Volleyball Wins 4th Straight Championship
Boys’ varsity volleyball traveled to Choate Rosemary Hall for the New England Prep School Athletic Council championships. PEA won its third consecutive council title after defeating Phillips Academy Andover and Northfield Mount Hermon School.
Up until this point in the season, the team was 8-0 in the regular season, winning every one of its regular season games 3-0. The only falter in the team’s perfect season was a loss in a scrimmage against Westfield School.
PEA played its first game of the tournament on Saturday against the four seed of the tournament, Andover. The team continued its streak with yet another 3-0 win, winning its sets with scores of 25-14, 25-12 and 25-4. The 25-4 set was the largest margin of victory the team has had all season.
“We’re still practicing hard to get better, and we aren’t underestimating Andover either. Our result against them on Saturday didn’t do them justice, and we’ll have to be at our best, mentally and physically, going into the game.”
The team moved on to the final match of the tournament to face Northfield Mount Hermon—who they had already bested twice before—for the third time this season. Again, the team won 3-0 with set scores of 25-19, 25-19 and 25-18.
Heading into Saturday’s games, senior Mitchell Kirsch, who won his third New England Prep School Athletic Council championship on Saturday, did not worry much about the team’s chances of winning. “We knew that if we played like ourselves we would win, so we stayed loose and had a good time while winning,” he said.
Lower Sam Michaels appreciated the leadership roles that the older players on the team had in Saturday’s wins. “The team played really well. Our seniors, Ben Swett, Mitchell Kirsch, Kelvin Green, Graham Rutledge and Jacob [Grandison], stepped up and carried the team to victory.”
Emilio Karakey, a two year upper who played with the team last year, felt that this year’s championship was much easier than last year’s because of the plays made by the seniors on the team.
Prep Nathan James complemented Kirsch and Swett for their plays throughout the season especially on Saturday. “Mitchell Kirsch and Ben Swett are a match made in heaven, like the Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively of volleyball. Saturday’s games were some of the best we’ve played all season,” James said. “It was great to see our seniors win their third championship in a row.”
The boys will host Andover on May 27 for its final game of the season. Although the boys demolished Andover on Saturday, James said that the team will have to continue to improve in the coming weeks. “We’re still practicing hard to get better, and we aren’t underestimating Andover either. Our result against them on Saturday didn’t do them justice, and we’ll have to be at our best, mentally and physically, going into the game,” he said.
Karakey felt that the team is prepared to take Andover on again. “I think we’re ready. We just have to stay focused and not make silly mistakes.” Michaels expressed a similar sentiment. “We’re ready for our game against Andover. We still have another scrimmage before that, and we’ll be practicing all week long to prepare for E/a.”
Kirsch remained confident in the team’s abilities. “I’m not worried about us, [but] I hope Andover is ready.”