Girls’ Volleyball Rallies Against Hotchkiss and Taft

The girls’ varsity volleyball team played two matches away at Andover against Hotchkiss and Taft last Saturday. Big Red managed to edge out Hotchkiss, winning 3-1, but fell to Taft, losing 0-3.

At the beginning of the Hotchkiss game, things were not clicking for Exeter. The team was able to collect themselves after losing the first set 20-25, and really started gaining momentum going into the next set. Co-captain and senior Rachel Luo commented on the team’s ability to get themselves back in the game. “Going into the second set, we looked more like ourselves, and in the end it was just about making sure all the mistakes happened on the other side of the net,” she said.

In the Hotchkiss game, co-captain and senior Kat Dumoulin’s serve allowed the team to go on a 12-point run in the third set. “When we focused and came together as a team, we were able to beat Hotchkiss,” Luo said.

Despite the team’s struggle to find their stride against Taft, they kept working until the end. Upper Chloe Scocimara described the team’s determination. “Against Taft, it was harder to pick up all the scrappy shots, but we kept on pushing through,” she said.

Due to several injuries, new faces and a small window of time to prepare, the team has not been able to have everything completely worked out. Going forward, they hope to maintain their high energy and plan on working hard in practice.Both Taft and Exeter are of comparable skill, but Exeter was burdened with a few questionable calls in the second set, which was tough for the team to get past. “One thing we did especially well the second game was serve to target, and cover after hits,” Luo said, taking positives away from the Taft game.

“We need to work on some of the basics like passing better balls and waiting on our approach to get a stronger hit.”

Lower Sophie Faliero stressed some of the problems the team faced, saying, “We need to work on some of the basics like passing better balls and waiting on our approach to get a stronger hit. As a team, we need to work some on communication, especially on the second ball if the setter passed the first one or if it was shanked,” Faliero said.

The team has two weeks to prepare for their next game against Choate. In that time, Exeter hopes to improve technically and better understand one another on the court. If Big Red is able to execute plays, maintain their composure and rally, they will have a good chance at beating their opponent.