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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The Medfield and Westwood High girls volleyball teams met on Friday night in their annual Tri-Valley League match with the Warriors taking the first of two meetings between these two this season, 3-0.
Led by Jessica Sturchio (nine kills, eight digs) and Julia McDevitt (one kill, six digs, zero serving errors), the Warriors took the first set in convincing fashion, 25-15, to jump out to a 1-0 lead.
The second set, however, saw Westwood play with extreme desperation as the Wolverines looked to even up the score. After being down four points late in the set, Yara Nassiff (eight kills, three assists), Shea Farrell (one kill, 18 digs) and Allie Morin (six serves, zero serving errors) helped the Wolverines battle back to knot the second set score at 21. However, Medfield was finally able to pull out the set victory, 29-27 following late kills by Sturchio and Ally Beck.
The Warriors carried their momentum from the second set victory into the third as Medfield was able to prevail 25-20 behind three third-set kills by Charlotte Duffy and one from Gina Fitzgerald, giving the Warriors the 3-0 sweep.
Westwood head coach Jennifer Murphy credited Medfield’s toughness following the loss but also said that there were several positives for her team to take away from the loss.
“We certainly didn't go down without a fight,” said Murphy. “Going into the game we knew we'd have to fight the whole way against a tough Medfield squad, and for the most part we did just that.”
“We found ourselves struggling with a lull in our energy during some of Medfield’s runs but the team found a way to push each other and get right back in the game,” said Murphy. “I thought Allie Morin had a great night as libero, her first game playing that position this season, and so did Yara Nassif (led the team in kills and aces).”
“The girls played well as a team on Friday and we're looking forward to proving that we can keep up that positive energy this week when we have three games against quality competition such as strong Medway and Hopkinton teams.”
