After a 3-0 success in its opening scrimmage against BB&N, Andover Girls Volleyball played two more scrimmages against Taft and Central Catholic on Saturday and Tuesday, respectively. After facing a 0-3 loss to Taft, Andover rebounded with a split four-set 2-2 game against Central Catholic.
There were, however, many positive takeaways from the Saturday scrimmage, according to Captain Serena Liu ’18 and Brooklyn Wirt ’21.
Liu said, “We had amazing offense, especially up on the net where our middles really stepped up and got amazing ones and twos. Even our outsides and right sides did amazing in finding the holes and getting points by playing smart on the court.”
Wirt added, “The team had tons of energy game, and we all were going for every ball. It was a great atmosphere. For the block, we all just tried to be smart with the balls we played, looking before we swung to see what was open. We also shifted our defense to combat the big hitters. Against Taft, Sarah [Chen ’21] and Brooke [Fleming ’20] both were setting really well, and Serena was all over the floor digging so many balls and covering everything.”
According to Mudmee Sereeyothin ’20, the energy was not as upbeat in the team’s scrimmage against Central Catholic on Tuesday. There were, however, plenty of opportunities to try different lineups.
“We got everyone in [and] just tried to see how we’re playing with each other still. We’re working that out and who plays best next to whom. We got to test out a lot of different things.” said Wirt.
The team also got the opportunity to practice with Brazilian Olympic beach volleyball player, Monica Rodrigues.
Liu said, “She won a silver medal in the 1996 [Olympics beach volleyball tournament], and she’s been working a lot in practice with defense and service, especially, as well. We’re trying to adjust our defense to read the block and really tune in to what the hitter is doing on the other side of the net.”
Andover will travel to Loomis Chaffee on Saturday for its first away game.
