9/21 – Andover: 0, Loomis: 3
9/25 – Andover: 3, Groton: 2
Girls Volleyball (2-2) played Loomis Chaffee (Loomis) on the road last Saturday, ultimately falling short and losing in straight sets. The following Wednesday, the team was on the road again, battling Groton and winning a tight match.
Despite the loss, Selene Xu ’27 noted the team’s strong and energetic performance against Loomis, a powerhouse in the league. She highlighted her teammates’ collaboration and hustle in giving their all throughout to deliver a strong performance in the game.
“As a team, we did really well because Loomis is a very strong team. They’re number one in our league, but we definitely played really well. We had great teamwork, everyone dove for the ball and everything. It was probably one of the best games we played, and we had so much fun,” said Xu.
Xu also pointed to the team’s belief in their own abilities as an area of potential improvement. At the same time, she praised her teammates for their unwavering positive attitude.
“Sometimes I felt like the team was overthinking instead of trusting our skills and having a mindset and rhythm right away. Because of this, we could have done better during the start of the first set, adjusting quickly to how the other team was playing. Even with that, one of our strengths was definitely our attitude. We were all cheerful and smiling even though we were down,” said Xu.
Sophia Fang ’28 shared that following the game against Loomis, the team did drills that focused on covering the ball after a hit, in addition to maintaining confidence throughout the game. Those drills and mindset aided in the team’s win on Wednesday against Groton.
“After Loomis, our team decided that we had to work on covering the ball after each hit, and the following practices, we did a lot of drills that involved this skill, and our coach drilled into this mindset that it’s not enough just to be there, you have to have the mindset that you’re going to get the ball up and that the ball is going to come to you. This really paid off in the game because this game we had a lot of good covers and balls that would have resulted in a loss of points and ended up being a really good rally,” said Fang.
In its win against Groton, Co-Captain Sophie Holten ’25 praised the team’s libero, Ashley Schuman ’27. Despite the unfamiliar court and equipment, Schuman adapted as a reliable player throughout the whole game.
“During the Groton match, Ashley did really well. She is always on her toes, always going after every ball, and overall very reliable as a libero and as a teammate. She did really well today, especially because Groton’s gym is a bit odd, the lines on the court were not very clear. The difficult equipment made it a difficult game to adapt to, but Ashley stood up, and she was there for every ball. I just really appreciated her throughout the game so much,” said Holten.
Holten noted that the first set at Groton felt quiet but, as the team adapted, it ticked the energy up a notch. She emphasized the team’s infectious energy, with their predetermined cheers for each play.
“In the first set, it was a bit quieter, and everyone was just getting into the swing of things. It’s like that at first with most of our games, but as we moved into the second, third, fourth, and fifth sets, the energy was so much higher, and you could feel it radiating off the bench, off every player. We were loud. The gym was echoing and was very, very loud and that’s just something about our team that’s special, constantly cheering after every single point. We have specific cheers for specific plays or types of hits or offensive strategies. It’s just a very warm, welcoming environment, and I’ve never been more proud to be on a team like this one,” said Holten.
Girls Volleyball will host Tabor Academy at home this Saturday.
