9/14 – Andover: 3, Taft: 0
9/14 – Andover: 0, Hotchkiss: 3
Andover Girls Volleyball (2-1) tackled its first big challenge of the season on Saturday, playing a doubleheader. The team faced off against the Taft and the Hotchkiss.
According to Nneka Ezeike ’26, the first game against Taft started slowly. By the end of the first set, the team became adamant about speeding up the tempo while also focusing on playing a high level of volleyball, forcing the opposing team to make costly mistakes.
“Our plan was to play up at the net and increase the pace of the game. Since the game started off slow in the beginning, we focused on cleaning up our mistakes from early on including making sure that we get our serves over the net, forcing them to make errors and not us,” said Ezeike.
Sophia Fang ’28 commended the performance of Kate Rodgers ’26 on Saturday, particularly towards the end of the second match. Fang highlighted her relentless effort and admirable hustle.
Fang said, “Throughout all the games, [Rodgers] was really trying her best. Although I could tell she was getting a little tired, her defense and offense remained really solid. She powered through exhaustion and always went for the ball, trying to get touches on everything. Even though we came short on the second game, her effort and energy was really good.”
Volleyball ended up swiftly taking care of business against Taft, beating the team in three sets. The game against Hotchkiss, however, proved to be a difficult undertaking as Gracie Aziabor ’26 described the doubleheader, specifically the Hotchkiss game, as a challenge and learning experience.
“Since one game was at 2:30 [p.m.] and the other was at 4:30 [p.m.], we only got about 20 minutes of rest between games, but I think overall, it was a very strong day. We took a lot away from the experience and found areas where we could improve, such as communication. Volleyball is obviously one of those sports where communication is extremely important to figure out how you will play the ball when it comes over on your side of the net. Staying disciplined with communication, especially in a difficult game, can be very hard, but even the best teams must continue to work on it,” said Aziabor.
Although the weekend had its highs and lows, there were exciting moments leading up to the game and many highlights from game day itself. Fang highlighted the night before the game when the team went to the coaches house for a pasta night; a team tradition.
Fang said, “Luckily, there were leftovers from the night, and between the first and second games, we were able to eat leftover pasta, sandwiches, and drink chocolate milk to help us recover. There is a team tradition where we go to Coach Clyfe [Beckwith]’s house, and he makes massive amounts of pasta for the team. So it was fortunate that we were able to have some good food in between games.”
Aziabor says one of the team’s goals this week and this season is to get comfortable in difficult situations. She highlighted how the team managed to find some success even while playing tired against Hotchkiss.
“We aspire to be pushing teams out of their comfort zone. When we played against Hotchkiss, we were obviously challenged, but it showed us certain plays we can implement into our arsenal and ways to start running faster offensive plays. Speeding up the pace was difficult as we were fatigued, but was successful when we could manage,” said Aziabor.
After the two games, the team is preparing for an away game against Loomis Chaffee on Saturday.
Editor’s Note: Gracie Aziabor is an Associate Layout Editor for The Phillipian.
