Sophie Holten ’25 leads Girls Volleyball with high energy on and off the court. Although she only began taking volleyball seriously in her first year of high school, she has quickly established herself as one of the team’s top players and a dedicated, supportive leader. Taking inspiration from her previous Co-Captains, she models the importance of having an uplifting mindset as much as possible.
Influenced by her friends, Holten began her volleyball journey in seventh grade. In ninth grade, she started competing more seriously on her previous high school’s junior varsity team, and also gained experience playing on a travel team. Upon arriving at Andover as a new Lower and making Girls Volleyball, Holten has since continued with the sport.
“I had actually never even heard of [volleyball] until seventh grade; my friends were doing it, so I was like, ‘Oh I’ll do it too.’ And of course, that’s when the only thing everyone knew to do was serve. So when I actually started playing was until ninth grade, and I was not at Andover at that point, so I played JV for my old school and played on a travel team for the rest of the year. And then I came here and I made Varsity. [And] I’ve been playing with [Andover Girls Volleyball] ever since,” said Holten.
According to Sophia Fang ’28, Holten approaches both practice and competition with focused intensity. During practice, she encourages her teammates to perform to their best ability. In games, Holten tries to create a positive team environment where her teammates feel comfortable shaking off mistakes and trying again.
“Every time we’re at practice, she’s really energetic and happy and she’s always encouraging other teammates to do their best… whenever she sees her teammates that might be down because they made a little mistake, she’s always cheering them up and giving them advice. And also, I’d say off the court, she’s very supportive because she’s trying to include everyone and making sure everyone’s okay after the game and they’re all getting their meals in and their sleep in. I think she really cares about everyone who’s on the team,” said Fang.
Holten draws inspiration from former Girls Volleyball Co-Captain and Blue Key Head Dagny Bingham ’23, who carried a passionate and empathetic nature. This season, Holten hopes to match that spirit on the volleyball court and in her classes.
“I’ve wanted to be Captain all my years here at PA but I feel like the first person who inspired me was probably the Captain when I was here my first year as a new Lower; her name was Dagny Bingham and she was also a Blue Key Head. I felt so inspired by her all the time; she was loud, energetic, the same sort of positive mindset… Even during fall and not during fall, in any sport I play or any class that I’m in, keeping that positive energy and trying to be happy most of the time, just smiling in general,” Holten said.
Manager Kai Szanton ’26 observed a noticeable shift in energy between last season and this fall, crediting Holten’s leadership as a key factor in the change. He emphasized the importance of maintaining high energy in volleyball, noting that, while the sport is largely physical, the mental aspects often play a decisive role in determining the outcome.
“I would say that energy would contribute to better performance because if you ask most volleyball players, while volleyball is a physically demanding sport, when it comes to winning or losing a game, it’s almost always psychological. I know an issue we had on the team last year was that the bench and the team on the court, we weren’t loud. It was always really quiet, always sullen. And, I think this year, with a lot of players being more invested in the team and willing to get loud and bring that energy, it’s going to provide a better psychological state for the team even when we’re not doing well in games. [Sophie] gets loud, energy-loud, not yelling-loud,” said Szanton.
Holten looks forward to playing her final season of volleyball at Andover.
