The Brooms Are Out: Girls’ Volleyball Sweeps, Reaches 13-1 Going into E/a
Big Red dominated Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) this past Saturday in a brutal 3-0 win. The girls came together, played effectively and had a great all around game. This win was crucial in boosting team confidence as the squad heads into E/a weekend, and many of the team members cited a pregame address from assembly speaker Keith Wolford as a reason for the excellent play.This is the second time that girls’ volleyball has faced off against NMH. On family weekend, the girls demolished NMH. This time around, upper Rachel Luo praised NMH for their preparation and said that they had “definitely improved,” but it still wasn’t enough.Luo explained that much of Big Red’s tenacity and concentration in the game came from a moving speech delivered to the girls by motivational speaker Keith Wolford.Wolford, who spoke at Assembly on Friday morning, gave the girls some things to keep in mind during the tough moments in the game, and his remarks were hugely influential in the girls’ success. “[H]e addressed our concerns about the season and gave us little tips on how to stay positive. I think the whole team really benefitted from that,” Luo said.Luo explained that the team “stayed positive with every point” and that in the moments when they were down during the NMH game, “we used what we learned from Keith and kept ourselves upbeat.”
“It’s a team sport, and no matter how we play as individuals, we owe it to the team to put that behind us and work for each other.”
Captain Katya Scocimara agreed with Luo and said that Wolford’s speech helped the girls realize their unique roles on the team. “I think the biggest take-away for all of us was that every game starts with us as individuals,” Scocimara said. “We need to come and [play our best] because if we don’t, we can’t expect anyone else to. The second thing we took away was that it’s a team sport, and no matter how we play as individuals, we owe it to the team to put that behind us and work for each other.”The team played well throughout the game, with particularly impressive performances from captains Michelle Bosché and Scocimara. Luo said that Bosché “hustled for every ball.” This performance was especially notable due to Bosché’s recent return from injury.Scocimara explained that “the season so far has had its ups and downs,” but she applauded the team’s ability to stay “resilient through the hard times. We have talent, and we have the desire; we just need to figure out how to be tough and fight hard for what we want. But we are a team that loves being with each other, so I don’t doubt that we can rally together to end this season with a bang.”Scocimara hoped that the girls can come together for one last win and blow Andover out of the water. “My hopes going into E/a weekend are that the girls go in wanting to put it all out there on the court,” Scocimara said. “I don’t care what kinds of skills they’re bringing or how they play, but no matter what happens, I want to see a team that wants to win—that wants to win together.”