Although Andover Boys Volleyball had a positive outlook heading into the season with the arrival of many new, and promising players, the team lost its first scrimmage on Thursday 3-1 against talented Central Catholic. “This was our first game, and we only had a week of practice together beforehand,” said Ji Tae Park ’14. “I have seen so much improvement in the team so far, and we just have to get together better and know where we are going to be during defense.” “If we can improve our defense, we will have much better serve receives that will let us set up a good hit every time the ball is played,” he added. Andover started out well in the first set, and the score remained close until Central pulled ahead to win 25-21. Andover kept up the energy, and the score remained close throughout the second set until once again, Central pulled ahead and won 25-18. The team picked up momentum in the third game and won 25-23. However, the trend of closely contested play came to an end in the fourth game. Andover lost 11-25. “It was a really fun scrimmage, and we really used it to work out a lot of the kinks the team has so far. We have been working really well together, and we have got some great players on the team,” said outside hitter Alex Tamkin ’14, one of the newest and strongest additions to the team. “We really have to focus on connecting well and communicating with each other on the court, and we have to remember to keep up the energy all the way through.” Andover has not played an official game yet, but Coach Clyfe is confident that the team will have a good season. “Hopefully, we have a winning season. The boys are going to get better, but I have no idea what NMH looks like or how Choate or Wilbraham and Monson are,” he said. “The winning season depends on who the opponents are. My goal is to not have a winning season or a losing season but just to improve by the end of the season and have a good showing at the tournament.” One issue during the team’s game against Central Catholic was a lack of teamwork. “They need to work together as a team. Individually they played fine, but they did not really flow and set up the hit with three continuous steps. Instead they played one and then they played two and then they played three as opposed to working with each other to play with a rhythm,” said Beckwith. Andover is preparing during practices this week for its first game of the regular season against Northfield Mount Hermon this Saturday.
