Co-Captain Dagny Bingham ’23 jumps for a hit against Rivers.
Andover Girls Volleyball dominated against Tabor Academy (Tabor) and Rivers this week, winning three consecutive sets in both games. The team’s record now stands at 7-2-1.
According to Kate Rodgers ’26, the win on Saturday against Tabor fueled the team with enthusiasm. Rodgers attested the team’s success to its Co-Captains, who brought strong gameplay and excitement to practice.
Rodgers said, “I think that the whole team had really good energy and I think I credit that to our captains because they really picked things up in practice this week, like our coaches. They just [have] good energy in the game and it [gave] us a positive outlook and I think we really played together as a team and as a whole, which helped us succeed.”
Similarly, in the game against Rivers, Andover was able to maintain a similar energy. Saraya Angbazo ’25 attributes recent victories to the team’s ability to sustain its positive outlook.
“I think our energy level has definitely improved, the consistency or our energy level that is, in today’s game and the previous game…but in the previous game, we made sure to keep the spirit alive and not to let it die down or take any low dips and doing that has helped us definitely,” said Angbazo.
For Andover, the game against Rivers was a turning point. The team was able to get into rhythm while playing, according to Yanna Dorotan ’23, in which everyone contributed to team unity.
Dorotan said, “Definitely by this game, this is what I’ve heard from the coaches, it [has been] one of our first shows of strong chemistry because at first we were all kind of still finding our path and we have a lot of young girls, but I think this game really solidified our connection, and it was great. It was great flow and great chemistry today.”
Angabzo added on the strong chemistry on the court, which allowed them to make effective plays. She expressed that the team was vocal on the court, despite a late-game decline in energy during the team’s game against Rivers.
“I think Saturday’s game was definitely a big one. That one was amazing. We covered the ball so well, talking, knowing where to be, knowing whose ball was whose, and today we tried to bring that energy over, and while today we did take a lower dip of energy in the third set, we still tried to try and repeat the spirit we had on Saturday’s game,” said Angbazo.
Dorotan highlighted plays made by her teammates, specifically strong hits, that led to the team’s ultimate success.
“The other team passed onto our side and there was this one ball where Dagny [Bingham ’23] hit it right just past the ten foot line and that was really cool. We had a lot of big kills from our two, we had a big kill from our middle Mary [Lord ’24] and Pauline [Huang ’23] as well, a lot of big blocks. There was this huge swing from Jess [Ma ’23]. I think we were down by two, and she just went out for the approach, big swing, and she was floating. She was levitating in the air so it was great to see,” said Dorotan.
The team has shown a lot of improvement in the past weeks. Dorotan mentioned her excitement for upcoming games, She emphasized her hope for consistent energy and communication in the team’s future game against Phillips Academy Exeter (Exeter).
Dorotan said, “We’ve just worked so well together and every practice I see everyone getting better and we’re all putting our all into it. The captains are doing a great job of setting a tone… Just [wanting to] keep this fire going because we’re going to need that for our next big game, especially against Exeter.”
Andover Girls Volleyball looks forward to playing Choate this Saturday.
