Chelsea volleyball upset Lincoln in a clean sweep of wins across all three teams. Freshmen beat Lincoln in an easy match 25-16, 25-17, and 15-13. JV played their first set against the Railsplitters, winning 25-6. However, in the second set, Lincoln gave the Bulldogs a hard fight, and the game was close up to the end. Chelsea pulled ahead to secure the win of the match 25-21. In the third game, JV lost focus after winning their second match of the season and lost 12-15.

Varsity had a great start to the game. With a serve streak of four points by junior Olivia Beauchamp and a kill by senior Maddie Kemp they were doing well. The Bulldogs continued their outstanding performance and kept their energy up with a kill from freshman Ellie McGlashen. As the match went on, however, it became close. Towards the end of the first half points were back and forth and the game was all tied up almost halfway through. But thanks to Sierra Law and Madeleine Kennedy the Bulldogs were able to hold the lead.

Soon after, the Bulldogs lost the lead and were again tied to Lincoln. Luckily, Kemp went on a four point serve streak to get ahead 20-17. With the score at 23-20, McGlashen helped bring the Bulldogs to victory. After a good dig from Kemp and hard work, they won the last point and first set of the match 25-20.

In the second set, they started strong again. They beat off Lincoln’s serve and allowed Beauchamp to give them a four point serve streak and lead. The girls played hard and had a good lead at 9-3. Kills and aces by Madeleine Kennedy helped them keep scoring and crushing Lincoln. More kills poured in from junior Kiersten Anstead, as well as Kemp. Strong serves came from Madeleine Kennedy, and the score ended at 17-7. Digs by senior Karie Reiber against Lincoln kept out any Railsplitter kills. The Bulldogs took the second set 25-14.

The third set began and the Bulldogs were down. They had good kills by Madeleine Kennedy and blocks by Anstead, but nothing was securing a lead. Good down balls came from Reiber, and aces from Beauchamp, but Lincoln still held strong. Down 8-10, the team was desperate for points and short tips came from Madeleine Kennedy. Defense was slow and there were several missed digs. Lincoln was trying to keep their lead by playing scrappy with short tips. They were down 14-16 and the energy on the court was low. The Bulldogs fought for the rest of the set but couldn’t catch up or get the lead. They lost the set 20-25.

Going in to the fourth set, the team was looking for a win. It didn’t start as they wanted it to, and they were down 3-5. Defense was down and suddenly they were down 5-10. Lincoln was up and their kills kept pouring in at the dogs. With a timeout at 9-18 and a few kills by Madeleine Kennedy the girls tried to pull the score closer. With an ace by Anstead, the score was only four points apart at 15-19. The team was desperate for points with tips by Kennedy. But they couldn’t win the set and the final score was 18-25.

The fifth set is only to 15 points, so the Bulldogs had to get going fast. They started down 2-4, but with a kill by Kennedy and an ace by Anstead, the score tied 8-8. Several kills by Kemp and more from Kennedy had the Bulldogs up 11-9. They lost their lead again and were tied 11-11. A timeout at 11-13 and no one was sure if the girls could get the win. The intensity was real and the energy was in everyone. Lincoln missed their serve to make the score 12-13. Kemp had a good kill to tie the game 13-13. Timeout 14-13 with Chelsea’s serve. A missed hit by Lincoln gives Chelsea the win 15-13.

Varsity played an intense, thrill-filled game and came out on top, beating a Chelsea volleyball rival: Lincoln. All three teams played very well, and represented the Chelsea Bulldogs in the best way possible.