Varsity Volleyball Defeats Beth Tfiloh in League Opener

St. Timothy's School 3, Beth Tfiloh 1 25-12, 12-25, 25-14, 25-23
On Tuesday, St. Timothy's School traveled to Beth Tfiloh to take on the Warriors in their first conference match of the season. The first match started off slowly as both teams took a few points to get warmed up. When the fourth server for St. Tim's, junior Bri Rider, stepped up to serve the score was tied 6-6. Rider served four in a row to give St. Tim's the lead 10-6. Senior captain Melisa Kocak added 2 points to give St. Tim's a 6 point lead. Junior Leena Feda stepped up to serve next and scored 7 points in a row to bring St. Tim's to a 21-9 lead. They were able to keep the lead and won the first set 25-12.

At the start of the second set, it was clear that something was off with St. Tim's. Beth Tfiloh took an early lead 9-1. The team tried to rally back, but they seemed to have lost the energy and focus present in the first set. The Warriors won the second set 25-12. Reinvigorated and refocused, St. Tim's began the third set with a plan to take back the game. When freshman Madonna Akabuno took over serving, the score was tied up 8-8 and Akabuno served 8 to give St. Tim's a substantial 16-8 lead. St. Tim's was able to hold this lead and won the third set 25-14.

At the start of the fourth set, the tension was palpable. The game went back and forth until the Warriors' fourth server scored 7 in a row to bring BT to a 16-10 lead over St. Tim's. Akabuno served next for St. Tim's and was able to shorten the gap to 14-16. The next few servers for each team were able to put up a few points on the board until Feda came up to serve with an 18-20 score in favor of the Warriors. Feda served 4 to push STT to lead 22-20. BT came back and tied the game 22-22. Freshman Ariyanna Crewe was able to add two points to bring St. Tim's ahead 24-22. BT was able to break the serve and had possession of the service with a 23-24 score. The warriors served, Crewe passed a clean ball to the setter, Kocak, who set a quick ball to the middle hitter, Rider, who faked out the team and dumped the ball into an open hole. St. Tim's won the 4th set 25-23, taking the match 3-1.

Top Statistics -
Serving - 93 % overall; Akabuno 16 for 16, Feda 25 for 27 with 4 aces. 
Hitting - Rider 14 kills, Crewe 10 kills
Assists - Kocak 10, Hannah Mays 7
Blocks - Crewe 3, Rider 1, Kocak 1
Digs - Feda 16, Crewe 13
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