Volleyball Wins Back-to-Back Championships
This past season, girls’ varsity volleyball pulled through with a 16-1 winning record and the title of back-to-back New England Champions. Coach Bruce Shang expressed his pride in the team’s successful season. “They worked so hard to play at this level and supported and pushed each other every day. Girls’ volleyball demonstrated the support and sportsmanship of a true team as they worked together to achieve a great season," he said.
The team started off with prep camp before the beginning of the school year, which included training and team bonding. One of next year’s captains, upper Kat Dumoulin, said, “Prep camp is by far the best five days of the season. You get to see all your friends again, meet the new people and, best of all, scrimmage Andover to scope out the competition.”
Prep Tara Weil was originally nervous about meeting the team, but prep camp helped her feel more at home. “One of the first things we did was an icebreaker called ‘speed dating’ where you basically talk for 30 seconds to introduce yourself. After that, everything was a lot more comfortable and all the girls were super welcoming,” she said.
According to Shang, throughout the season, the team only grew closer. However, Dumoulin shared a minor setback at the beginning of the season that involved competition within the team. “In the beginning of the season, we were getting very competitive, and we ended up all playing worse as a result because we were all nervous that one mistake [could] cost us our playing time,” she said.
“Volleyball is all about the little things. If we do the little things right, we should be able to have a very successful and fun season.”
She also explained that part of being a captain includes keeping the team focused and motivated. One day after practice, co-captains and seniors Katya Scocimara and Michelle Bosché sat the team down and explained how the season was going to work out. “As a result [of the talk], we all immediately started playing better with the weight lifted off our shoulders, "Dumoulin said.
Scocimara and Bosché demonstrated outstanding leadership and certainly contributed to much of the team’s success. “It was our captains that gave us inspiring speeches to leave everything on the court to win the final set,” Dumoulin said.
Scocimara and Bosché’s great captainship set a high precedent for next year’s leaders. When asked about the pressure of being captain next season, upper Rachel Luo said, “I think every captain feels a pressure to be better than the last captains, but honestly, Michelle and Katya did an incredible job.”
The players worked together more than ever this year, effectively blending their skills to create an unstoppable team. One of the biggest challenges of the season were various injuries. Upper and upcoming captain Rachel Luo explained, “We faced several challenges with injuries; every time we had one, we had to move around positions to find the next best fit for the team. The girls did a really great job of adjusting and being flexible. For instance, [upper] Charlotte [Polk and lowers] Chloe [Scocimara] and Sophie [Faliero] all played multiple positions, but they took each position on with a smile and did an amazing job.”
Lower Charlotte Polk spikes the ball across the net.
One of the biggest and most memorable challenges of the season was the girls’ match against Nobles, during which they were losing 14-12 in the 5th and last set. While Nobles only needed one more point to win, the girls managed to rally a comeback. “Somehow, our amazing seniors and team came back to win that game. That is when I knew this team was special. We could trail every game by five points and come back to win,” Shang said.
Luo described how exciting wins like these are one of her favorite aspects of the sport. “The thing I love most about volleyball is the speed and finesse of it, but also the chance to make a comeback... I’ve seen teams come back from being 20 points down, and we play 5 set games all the time.”
Dumoulin shared similar sentiments about the thrill of victory. On winning New England Championships for two years in a row, she said, “It’s the feeling you’ve wanted to get since you were a kid, when you first began sports. For me, I watched [as] my older brother won back to back championships for hockey his sophomore and junior year and knew that was exactly what I wanted to do.”
Prep Tara Weil elaborated on the team mindset heading into the championship game. “Our team was pretty confident going into that game, just like all our games, and it was nice to know that our confidence was not misplaced,” she said.
The team’s confidence paid off. Prep Jenny Yang described her excitement with the championship win. “I was extremely proud of my team, even though I’ve known these girls for only two months. We definitely have a lot of team spirit and the game was super hype,” she said.
Looking ahead to next season, Dumoulin said, “It’s definitely going to be a battle next year, since we’re graduating five seniors that all were very valuable in their own way to the team.” However, she reamins optimistic and confident in the team’s ability to succeed. “Volleyball is all about the little things. If we do the little things right, we should be able to have a very successful and fun season.”
Luo defines a good captain as “a close friend [the team] can confide in, and also someone who will ally with [the team] when they need it.” She says Shang refers to captains as “the bridge between him and the team,” and hopes herself and the other captains will be able to continue this tradition next year.
More than anything, the team is looking forward to just getting back on the court. “I love being in season,” Luo said.
Similarly, Yang added, “I’m really looking forward to meeting the new girls and making them feel as included as I first felt here.”
With excitement and confidence building for next season, Luo said, “I'm enormously proud of us for how well we’ve done these past two seasons ... and we’re looking to win that third championship title!”