“We call her awesome Dawson,” says Girls Varsity Volleyball Coach Clyfe Beckwith of star Dawson Joyce-Mendive ’07. Clearly a stand-out player, Joyce-Mendive has been chosen as this fall’s Athlete of the Term for her outstanding performance and contribution to an amazing season for the team. She joined the program this year as a post-graduate, coming from Nevada and a strong volleyball background of six years. After her four years of high school in Nevada, Andover is lucky to host such a skilled player who was looking to college before spontaneously applying for a postgraduate year. Her experience on both the varsity team of her former school, Douglas High School and the competitive Sierra Nevada Volleyball Club are evident when she’s on the court. “The crowd loves watching her because of her jump-serve and strong hits,” Captain Cassidy Carpenter ’08 said. Carpenter praised Joyce-Mendive, calling her “the best player on the team. She’s a really versatile player, and a lot of fun.” Joyce-Mendive plays outside-hitter in Andover’s impressive starting lineup. In addition to her positive personality and infectious determination, the numbers speak to her strength. She racked up the most kills in nearly every game she played in. Over the course of the season, Joyce-Mendive averaged 5.1 kills per game; with at least three games per match, the total reached 175, an astounding number considering the second most kills from a single player was 75 with an average of 2.2 per game. Though her total of 58 aces was not the leading total because of missed games, she averaged 1.68 aces per game—the highest average. Her hits were 87% successful, an impressive statistic. Coach Beckwith praises Joyce-Mendive as “an incredibly smart hitter; she’ll hit right, she’ll hit left, she always hits the ball to the hole.” Some of her best games include Andover’s most recent match-up with Exeter last weekend. The team struggled in the beginning of the third game, falling behind as Exeter continued to score: 0-2, 3-5, 5-7. The game tied at seven, but after Exeter pulled ahead 8-7, Joyce-Mendive scored points nine through thirteen with her skilled jump-serve to secure the lead and the win. In a memorable match against Choate, Joyce-Mendive matched Choate’s initial four consecutive serves with nine of her own, a boost for the all the Andover players after a rough start. That game, she hit sixteen kills, hit 16 of 20, served 24 of 27, and hit three for three. Because of the team’s amazing undefeated season, Andover was invited to send four players to the all-star game. Out of all the girls competing, Joyce-Mendive was named Most Valuable Player of the league and a Boston Globe All-Star. This award comes as no surprise to her teammates, who look to Joyce-Mendive as a powerhouse and are thrilled to have her on the team. Teammate Isabelle Engelsted ’09 points out that Joyce-Mendive is “an amazing person and player. She’s really energetic and keeps the spirits of the team up.” Most teammates cannot recollect a specific moment to exemplify Joyce-Mendive’s prowess because there are simply too many. Joyce-Mendive herself notes the well-meshed play of each girl as the key to the team’s success. In an interview with Phillipian Sports mid-season, she said, “I’ve never been on a team with this much chemistry.” In this same interview, Joyce-Mendive recognized winning New England’s as her goal for the team—a goal that is well within reach. After its undefeated season, the number-one ranked team enjoyed a bye this week, and awaits a semi-final game with Loomis Chaffee on Saturday.
