Volleyball, History in the Making
Exeter’s first boys’ volleyball game in history took place last Saturday at Andover. The team faced NMH and Choate, unfortunately dropping both matches. They lost both to a score of 3-1.
In their matchup versus NMH, the team was simply outsized. They lost by scores of 21-25, 17-25, 25-22, and 22-25. NMH’s middle hitter Josh Sharma stood seven feet tall, and Exeter’s Max Kirsch is the team’s tallest player at six feet, four inches.
“Going [into the match], we just tried to play our game, but we were intimidated by their size and played on the defensive,” prep Graham Rutledge said. The team’s in-game strategy to counter their size defect was to triple block the seven footer. Their blocking needed some work, though, as there were too many gaps for NMH to exploit. Nerves were also an issue for some of the players. “I think nerves contributed to our play,” said lower Kirsch. “We didn’t play bad, but we didn’t play our best.”
In the one game that Exeter did win, communication played a large role. “We were calling the serves, celebrating after a point, and getting inside the other team’s head,” prep Kelvin Green said. The leadership from senior captain Alec Hernandez and coaches Bruce Chang and Susan Griffith also helped guide the team to a victory in the third game. The service receptions, passing and setting were also key components in this game. According to Rutledge, confidence was the biggest difference between this game and the others. “We took the play to them, and they couldn’t handle it,” he said.
Despite the two losses in the weekend, the team was able to take many positives thoughts away from the two matches. Exeter used Saturday not only as a chance to see what they had, but also as an opportunity to scout their opponents for future matches.
“We learned how each team operates. Things such as who their key hitters are, the pace they are comfortable at, and the quality of their serves,” Green said. The team also learned about their own strengths. Senior Kevin Flynn was a strong player for Exeter, manning the libero position well throughout the games. The team got to see how they reacted in real games, learning to how to make plays even if the passes or sets are not perfect. The power in the team’s hitters and passing skills of setters were cited as Exeter’s strong suits by Rutledge.
If the team can put all of the things mentioned above together, they will be a force going forward. “This group showed what we can do this weekend, and now all we have to do is be consistent,” Rutledge said. Exeter did not let this weekend hurt their confidence, either, as displayed by Green. “You can expect a win the next time we play Choate or NMH,” he said.
The next chance the team will have at getting their first win is Saturday at 2:30 against Andover or Williston North-Hampton at Andover in another double header.