The varsity volleyball team took the bus ride to Milton for back-to-back matches against Milton
Academy and then Miss Porter’s School.
Good serving and solid passing were the keys to Deerfield’s 3-0 victory over Milton in the first
match. Deerfield was able to put Milton on the defensive with tough serves from Georgia
Quesnelle ‘19 and Daphne Gavros ‘22 and accurate passing by Nat Jimenez ‘20 and Camila
Navarro ‘20 allowed setter Rosa Sun ‘21 to move the ball around to our front row hitters who
controlled the net. In the 3rd set, Rosa Sun went on a 13-point service run to give Deerfield a
lead they would not relinquish.
After a very short break for snacks and drinks, Deerfield returned to the court to face a strong
Miss Porter’s team. Deerfield was able to establish a lead with dominance at the net from middle
hitters Kaelene Spang ‘19 and Evan Burkhart ‘21, so much so that MPS began triple-blocking our
middle hitters. MPS was able to close the gap and finished off the set 24-26 to take a 1-0 lead.
With an injury to her teammate, Abby Bracken ‘19 stepped up and played back row as well as
front row, hustling for balls and providing on-court leadership. The 2nd set saw more
back-and-forth play from both teams; MPS had two match points, but Deerfield would not quit
and despite the disappointing end to the 1st set, Deerfield rallied for an exhilarating 27-25 win in
the 2nd set. Deerfield did an excellent job getting out to strong starts in both the 3rd and 4th
sets to put MPS on the defensive and timely hitting and blocking from Izzy McDonald ‘20 helped
put away the match. This match helped Deerfield volleyball establish the expectations of this
season: grit and perseverance no matter what the situation. Well done!
A special shout-out to the Girls’ Varsity Soccer team for their cheering and enthusiasm during
the latter part of the Miss Porter’s match. Their stomp routines and cheers made it feel like a
home game for us and provided an incredible morale boost.
On Wednesday, volleyball travels to Worcester Academy where both varsity and JV will take the
court.