Lenox Tops Mount Everett on Senior Night
LENOX, Mass. -- The Lenox volleyball team wasted no time jumping on top in Wednesday’s match against Mount Everett.
The Millionaires rode a 10-point service run by Ella Smith to take a 13-4 lead in the first set en route to a 25-9, 25-19, 25-11 win and their 10th victory of their fall.
Lenox co-captain Kristin Miller said her team had a little bit of an emotional lift going into the match.
“I think just because it was Senior Night and the focus was on me and Kayanna [Black], we played our hardest,” Miller said.
Miller finished with five kills and five aces. Lenox’s only other senior, Black, had a match-high eight kills and seven aces.
The Lenox front line was dominant, benefittng from 23 assists by setter Maddy Barenski.
“I think Kayanna and me and Mia Giardina (two kills) have shown through on the front line, and tonight was just a good night for me in the front row,” Miller said.
Lenox coach Bessena Cabe said he appreciates the leadership shown by his two seniors at the net.
“They’re great leaders,” Bessena Cabe said. “I think it’s just their attitude and their personality and how they approach things when they’re in difficult situations. It helps. Other players look up to them based on how they’re performing on the court.”
Lenox had no difficulty getting out of the first set after Smith (seven aces) got things started. She put the set away with one of her two kills to put the Millionaires up, 1-0, in what looked to be a laugher.
Mount Everett rallied in the second set, jumping out to a 4-0 lead on the serve of Ashley Atwood (three aces).
After Lenox went ahead, 9-7, on Black’s serve, the Eagles regained the lead, going up, 14-12, when Lizzie Sarnacki (one ace, one dig, one block) served a pair of points midway through the match.
It was 19-17, Mount Everett, after a Faith Angell ace, but Lenox answered with a kill by Black to get a side out, and she served the next eight points to give the Millionaires the set and a 2-0 lead.
The two Lenox seniors fittingly keyed the third set, as a five-point run by Black and a five-point run by Miller pushed the lead to 14-5, and the Millionaires never looked back.
Cabe said that Lenox (10-2) is rounding into form as a team going into the home stretch of the season and looking ahead to the Western Mass seedings that come out on Oct. 29.
“I feel like overall, it is a cohesive team,” he said. “I think they’re very well united on every front. . They play well on and off the court. They’re jelling really well. There’s a mutual respect for one another. I think that’s their true strength.
“It shows on court.”