Girls' Volleyball Moves On To Semifinals Against Loomis

Thank God, or whoever you so wish to thank, for girls’ volleyball. If it was not for them, Exeter would have left Andover without a single victory. With boys’ soccer drawing and the other three teams losing, it would have been a sweep for Andover. But even this victory did not come with ease. It took the Big Red a full five sets to finish off the Big Blue. Earlier in the season, the team’s win over Andover only took four sets, and they were much easier. This time they were long, tightly-contested sets. Even still, Exeter won 21-25, 25-12, 25-21, 20-25 and 15-11.

It is safe to say that Exeter experienced a shock during the first set. They got off to a slow start, and the crowd might have played a factor. Andover was able to feed off of its strong home court advantage and get off to a quick start. Upper Zaidee Laughlin called the first set a “wake-up call” saying, “I think to a certain extent [the crowd] was distracting and rattling.”

The crowd was not the only factor in play as this was the second time they played Andover and therefore the second look Andover got of Exeter. The Big Blue were more prepared this time and showed so in the adjustments they made.

For the second set, Exeter was able to make some in-game adjustments and have their best set all game. “We figured out who their worst passers were and attacked them,” prep Kat Dumoulin said.

This was certainly a welcomed change as Exeter held Andover to just twelve points in the second set. Upper Michelle Bosche also had a huge set as her serving game was on point and helped get Exeter back into the match.

With the match then tied 1-1, Exeter took the second set to make it 2-1. While Andover might have still had trouble setting up their plays, they were able to take the fourth set from Exeter and force a decisive fifth set.

In the fifth, Exeter prevailed to win 15-11. Once again, Bosche played tremendously, even serving on the match point. This win gave Exeter their first victory at Andover on E/A weekend in over six years and also their sixteenth win of the season. They finished their season with a tidy 16-1 record, while clinching the second seed in the playoffs. As a result of the semifinals and finals being hosted at Exeter this year, it means that the team will have home court throughout the playoffs, including Wednesday’s game against Deerfield.

Girls’ varsity volleyball is on to the semifinals after a 3-0 rout of Deerfield. They beat the Green Doors 25-18, 25-6 and 25-11 to advance. This will be the second straight year Exeter has made it to the semifinals.

For the second consecutive game, Exeter did not have a strong start. They had many unforced errors and played fairly sloppy until the end of the first set. Deerfield was even leading 14-13 midway through. After that point, Coach Shang called a timeout to rally his players and Exeter proceeded to go on a 12-4 run to close out the set. The run was capped off by two aces from senior captain Brooke Detwiler.

The second and third sets belonged all to Exeter. They thoroughly dominated Deerfield, only allowing a combined 17 points (one less than the first set). Exeter did not allow their opponent to get any offense going, pelting Deerfield with big hit after big hit.

Upper Katya Scocimara played a great game with thirteen kills. By the end of the game, it was all good for Exeter; even their bench was seen dancing in between points.

Up next for the Big Red is Loomis Chaffee at home on Saturday in our semi-finals. If we win that game, we will then play in the championship game on Sunday, also on Exeter territory.