Girls' Volleyball Beats Deerfield 3-0
Last Saturday, Exeter’s varsity girls’ volleyball team brought home another victory against Deerfield Academy. The game was its first win after its tough defeat against Andover two weeks ago. “The first game against Andover is still fresh in our minds. We had a tough loss and we are still recovering, but the team has been doing very well.” co-captain Margaret Kraus said.
“Whenever someone made a mistake, the whole team yelled “good." This made everything more positive.”
Following its first loss of the season, the team came together and discussed ways to improve for the future. In the discussion, they covered topics ranging from motivation and cheers, to what they need to work on as a team and individually. “After that meeting, I believe our team dynamic shifted and we began playing like I know we know how to, and that played a major role in our win against Deerfield,” upper Sophie Faliero commented.
This was clearly true, as the girls swept all three sets against Deerfield with the scores of 25-13, 25-12, and 25-21. Faliero commented, “last year they were one of the worst teams in the league. Although we knew going into the game that they weren’t going to be too much of a challenge, we still played them like we would for any other game.” Upper Jenny Yang added, “in previous years we’d beaten them. We weren’t too worried.”
Big Red came out strong in the first two sets of the game, embarrassing the Deerfield team in front of its parents. However, in the third set, Deerfield started to pick up the pace, keeping a close score with the Exeter girls. Nonetheless, the girls’ volleyball team still edged them out.
In the absence of a few starters, the team saw many bench players step up to the challenge. In particular, lower Joy Liu shined during the game.
Senior Molly O’Day shared with pride that “Joy played very well and helped the team out a lot.” Faliero seconded O’Day’s comments, “Joy, one of our setters, did an amazing job filling in for Jenny when she was sick. It was a very last minute switch and Joy did an amazing job setting throughout the game.” This statement was echoed by Senior Margaret Kraus as she talked about how much the team has been improving over the course of the season. “In general, I cannot pick a single most improved player on the team because everyone has come a long way.”
One aspect that the team implemented in their play this season was mental toughness. The speech given by former Navy Seal, Jason Kuhn, has been a point of reference for working hard and building a successful season to the girls. This mindset helped the team build an encouraging atmosphere in the game. Faliero said, “whenever someone made a mistake, the whole team yelled “good.” This made everything more positive.”
As the season continues, the girl’s look ahead with newfound motivation. In the coming week, Exeter will play at Buckingham Browne on Wednesday. Nothing stands between Big Red and the championships.