Front Line 'Steps Up' for Mounties in Win Over Taconic

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Autumn Delorey and Caroline Hadley each had 11 kills Monday to lead the Mount Greylock volleyball team to a 25-13, 25-12, 25-14 win over Taconic in MCLA’s Venable Gymnasium.

 

Mount Greylock (6-5) used long service runs by Marley Buffis (four aces) and Kat Hoffstedt (six aces) to open up big leads midway through each of the three sets.

 

At the net, Delorey and Hadley were joined by Lucy Shepard, who recorded five kills. Mounties setter Madison Albert recorded 24 assists.

 

“They stepped it up today,” Mount Greylock coach Meghan Albert said. “We’ve been working on lowering our errors, so they’ve been focusing on where they want to hit it, and I think we’re starting to click now.”

 

In the first set, with Taconic ahead, 11-9, Hadley recorded a kill to earn a side out for the Mounties.

 

Buffis took the ball and served the next 11 points, turning a two-point deficit into a 21-11 lead. In that run, Mount Greylock got kills from Delorey, Shepard and Hadley, the last giving the hosts a 10-point lead.

 

Taconic never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.

 

“We were right there with them, back and forth -- in each game, for the first 10 points,” Taconic coach Jennifer Doerle said. “But we fell apart after that. I’m not not sure why. We’ve had some injuries, we’ve had people sick.

 

“Just getting a good pass to our setter so we can create some offense has been our difficulty lately.”

 

In the second set, Taconic again hung around, keeping it a three-point game at 15-12. But again, a Hadley kill got the serve back to Mount Greylock, and this time it was Hoffstedt who took over, serving out the match with nine straight points, including a couple of aces.

 

“Our serving is definitely one of our stronger assets for our team,” coach Albert said. “We had Kat Hoffstedt with great serves, and Marley [Buffis], too, knew exactly where to put it to get that run.

 

“[Hoffstedt] really stepped it up today. I love putting her in on the serve. She always does that. She always gets a run in at least one of the games.”

 

It was Buffis’ turn to have the big run in the third. This time, it came a little earlier, taking the score from 3-3 to 13-3 for the Mounties. Gabby Alvarez got into the act a couple of rotations later, serving four straight points to put the deciding set out of reach at 20-6.

 

Delaney Ivas had six kills and a block, and Madison Burke had two digs and an ace for Taconic (2-12), which hosts Pittsfield on Thursday. Victoria Tynan recorded two kills and a block in the loss.

 

Mount Greylock hosts Pittsfield on Tuesday.