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 at the Dunn Gym. The Golden Warriors (19-2) earned a bye in the first round.
"I think this win was very important," said Sarah 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 a time to be determined today. 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, I had her at middle. We shifted her there and she did an outstanding job."
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. Arvidson. "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."
McFall jump-starts Knights
Frannie McFall got North Andover started with seven straight service points and the Knights never looked back in a surprising sweep (25-12, 26-24, 25-15) of a solid Billerica club in the Division 1 North quarterfinals.
"Billerica is always aggressive and knows how to hit the open spots," said North Andover coach Veronica Schaefer, who is a graduate of Billerica. "We we able to practice how to cover those open areas and did a good job."
Brooke Morganthaler led the Knights up front with nine kills and Angie Brunette was strong at the net in the clinching third game. Emily Cox was "flawless," according to Schaefer, returning serves.
North Andover will play at Andover in the semifinals tomorrow at a time to be determined today.
Hornets roll in opener
North Reading, a state finalist in Division 3 the last three years, including a championship in 2007, opened play in Division 2 yesterday without a hitch, ripping Greater Lowell 25-10, 25-12, 25-13. Kirsten Morrison had eight kills for the Hornets (20-1), Taylor Dyer added five kills and 18 assists and Katherine Mozzone had 14 service points, including eight aces.
"We're playing well right now and I was happy to get all 16 of our players in the match," said North Reading coach Keri Verdonck, whose team will host Bedford in the quarterfinals tomorrow at 7 p.m.
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