Even after losing six starters from the class of 2007, Andover Boys Volleyball has set its sights on defending last year’s hard-earned New England Championship title. With Co-Captains James McGuinness ’08 and Alex Svec ’08, Brian Watson ’08 and Menelik Washington ’09 as the only returning players to the court, Andover hopes to somehow rebuild the spectacular dynamic that existed in the 2007 season. The new line-up will include Co-Captains McGuinness and Svec as outside hitters and Watson and Washington as middle hitters. Andover’s opposite hitters will be Tom Lavin ’08 and Tim Wong ’09. The rest of the unit includes Jeff Lu ’08 and Sam Burwell ’09 as outside hitters in the back row, Andrew Khang ’10 as setter, Khalid McCaskill ’10 at net, and Zach Dixon ’08 and Christian Anderson ’09 as defensive specialists. Co-Captains McGuinness and Svec will also be called upon to play setter. They will most likely be the only players on the team to play in both the front row and the back row this year. Last season, the team went undefeated and won the Founding Four Tournament for the first time since 1999. The tournament includes Loomis Chaffee, Choate Rosemary Hall, and NMH in addition to Andover. It is played at the end of the season. Coach Clyfe Beckwith believes that this year’s squad will have the potential to take the title once again. However, when asked about the team’s goals this year, Coach Beckwith replied, “It will be a rebuilding year. First and foremost, I hope the team has fun. Success will be measured on whether the team enjoys the challenges.” This Tuesday, the team faced Andover High School in a scrimmage. The game was a good chance for Andover to develop team chemistry and give players a chance to test their positions and rotations. With Co-Captain McGuinness sitting out with a knee injury, Phillips had to face AHS with only three returning members and was unable to come up with a win. AHS solidly controlled the play and won 4-0. Andover’s scrimmage loss can be credited to the team’s inexperience and cannot be viewed as a foreshadowing of events to come. Andover hopes to start the regular season strong when they travel to league foe Loomis Chaffee on Saturday.
