Taconic Earns Sweep at Monument Mountain
GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. – Ella Stodden had a double-double, and the Taconic volleyball team Tuesday bounced back from its first loss of the season with a three-set win over Monument Mountain.
Stodden served 11 aces and passed out 18 assists to lead the Thunder to a 25-23, 25-6, 25-13 victory.
Lacey Daly had a team-high eight kills for Taconic.
“Lacey had a great night tonight,” Taconic coach Lance Fyfe said. “This was definitely her best night at the net. Very happy for her. She was aggressive and powerful. She’s a great athlete, and she did a great job.”
Janayah Jones pulled up eight digs to go with five kills, and Jadyn Galliher had seven kills as Taconic improved to 4-1 this season.
Monument Mountain got four kills apiece from Andrea Castillo and Jade Abderhalden. Jazmin Celis directed the Spartans’ offense with 12 assists.
Abderhalden had a four-point run on serve to give the Spartans an early 5-0 lead in the first set.
Taconic answered with a five-point run on the serve of libero Sophie Aubin (three aces, three assists, five digs) to take a 7-6 lead.
The Thunder later stretched its lead to five points on an ace by Galliher to make it 16-11.
But Monument Mountain got a kill from Abderhalden to snap a three-point run. And, later, Abderhalden served three points to get the margin down to a point.
The Spartans battled all the way back to tie the set, 22-22.
That’s when Daley fired a kill down off a Monument block to give Taconic a 23-22 lead and the serve.
Galliher served set point, but the Spartans got a sideout to stay alive.
Unfortunately for the hosts, they lost the set without putting the ball in play.
Monument Mountain was called for a rotation violation, giving Taconic a point and an anti-climactic finish to an entertaining set.
“We had a lot of good communication,” first-year Monument Mountain coach Sydney Carl said of her team’s performance to start the match. “Players were working hard. We had some of our strongest hitters really on fire. Andrea Castillo comes to mind, Jade Abderhalden. They were doing well.”
Carl agreed that the Spartans could have been thrown off their game by the way the set ended. But there were other factors.
“Going into the second and third set, I think it got a little bit in their heads,” she said. “But we do have some injuries, some lingering illness. And I think some of our girls have been getting tired and not playing up to their usual speed, power, all of that.”
After Jones’ kill gave Taconic the serve on the first point of the second set, Stodden served 10 straight points to open an 11-0 lead.
“She turned it up with her serving,” Fyfe said of Stodden. “That was amazing. Then she did it again in the third set. That really can take another team out, serving like that.
“I’d say that was definitely her best serving of the season as well – after we got out of the first set. She also struggled in the first set.”
After the 25-6 blowout in the second set, Stodden got Taconic started with nine straight points to open the third.
And the lead later ballooned to 16-3 for the Thunder.
But Monument Mountain did not go down without a fight.
A tip by Ania O’Leary gave the Spartans a sideout and Riley Coach served a couple of points to get the team within 10 points.
Taconic then pulled ahead again, this time with four points on the serve of Jazmyn Wilson to open a 21-6 lead. And the Thunder eventually earned match point on an Aliyah DelSonno kill to make it 24-7.
Monument Mountain staved off six match points before finally succumbing. Heidi Saupe served five straight points to get the margin to 11 points. But Angelese Ward-Green ended the night with a kill.
Taconic will look for win No. 5 on Thursday when it travels to Ware.
Monument Mountain will play its third game in four days on Thursday when it visits Lenox.
Photos from this match to come.