Girls’ Volleyball Takes Down Andover
Hundreds of Exeter students stand quietly, holding their index fingers in the air. The girls’ volleyball team is just one point away from defeating its rival in the fifth set. Exeter serves and Andover manages to put the ball back over the net. Big Red controls the return and sets its hitter for the kill. The ball soars off a hand before smacking against an Andover player’s face. The ball hits the floor, and a sea of red bodies storm the court. Exeter is once again victorious.
Last Saturday, Exeter played against Andover on enemy turf. The team battled hard against its opponents and ultimately came out on top. Andover won the first and third set, and Exeter won the second, fourth and fifth. This win raises Exeter’s record to 8-5.
The team took many positives away from this victory. Exeter maintained its composure, despite going down early in the game. The girls were successful in channeling their frustration, and used it to compete for every point.
“We’re hoping to crush every team and get better as we keep playing, because we need to keep excelling if we want to beat the top teams."
Upper Margaret Kraus said, “One turning point was in the huddle after we lost our second game. Kat looked us in the eyes and said that losing the next set was not an option.” This mentality resonated with the team and motivated to push the game to the fifth set.
Andover had a few strengths that were particularly difficult for the team. Kraus described Andover’s team as “scrappy,” as they work hard to try and win every ball.
Big Blue also had a strong serving core. Senior and co-captain Kat Dumoulin said, “They gave me a hard time with the serving and definitely made things interesting.”
On top of their serving and defensive ability, Andover players also were very aggressive hitters. “Defense was tough because we never knew where the ball was going, since Andover’s hitters just like to hit it as hard as they can,” Dumoulin said.
Exeter played at a higher level, despite Andover’s strengths. Exeter improved as the game went on. “In the beginning of the game, we weren’t blocking well. It was actually losing us points and hurting us. But, by the end of our game, it was our strongest resource,” Dumoulin said. This recognition allowed Exeter to successfully counter Andover’s kill attempts.
Kraus also pointed out that the team’s passing and serving was strong. However, it was the “losing is not an option” mentality that carried the team to victory. Senior and co-captain Rachel Luo explained, “As long as we let them make the errors and wear them out, we’ll keep winning games.”
Exeter is looking to work hard in practice with the hopes of winning New Englands. “We’re working on passing and serving skills for playoffs,” Kraus said. Kraus also mentioned that Coach Bruce Shang is also working to scout out the teams Exeter will be up against, so Exeter will also be modifying its block and hitting placements based on the other teams’ strengths and weaknesses.
Big Red’s first playoff game will be this Wednesday at home against Loomis. “We’re hoping to crush every team and get better as we keep playing, because we need to keep excelling if we want to beat the top teams,” Dumoulin said.