LYNNFIELD — A strong service game and a few big rallies helped the Lynnfield volleyball team to a solid 3-0 win over rival North Reading at Lynnfield High on Monday evening. The Pioneers took the match with set scores of 25-9, 26-24 and 25-16.
“I thought we were a little up and down today,” said Lynnfield coach Michelle Perrone. “We came out really strong in the first set, then got caught on our heels a bit in the second set before turning it around in the third. We played well on the whole, but we need to sure up some things.”
The Pioneers jumped out to an early 8-0 lead in the first set, thanks in large part to three big blocks from Samantha DeGeorge. Although North Reading was able to rally to get back a few points, Lynnfield went up 15-5 and then 22-9 before rolling to a 25-9 set win. The Pioneers notched six straight points to close out the set.
The second set was a completely different story. The Hornets, who started to build up some rhythm at the end of the first set, scored two quick points to open the second. The score went back and forth from there, with Lynnfield tying it at 2-2 then taking a slight lead before North Reading tied it back up at 6-6. The Pioneers then took an 11-7 lead but, after a quick timeout to reset, the Hornets battled back again to tie it at 16-16, forcing Lynnfield to take a timeout of its own. By then North Reading had captured the momentum and rolled to a 22-17 lead, but that didn’t put Lynnfield down. The Pioneers fought back to tie it at 22-22 and again at 24-24. After a huge kill from Melissa Morelli and an error by North Reading, Lynnfield completed the 10-4 run to win the set.
“We got a little bit lazy in our communication and our footwork at times in the second set, which led to some inconsistency,” Perrone said. “But, a couple of important timeouts to reiterate our strategy helped us get back on track.”
North Reading took an early lead once again in the third set, but it was short-lived. After the Hornets went up 6-3, Lynnfield went on an 11-2 run to go up 14-8 and take control. North Reading battled back to get within four at 17-13, but Lynnfield was able to close the set with an 8-3 run to win the set and the match.
Now at 9-2 with a pair of tough games on the horizon this week (Newburyport on Wednesday; North Andover on Friday), Perrone wants to work on obtaining and maintaining consistency.
“There are times out there when we’re actually quite flat, so we need to work on that and keep up the consistency for sure,” Perrone said. “We want to make it to the tournament and then make a solid run once we get there, so these things need to be worked on.”
Lynnfield will take on Newburyport at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Lynnfield High.
