Volleyball Smacks Taft and Hotchkiss
The girls’ 2015 volleyball season started with a bang this past weekend at a doubleheader scrimmage on Saturday followed by a match on Tuesday. Led by seniors Katya Scocimara and Michelle Bosche, Big Red can look forward to an ambitious season.
After winning the New England championships last year, Scocimara and Bosche have tirelessly trained for this season and are looking to uphold their title. “Until we dig every ball, and hit a thousand for every hitter, we’ll have things to work on,” Scocimara said.
“We lost eight players last year,” Bosche said. “We don’t have a lot of returners, but we have a great new crop of girls that have a lot of potential if we can just hone their skills.”
In preparation for the upcoming season, the team is training with athletic coach Andrea Sweet to improve strength, agility and overall athleticism. “We’re working with Sweet to get stronger, get as many hits as we can,” Scocimara said. “We need to pass better, get it to our centers better, and being more athletic definitely helps.”
“Our goal is to get a bump, set, and hit into the ground every time."
“Our goal is to get a bump, set, and hit into the ground every time,” said Bosche.
This past Saturday, volleyball had their first scrimmage against Hotchkiss and Taft. Arriving late for the Hotchkiss game and after a quick warm-up, they were able to soundly defeat Hotchkiss 3-0. The second game against Taft was also won 3-0. “Hotchkiss was our warmup for Taft,” Scocimara said. “And Taft wasn’t what we thought it would be.”
On Tuesday, volleyball played Governor's Academy, winning 3-0. This game not only highlighted Exeter’s prowess in the league, but also signified team unity, one of the goals for the season. “Because volleyball is such a competitive sport and people can play so many positions, there is inherently a lot of competition, which has been a problem in the past,” Bosche said. “We’re trying to focus on the team unity itself rather than individual players.”
However, while the focus is certainly not on the individuals, a few players stood out with their stellar individual performances. Among those noted by their captains, lowers Chloe Scocimara and Charlotte Polk, and preps Sophie Faliero and Jenny Yang stood out.
As a middle, Polk did a great job of connecting the ball to setter Rachel Luo and Scocimara has been excelling at middle, a new position for her. Faliero received similar praise for her stellar overall performance.
According to the captains, Yang had a highlight moment during the game against Governor’s on Tuesday. “Jenny Yang can set amazingly well,” Scocimara said. “She set me a perfect sheet, a very fast set that arced perfectly over the antenna.”
Scocimara slammed it to the ground. “It was instantaneous,” Bosche said. “I barely saw the ball before it was on the ground.”
With their next game against Choate on Oct. 3, the PEA girls’ volleyball team is preparing in heat for a successful season, and if their 3-0 record is any indication, they are well on their way.
“We’re looking to win,” both captains said.