Andover Girls Volleyball Conquers Choate to Continue Undefeated Record

After losing to Choate in the fifth set during the Nepsac quarterfinals last season, Andover got its revenge this past Saturday. The team beat Choate in a home game 3-0 to remain undefeated, and its record now stands at 9-0.

Andover’s game against Choate was designated “Game of the Week” by the Blue Key Heads, and the team established a “blackout” to rally its fans. The students in the stands, mostly dressed in black, helped fuel the team’s energy on the court, according to players Ridley Warner ’22 and Mudmee Sereeyothin ’20.

“It was so exciting seeing so many people come into the stands. It felt like [Andover/Exeter] but only on the Andover side. And the energy and everyone was being so loud and cheering super hard, so that really pumped up a lot of the players,” said Warner.

Sereeyothin also compared the game to Andover/Exeter, and added, “It was so much fun to see the crowd cheering us on and witnessing how much school spirit everyone had by participating in the blackout. It just gave our team an extra push in motivation and energy.”

While Andover delivered an overall dominant performance, the team found Choate’s unique style of play to be a source of challenge. Andover was used to playing against strong middle blockers, but Choate’s team had unfamiliar hitting techniques, according to Warner.

Warner said, “…We are just working on adjusting to the other teams; for example, at Choate, they did not have a good middle hitter, so we needed to adjust. We have great middle hitters and we practiced with great middle hitters, and they didn’t, so we needed to adjust to that so we are practicing that.”

Andover’s current undefeated record provides motivation for the team to build on the momentum it has built so far. The team predicts a tougher half of the season, and is using its success to keep up its determination, according to Michelle Brunetti ’23 and Sereeyothin.

Brunetti said, “We really just want to keep the streak going, and if we lose one, we don’t want it to affect our future games in any way. So just keeping this energy up through the rest of the season is a great way to beat [Phillips Exeter Academy] and win the championship.”

“Our streak just keeps us motivated to improve our game and play better. We know that we are reaching the tougher leg of our season, as we are playing our toughest competition in the next two weeks, so we are really determined to play well and defend our streak,” added Sereeyothin.

The team aims to achieve a 10-0 record, at St. Pauls this Friday.