20-12 before Lenox made some inroads late, but a kill by Diller ended the set with Lee ahead, 2-0, and seemingly in the driver’s seat.
But as Wahconah learned on Friday night, that was not a safe lead.
The teams traded modest service runs in set No. 3. Evelyn Julieano served a pair of points and Barenski served three early to give Lenox an 8-3 lead.
Lee answered with a four-point run on Matsen’s serve later on that included a kill from Hopkins to get the margin down to 16-14.
But three points on Grace Julieano’s serve, including an ace, got the lead up to 23-16, and after a few sideouts, the Millionaires closed the set on a kill by Kirchner.
The fourth set turned on an eight-point run from Grace Julieano, the longest for either team. That stretch included a couple of blocks and a couple of kills from Kirchner. It also included another ace from Julieano.
“I’ve been trying to emphasize all year, ‘Let’s be aggressive on the service line,’ “ Armstrong said. “You need to get it in. But let’s get them out of system. So we went, and we didn’t have any fear. We just served our game, stayed aggressive, and I’m really proud of the girls.”
After watching the two-set lead slip away, Lee coach Julia Warner could not really put into words why it happened. But she did disagree that the injuries that kept several Wildcats off the floor, coupled with a shoulder injury that impacted leading hitter Hopkins could have played a role as the match wore on.
“This is a rotation that we have not been practicing in for more than two practices,” Warner said. “We have quite a few of our senior starters who are out on injury. That is something that is unavoidable and difficult to continue to work through. But we have some great players who stepped up.
“[Hopkins] got injured last Tuesday with a shoulder injury. It’s something she’s working through. Today was her first day back, so she was trying to play smart and swing smart more than swing hard.”
The teams traded leads in the first-to-15 tie-breaking fifth set.
A kill by Claire O’Brien (seven kills) gave Lenox an 8-5 advantage when the teams changed sides.
But Hopkins came back with a kill on the next point for a sideout. And a few points later, Davis served three straight points to give Lee a 10-9 lead.
The Wildcats were up, 13-11, when Armold’s kill gave the Millionaires a sideout, and Barenski went to the service line.
She delivered a pair of aces to give Lenox match point at 14-13, and Kirchner’s final kill of the night ended the marathon match and moved the Millionaires to 13-1 on the season.
Lenox will look to extend its winning streak on Tuesday when it goes back on the road to face East Longmeadow.
Lee (8-4) hosts Ludlow on Wednesday.
Photos from this game to come.