Mount Greylock Tops Taconic in Three Sets
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- With major Berkshire County North Division matches against Pittsfield and Lee looming, the Mount Greylock girls volleyball team could have fallen victim to a “trap game” against Taconic on Monday night.
But Mounties coach Greg Geyer said his team was having none of that.
“Sometimes people do that, and we work really hard on not doing that,” Geyer said after the Mounties earned a 25-15, 25-16, 25-15 win. “If we come here and play anything less than our best, then it’s going to reflect on matches down the road.”
And it did not hurt that Monday’s foe, while, while it boasts just one win, is the same team that pushed PIttsfield to five sets just a couple of weeks ago.
“That team, when it jells, is a very strong team,” Geyer said of Taconic. “They have some very strong hitters. They have some very strong servers. They haven’t necessarily been together as long as some other teams.”
Delaney Ivas had seven kills, three digs and a pair of blocks to lead Taconic, which got two aces and two kills from Ava Sinopoli.
The visitors came out strong in the second set, earning four points on Sinopoli’s serve to take a 5-1 lead. And it was 7-7 when Mount Greylock’s Maddie Albert went to the back line.
She served four straight -- including three of her team-high 10 aces -- to regain the lead, and Mount Greylock never looked back.
In the third set, the Mounties opened an 11-5 lead on five straight points off Caroline Hadley’s serve.
Hadley finished with three aces, as did Gabby Alverez.
Albert had a team-high four kills, and Alvarez had seven assists. Hadley and Lucy Shepard each had three kills.
The Mounties host Bennington, Vt.’s, Mount Anthony Union on Wednesday before a pivotal stretch where they host PHS Friday and travel to Lee on Monday.
VIDEO: @athleticsmg Hannah Byrnes converts a Maddie Albert assist for Mount Greylock in Monday’s win.