By STEPHEN MARTELLUCCI
NORTH READING — On Tuesday afternoon, the North Reading High volleyball team lost at home to rival Lynnfield 3-2. The Hornets won the first set, 25-19, but lost set two, 25-18.
In set three, the Hornets won, 25-15, but the Pioneers captured the final two sets winning, 25-17, and 15-12, as they completed the season sweep over the Hornets this fall.
“It was a bit of a roller coaster ride,” admitted Hornets head coach Mike Milone. “We made some mental errors late and they outlasted us.”
Milone was pleased by the play of Kaitlin Murnane and Willow Koepke.
“Kaitlin was great from the service line and Willow was strong with her serving and setting,” said Milone.
North Reading lost its fourth-consecutive match with that defeat as they fell to 3-8 overall and 3-6 in the Cape Ann League
The day before, the Hornets lost at Peabody, 3-0, in a non-league match.
“They have two players who really dominated and we struggled getting out of the gate,” pointed out Milone.
The Tanners, a team out of the Northeastern Conference, won the three sets, 25-11, 25-14, and 25-18.
Madison Hopfer led the Hornets in assists with 10 while Ally Newberry had a team-high five digs. Murnane led the squad in service aces with three while Sami Mutti led the Hornets in kills with eight.
On Sept. 29, the Hornets lost to Triton, 3-2, at home.
The teams split the first two sets as the Vikings won the first one, 25-18, while the Hornets won the second one, 25-9.
North Reading won the third set, 25-13, but the visitors pulled out the final two sets, 25-23, and 15-12.
“We gave up too many points with unforced errors,” recalled Milone.
Mutti had a solid match, according to Milone, as she led the team in kills (15), digs (10) and service aces (four).
Hopfer had a team-high 16 assists while Koepke led the team in digs with 12.
On Sept. 27, the Hornets lost to Newburyport, 3-0, also at home. The Clippers won the three sets, 25-23, 25-17, and 25-16.
“After that opening set we lost our rhythm,” said Milone.
Senior Grace Terranova led the way with four kills, eight digs and one block. Mutti also had eight digs and tied Murnane with a team-high three service aces.
Hopfer led the Hornets in assists with six.
“We have been missing one of our outside hitters who has missed the last six matches with an injury,” pointed out Milone, about the team’s struggles.
It also hurt that the Hornets had to play five matches in a span of eight days.
North Reading looks to get back on track on Oct. 5 as they visit Essex Tech looking for a split of the season series.
That match, up in Danvers, will start at 5:30 p.m.
The Hornets then visit Pentucket on Oct. 10th with that match starting at 4 pm. North Reading is trying to sweep the season series against the Panthers as they beat them, 3-1, at home in the season opener back on Sept. 8th.