Today, Deerfield faced off against their rival: Choate (22-25, 18-25, 20-25). In the first set, Deerfield struggled to gain momentum and fell behind early. The team was passing well but unable to convert those passes into strong hits. Allie ‘25 went on the team’s first service run, acing the opponent and providing DA with some energy. Alice ‘25 and Devon ‘25 were able to hit some effective balls from outside, Olivia ‘25 played aggressively at the net, and with Allie’s serving, the team was back in the game, fighting to tie it up. Ultimately, Choate took the set, but Deerfield was on a mission, determined to take big swings and not give the other team an edge by sending over free balls. In the second set, the team still struggled to find their rhythm. While there were consistent athletic plays, including Olivia ‘25 keeping a ball alive off the basketball hoop, the team couldn’t sustain a service run (until Maisy ‘26 got momentum toward the end of the set). The team fought back from behind, but still weren’t quite able to take the set. Not deterred, Deerfield came into the third set determined to give it their all and try to take the game to 5 sets. In the third set, Deerfield kept it close at first, sending over strong hits and getting some small momentum through brief service runs. Olivia ‘26 especially kept the ball in play at the net and was able to go on a run to tighten up the score. As libero, Gracie ‘25 passed effectively under pressure, and Ariana ‘26 did some of her best serving of the season. Blake ‘27 came in the third set swinging, which clearly put Choate on the defensive. Although serving specialist Kingsley ‘25 put up tough serves, the team was unable to help her sustain a service run. In the end, Deerfield couldn’t clinch the win, but the team is proud of their efforts this season and look forward to a rematch next fall.