Photo: Mindee Lai (left) and Jane Mahon for Belmont at the net.

It was going to be a tough opening match of the 2016 season for Belmont’s volleyball on Wednesday, Sept. 7.

But every season for the past five years has started with the Marauders taking on Div. 2 powerhouse Melrose, this year at home at the Wenner Field House.

And while the scoreboard showed a 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-12) victory for the visiting Red Raiders, the performance by Belmont (0-1) – a mix of young first-time varsity performers and veterans – kept Head Coach Jen Couture “jumping up and down off the bench.” 

“We were serving great, very aggresively and consistantly throughout the game while on defense we were digging balls off the court for the entire match,” said Couture. 

“We fought for every point and every point was very exciting even though we didn’t win them all,” she said, pointing to the play of senior captain Su Jing Chen who was “playing out of her mind” from the back row. 

Sophomore Jane Mahon led the team with four kills followed by senior Kendra Valerius with three as Belmont ended the match with 13 of 30 set.

Couture praised “player of the match” freshman Sophia Estok for her work setting plays and on defense.

“I’m pretty excited about the season after this performance,” she said. 

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