Volleyball Returns to Domination

A ball soars through the air, swoops over a net and arcs down to the court, falling just between two St. Paul’s defenders. The Love Gym roars with applause as Big Red marks down another point.

The girls’ volleyball team has started to get its groove back. After a disappointing loss to Andover and a poor win last weekend, the girls have been working hard to improve their game, and evidently it’s working. The squad came away from its home game against St. Paul’s with a 3-0 victory. The game was quick and decisive, and the girls showed no mercy to the SPS team.

“[The game] went really well,” upper Rachel Luo said. “St. Paul’s puts up a big block, and they tend to hit corners which are tough to defend. We knew going in that we would have to focus on defense, and we definitely did a great job in that area.”

Luo said that the team did a good job of staying concentrated and focused over the course of the entire game. “With every set, we brought more energy and more teamwork, and that was reflected in the set scores,” Luo said.

She also pointed to lowers Chloe Scocimara and Charlotte Polk as standout performers in Saturday’s game and praised Scocimara on her sets and Polk on her spiking skills. “Chloe was doing an amazing job on serve receive; every pass that she passed was a three,” Luo said. “And Charlotte destroyed in the second set, getting kills left and right.”

Senior Jess Hebl said that the game went very well overall and cited the loss to Andover as a motivating factor for the team. “Losing against Andover sparked a new flame in all of us that continues to grow,” Hebl said. “We came out hot right away in our first match, with Rachel setting perfect balls to our outsides and middles.”

Hebl explained that the girls faltered a bit during the second match after a few crucial errors. After a brief timeout, however, the team regained their composure and closed out the win. “We were able to put our errors behind us and win the second and third set,” Hebl said.

This victory will hopefully improve team morale and get the girls hyped up and ready to go as they head into the hotly anticipated and widely attended Exeter/andover weekend. The girls hope to regain their pride after an embarrassing loss to Andover a few weeks ago and hold onto their momentum after this week’s win.

Senior and captain Katya Scocimara said that she is confident in the team’s chances against Andover next week and hopes that the team will come together well in the face of the challenge. “I hope that we can all find it in us to play our best at the game and support each other through it all, no matter the score or how well everyone is playing,” Scocimara said.

Big Red’s next game is this Saturday, Nov. 7, a 4:00 away game at Northfield Mount Hermon.