Girls’ Volleball Defeats Deerfield
Exeter Girls’ Volleyball has done it once again, keeping their undefeated streak alive and well by beating Deerfield Academy this past weekend 3-1. Winning now simply seems to be what the team does best, having established a 12-0 record so far, with home court advantage for only two of those games and the other ten victories achieved on the road. According to senior and co-captain Mia Glinn, conquering Deerfield means the team has now beaten all of its strongest opponents, and with this momentum, Exeter Girls’ Volleyball is looking to go the rest of the season undeniably undefeated.
Heading into the game, nevertheless, the team was anything but complacent despite their winning streak. As focused and determined as always, Glinn described that “As in any game, our main goal was to play at our own level, and not let the other team decide how well we were going to play.” She explained that the team wanted to continue to push themselves “to work on reducing our own errors, since in previous games we had been struggling with that.” Prep Sofia Morais described the team’s concentration on beating their opponent both offensively and defensively. “Heading into the game, we were focused on good serves, by serving it to a spot on the court where no one else was. Also, we were really trying to improve out serve receive skills.” Overall, according to senior and co-captain Joy Liu, the team was confident. “We knew we were in for a good game, but also that inertia was on our side.”
As any high performance team however, the players were still critical of their execution during the game despite the win. “While we got the win, we didn’t play as well as anticipated,” Glinn said. “We were struggling to get our passes to the right place, and we didn’t do the easy things perfectly, which we should be able to do.”
Players on the team were quick to point to a few individual players who had standout games, and helped push the team to a victory. Morais highlighted that “Angelle Diamond had a great game, with a bunch of kills and passes right to the setter.” Glinn also praised her fellow senior captain, saying “Angelle had an incredible game, with over 20 kills! She was really able to carry our team offensively which we are so thankful for.” Liu emphasized the work of some underclassmen on the team as well, giving “massive shoutouts to our prep Coco for a stellar game at middle.” Morai added that “As usual, Mia Glinn had a solid game, with strong, well-placed hits and consistent serves.” As Liu put it, the whole team was able to coordinate all its strengths, “being an absolute unit” with an impressive 51 kills.
Having conquered any threat in their way so far, the rest of the season is about beating their tough opponents again, and “making sure we do it with even more assertiveness,” according to Glinn. “We are a really good team, and we want to show our opponents that right off the back,” she said.
Morais described team’s determination in practice and their goal for an undefeated record. “Our energy is always super high at practice and Coach Shang always talks about getting 1% better each day, and I think we do a good job of that,” she said. “I think if we keep putting in the work at practice and games then we should be able to control the outcome of the game.”
The team’s next home game this Saturday marks their third time facing off against Saint Paul’s. “They will put up a fight but we will be ready,” Morais said. Glinn emphasized the help of student support at home games, saying “ They are a strong opponent, so come cheer us on and see us in action!” If looking for an invigorating game this weekend, stop by Love Gym and witness their effort to continue this season, undefeated.