Girls’ Volleyball Continues Win Streak Winning Each Set Played

The hot streak continued for the girls’ varsity volleyball team after a win over Milton on Saturday. The Milton game was not much of a challenge for Exeter. They won every set by the scores of 25-11, 25-14 and 25-17. The contest also allowed for every player on the team to get some playing time, while also letting the starters get some rest before this week’s matchup against Choate on Saturday.Upper Katya Scocimara excelled once again and hustled during every play. Fellow uppers Michelle Bosche and Taylor Jean-Jacques controlled their serving game. Despite what the box score may say, there were moments in the game when Exeter’s passing fell apart, which happened a fair amount last year as well. The difference this year is that the team was able to bounce back more quickly and get back to running their offense.This victory puts the team at 3-0 so far this season, but it is not just their record that speaks to how well the team has played. Their defense has been fairly strong, to say the least, and they have only let their opponent put up twenty points in a set just once. That occurrence happened in the first set of the Hotchkiss game from two Saturdays ago. In total, the defense has only surrendered 15.1 points per set, for a grand total of 136 points all year.Perhaps it is the new chemistry formed by the squad or the added skill from the recruits that has had the largest effect on the team’s performance. Another part of the debate would have to be the coaching of Coach Shang. He sees the potential of his team, and he refuses to go to waste. After a few years of rebuilding the volleyball program (including the addition of a boys’ team), he finally has a team he believes should win it all.“Coach Shang sees more potential than in past years, so he’s been pushing us hard in practice,” Bosche said.Shang has done a fantastic job getting to know each player on his roster. “He really goes out of his way to make a connection with each of the players,” senior captain Brooke Detwiler said. “And for that reason he’s gained all of our respect.”Now all of this is not to say Exeter is without any flaws. Their passing still leaves something to be desired. The ruts the team hit last game shows that this may be the biggest problem facing the team. “The passing is still not good enough, and the team knows it,” upper manager Max Eberstadt-Beattie said.Another reason not to get carried away is that it is yet too early in the season. While the quality of their opponents has been decent (7-6 combined opponent record), they have yet to face a true challenge.That should come this week with a road game at Choate. Choate, like Exeter, has yet to drop a set and have been historically good against Big Red. It should be an accurate test to really see just how skilled the team is.