RallyNorth.net

Arvidson, Warriors open tourney with a bang

Monday, November, 09 By David Willis
Staff writer

ANDOVER — After missing the tournament for the first time since 1993 a year ago, Andover wasted no time showing it was back on the map last night.

Asked to move to middle hitter due to injuries, sophomore Sarah Arvidson excelled to help lead the No. 2 Golden Warriors to a 25-7, 25-17, 25-17 drubbing of No. 7 Reading in the Division 1 North quarterfinals last night at the Dunn Gym. The Golden Warriors (19-2) earned a bye in the first round.

“I think this win was very important,” said Arvidson. “We were really nervous starting the tournament because a lot of us hadn’t been here before. So I think it was big for us to show we could come out strong and do well.”

The Golden Warriors advance to the Division 1 North semifinals, where they will host No. 3 North Andover (18-3) tomorrow at 6 p.m. Andover downed the Scarlet Knights 25-13, 25-21, 25-20 in their only meeting of the season on Oct. 30.

Due to injuries, Arvidson — normally an outside hitter — and a number of teammates were asked to change positions heading into the game.

“We lost our middle hitter (Elise Brogan) in a scrimmage against North Reading last Thursday,” said Andover coach George Sullivan. “So we moved Annie (Ye) outside and brought up (track star) Moira Cronin. And when Sarah played club for me last year and I had her at middle. We shifted her there and she did an outstanding job. She was all over the field.”

The 5-foot-10 star didn’t seem to have trouble with the switch, finishing with a team-high 14 kills and was 11 of 15 passing.

“It’s still hitting,” said Arvidson. “But as a middle you slide back and fourth and you can run different things. I was ready for it.”

Sarah’s older sister, senior co-captain Kirsten Arvidson, also stood out. The 6-foot-1 returning Eagle-Tribune All-Star was 13-of-17 passing, 7-of-8 digging and added five blocks.

Fellow co-captain Ye chipped in with a team-best 10 assists and was 8-of-9 digging and Ava Bakhtyari chipped in with seven kills and 8-of-11 passing.

“We came out very strong and were ready for this game,” said Kirsten. “We were very pumped. Not making it last year hurt, and as a senior I was determined to get back. I think this will really help us going forward.”