SHEFFIELD, Mass. – Big service runs by Natalia Dos Santos and Sophie Aubin Thursday allowed the Taconic volleyball team to pull away late in each set of a three-set win over Mount Everett.
Dos Santos finished with a team-high eight aces, and Aubin was right behind her with seven as the Thunder won its season-opener, 25-18, 25-16, 25-18.
The final margins were deceptively comfortable for Taconic as the Eagles (1-1) pushed the Thunder throughout the night.
In the first set, Dos Santos took the ball with her team trailing, 18-15, and served out the set.
In the second, Mount Everett was up 15-12 when Aubin got the ball, and she served eight straight points to give Taconic a 20-15 lead.
In the third, it was just a three-point margin with Taconic on top, 19-16, when Aubin served three straight points to push the margin to six.
“We played really well, and I’ve got to hand it to Mount Everett,” Taconic coach Lance Fyfe said. “They kept the ball in play. They made it really hard for us to get any points at all. I’m really proud of my team for sticking it out like that.
“We just kept on swinging. We had our share that went out. But they never gave up, and it just worked out great.”
The first set was back-and-forth most of the way with neither team able to lead by more than two points until Mount Everett’s Mercedes Kosik served three points in a row to give her team an 18-14 lead.
Taconic got a side out on a block by Ella Stodden that turned the momentum of the set.
Dos Santos, the Taconic libero, ran off four quick points – three on serves that did not come back – forcing Mount Everett to take a timeout down 19-18.
She came out of the timeout with a couple more aces and a kill from Fernanda DeSiqueira to put the set away and give Taconic a 1-0 lead in the match.
In the second set, Mount Everett led by as many as six when Kelly Krom (four kills, three aces) put away a kill to give her team a 10-4 lead.
It was still a 15-11 Eagles lead when Naveah Williams (five kills, team-high eight assists) delivered a kill for a Taconic side out.
Aubin then served the Thunder to a 20-15 lead before giving up the serve.
Taconic got it right back on a kill by Lacey Daly, and Williams served out the set.
The visitors rode that momentum to an early lead in the third set, when Stodden served four straight to give her team a 5-1 lead.
The margin stayed around there until Aubin’s late run, which included a couple of aces and got Taconic within three points of finishing the match, which it did a couple of rotations later.
Mount Everett coach Rob Cohen was happy to see his squad battle throughout the match, even if it could not extend the match a little further.
“I’m very proud of the team,” he said. “They competed hard in every game. We had a chance to be there. When we lost the first two, I said, ‘I want to play five sets tonight.’
“I’m very proud of their performance. They keep improving.”
The Eagles will look to get back in the win column on Saturday, when they host Mount Anthony of Bennington, Vt.
Taconic, which got five kills apiece from Williams and Jadyn Galliher and 12 digs from Aliyah DelSonno, will play its home opener on Monday against Holyoke.
Fyfe said he is happy with what he has seen from the team, one year removed from a senior-led run to the state tournament.
“We lost a lot of key players,” he said. “But we’ve got some new seniors and juniors, and there’s actually five sophomores on our varsity team. The depth of talent is great. I feel good about the season, and this was a great start.”
