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Andover Golden Warriors Girls Volleyball '10

Tue, Nov 09, 2010 07:00 PM @ Andover
Team 1 2 3 Final
Tewksbury 13 2 14 0
Andover 25 25 25 3

Andover surges to battle with archrival

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CARL RUSSO/Staff photo. Andover defeated Tewksbury in tournament volleyball action Tuesday night. Andover's tri-captain, Ava Bakhtyari spikes the ball over the net.   11/9/2010.   » Staff PhotographerMore photos

Tuesday, November, 09 By David Willis
Staff writer

ANDOVER — As if Andover needed anymore confidence following its perfect regular season and easy tourney opener, the Golden Warriors seem to have found a little extra last night.

“It’s all about that confidence,” said Andover coach George Sullivan. “If you’re up, you’re up, and if you’re down you are really down. We got off to a little bit of a slow start, but we regrouped and are very pleased moving on.”

Sparked by a dominant second game, the top-seeded Golden Warriors rolled to a 25-13, 25-2, 25-14 victory over No. 8 Tewksbury in the Division 1 North quarterfinals last night.

The victory sets up a meeting between Andover and archrival Central Catholic in the Division 1 North semifinals on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Andover.

The Raiders beat the Golden Warriors three times last year, including in the Division 1 North finals. Andover (21-0) has downed Central in both meetings this season.

“Central is a huge game,” said Andover star Sarah Arvidson. “Central is always big, and we want to get to the finals. We wanted to get everything ready for Central, from our hitting to our serving. We wanted to make sure everything was constant, and it all was.”

The Golden Warriors set the tone in the second set. After dropping the first point, Andover surged for 17 straight points, the first 15 off the serving of junior Elise Brogan before she received a rest. The Warriors closed out the set 25-2.

“That was awesome,” said tri-captain Annie Ye. “We haven’t won a game 25-2 before, so that was pretty nice. Elise and the serving was spot-on. We are feeling very good right now.”

Track star Moira Cronin, at 6-foot-1, starred at the net with 10 kills, including two powerful serves that deflected off opponents for points.

Ava Bakhtyari added seven kills and a pair of aces, Arvidson had a team-high seven digs while Lauren Murtagh chipped in with 11 assists and Ye added nine assists.

“Ava and Sarah were really dominant,” said Sullivan. “Moira and Elise as our middles were very strong, and Elise did a great job serving. She had at least nine service points alone. I was a little worried we’d look past Tewksbury towards Central, but they played very well.”

The Golden Warriors have now swept every match they have played this season, outside of a 3-1 victory over Central Catholic (17-4) on Oct. 8.

“We wanted to be ready for Central,” said Bakhtyari. “They have played us hard this season. We have made some big steps this season, and I feel like we are playing out A game at the right time.”

Game Statistics:

Kills: A — Moira Cronin 10, Ava Bakhtyari 7

Blocks: A — Moira Cronin 2 1/2, Molly Cronin 1 1/2

Assists: A — Lauren Murtagh 11, Annie Yi 9 

Aces: A — Elise Brogan 3, Bakhtyari 2

Digs: A — Sarah Arvidson 7, Zoe Co 4

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