Volleyball Goes Two for Two

Exeter girls’ volleyball got off to a strong start as they swept their double header last Saturday at Andover. They faced Taft and Hotchkiss in their first regular season games after a scrimmage against St. Paul’s. The two wins make the squad 2-0 in league play.After a strong performance last season, this team hopes to dominate again this season. Although it has been a very small sample size, the team has so far lived up to the expectations. They trounced a St. Paul’s team that was on a much lower playing level, and their strengths continued into Saturday’s performances. Exeter didn’t drop a single set and outscored their opponents 150-94, nearly sixty percent.“Hotchkiss and Taft were both very good teams defensively, but their offense was slow so we were able to really run our offense the way we wanted,” upper Zaidee Laughlin said. Many newcomers stood out in the first two games, such as post-graduate Erika Steeves, upper Katya Scocimara and her sister Chloe, who is a prep. Steeves, who went up against her alma mater Hotchkiss, “got some mean hits,” said the elder Scocimara. The California products each had good games with the upper holding down outside hitter and the prep coming off the bench and immediately contributing with smart play and good hitting.The recruits were not the only ones with large impacts in the game, as upper Josie Russ was an integral part to Saturday’s win. “[Russ] was playing really good defense, she got tips, deep balls, and picked up the hits,” said the younger Scocimara.Big Red’s strong defense was certainly a factor as to why Exeter held their opponents to an average of 15.7 points per set. If Exeter wants to win it all this year, the defense will need to keep up this quality of play. And a championship is certainly within reach for this squad; coach Bruce Shang can see the “crazy potential” in this team. His words will be challenged when Exeter faces Choate next Saturday.Big Red has not defeated Choate since 2010. Since then, the Wild Boars have made three championship appearances and have won the past two Class A titles, also knocking Exeter out of the playoffs last season. Despite all of this, Laughlin believed that the biggest difference between the two teams has not been skill, but rather Big Red’s lackluster mental game. With two wins under their belt and a chance for one more, the team should have enough momentum going in to put up a strong fight. If Big Red wants to make a statement to the league that they are a force to be reckoned with, this would be the game to do it.Before they face Choate, they will have one more game this Saturday against Milton Academy. This will be Exeter’s first home game of the year at 1:00 p.m. in the newly renovated Love Gym.