V-ball Falls to St. Paul’s: Big Red Squad Falters On Saturday

Girls’ volleyball played away against St. Paul’s last Saturday. Exeter fought hard, edging its opponent out in the first two sets, but unfortunately lost the close game in the fifth set. This loss lowered its record to 6-4.

Exeter remained positive throughout the game, which showed in the first two sets. Its composure, however, faded as the game went on. Senior and co-captain Rachel Luo commented on the team’s energy. “Our biggest struggle with away games is coming off the bus fresh and being ready to play, and that wasn’t an issue this weekend,” she said.

In the third set the momentum shifted. Upper Molly O’Day said that after the first two sets, they had become overconfident. “Once we started losing by even a few points, there was a mood change on the court and we started to play to not lose rather than to win,” she said. After the second set, Exeter didn’t maintain the high sense of energy and mental readiness they displayed in the prior two sets, which ultimately let them down.

Technically speaking, Exeter had a strong showing. “Our liberos were passing amazingly. We had a strong outside hit so we just set them a lot. But we were also able to change the flow and set other hitters when St. Paul’s figured us out,” O’Day said.

Going forward, Exeter aims to continue playing with high energy and to improve their composure. “As a team, we can use this game to remember that we can’t let up until after the ref’s whistle on that very last point,” Luo said. Staying focused and being mentally prepared to play every point will be essential to Big Red’s success moving forward.Luo echoed O’Day, reiterating that it wasn’t necessarily a lack of skill that caused the loss. “Passing and hitting stats were fairly decent, but we just didn’t quite have the same spirit in the last three sets,” Luo elaborated.

"I absolutely believe in this team and that if everyone does their job, we can advance in the finals and win another championship."

Next Saturday, Exeter will play at home against NMH. If Big Red shows its mental toughness and maintain a high level of play in general, the girls will find success. “I absolutely believe in this team and that if everyone does their job, we can advance in the finals and win another championship," O’Day said, optimistic of her teammates’ collective ability.