A strong block by Michelle Brunetti ’23 earned Andover Volleyball a point in its 3-0 loss against Phillips Exeter Academy at home on Wednesday. On Saturday, the team lost 3-1 against St. Paul’s. The team’s record now stands at 7-5.
Despite losing both games, the team played to all of its strengths against the strong competition, according to Co-Captain Sophie Watson ’22.
“Each of the sets was so close, [and] the teams [were] so strong… So I think that both of the teams were very close in capabilities, which made the entire game a lot of fun. And I think as a whole, it just was kind of a big experience for us. I think our team did really well, each of us really showed a lot of our strengths,” said Watson.
According to Wendy Wang ’24, the team’s energy on the court against Exeter was lower than [it was in] the St. Paul’s game, and its anticipation of Exeter’s strength flustered the team’s mindset.
“I think compared to the St. Paul’s game our energy was a little bit down today, maybe because we were expecting Exeter to be such a strong team. Then doing warm-ups, we were kinda intimidated by the big hitters they had. We were playing scared most of the time, and that is, I think, what lost us the game.”
Jaedyn Ford ’24 and Watson highlighted Wang, who got injured in the fourth set, for her consistent and strong game. Ford also highlighted Mary Lord ’24 for her exceptional game on Saturday.
“I think that either our setter, Wendy, who was like our star player, she always plays like the absolute best. She got injured in the fourth set, so that’s probably why we didn’t win, but I think that also one of our middles, Mary, also played very well in scoring us points,” said Ford.
“Our center, Wendy, she got injured, which is a bummer because she carries the team. She’s what makes everything, everything perfect. And then the fourth set was just a completely new team. We had two new people come in to try and set for her. It’s just hard to switch your entire starting rotation in the middle of the game, especially at one at a game where both of the teams are so close,” added Watson.
According to Watson, the team’s energy is important to its success. She explained that a strong mindset on the court motivates the team to be the best players possible.
“I think all of us have kind of touched on the team’s energy. How like our energy just kind of carries the team and our coach talks about this a lot. But each individual, each of our players on the court having the mindset that they are the best player and just kind of basing our own confidence as well as the confidence of the team,” said Watson.
Andover Girls Volleyball will seek to secure two wins against Northfield Mount Hermon on Saturday and Deerfield on Wednesday.
