Lawrence wins thriller over Mepham

First-year coach David Mayerson and the new-look, resilient Lawrence girls’ volleyball team extended their season-opening win streak to seven matches with an emotional, come-from-behind 25-21, 21-25, 28-26, 22-25, 25-23 victory over Mepham (4-3) on Sept. 27.

Mayerson, a 2004 Lawrence graduate, has the Lady Golden Tornadoes off to their fastest start since the ‘07-08 season and their performance against Mepham provided further proof they’re the team to beat in Conference A-3. “We’ve brought an exciting new system to Lawrence,” Mayerson said. “The girls are learning a lot, each and every day. A lot of stuff is new. There has been a lot of hard work and dedication put in over the first three weeks of the season, but we’re still improving.”

The Lady Golden Tornadoes kept their winning streak alive behind a prodigious effort from junior setter Alex Tse, who notched a career-high 47 assists. Lawrence was also boosted by junior outside hitter Natalie Leger’s 18 kills and eight aces. 

With the teams tied at two sets apiece, Lawrence notched the win by overcoming a 10-1 deficit in the fifth and deciding frame. The Lady Golden Tornadoes had their backs against the wall when Mepham sophomores Christina Rizzacasa (outside hitter) and middle hitter Maryanne Kirby (eight kills and three blocks) delivered ace after ace in the fifth set to widen Mepham’s lead to 20-10. Lawrence’s unblemished record was hanging by a thread, but it kept pushing the pace of the offense and won 15 of the final 18 points in the set. Senior outside hitter Michelle Vainblat (16 kills and six aces) found her groove in the fifth stanza, as her powerful spike attacks began to wear out Mepham’s defense.

Lawrence earned the victory despite the absence of the talented, speedy Gabi Golan, who is out indefinitely with a foot injury. Vainblat was also nursing her right hand towards the end of the match, so Mayerson was quick to praise the girls that stepped up their game when it counted most. “We came together as a team and showed some great resiliency,” Mayerson said. “It was a complete team effort out there.”