Andover Boys Volleyball huddles after a play.
Stanley Yu ’23 tips the ball over Phillips Exeter Academy’s block.
Eddie Lou ’24 sets the ball as Henry Zhao ’23 prepares to cover.
Andover Boys Volleyball continued last year’s undefeated streak against Phillips Exeter Academy (Exeter) by securing another win this Wednesday. The team beat Exeter at home 3-1, reuniting after Andover defeated Exeter in the NEPSAC Championship last Spring.
Leading up to the game, the team tailored their training to specifically prepare for its rival. Arthur Wu ’25 mentioned how the team watched film and took note of Exeter’s strong middle in order to get an idea of what they should work on.
“So for the two days before the game Monday and Tuesday, we made it very Exeter focused because we knew they had a big middle blocker with an extremely big vertical as well. So we kind of just worked on defensive positioning, and after watching their games in the past, we looked at some of the weaker spots that we could attack. I feel like that just really led to our success,” said Wu.
The team played consistently well, but had to make adjustments throughout the game after facing an injury challenge. According to ND Nwaneri ’24, the game was an opportunity to show the team’s ability to adapt.
“We played pretty well in terms of actual game play. The serving was pretty good. Henry [Zhao ’23] hit really well, Will [Suh ’24] hit really well, Stanley [Hao ’23] hit really well, Eddie [Lou ’24] set really well. We actually ran into a couple of challenges along the way. Eddie rolled his ankle and had to go out for a rotation, but then he came back and somehow he was just fine. I don’t know, but we really flexed our depth today because the second Eddie went out, Brian [Chica-Herrera ’24] came in and played well as well,” said Nwaneri.
According to Inti Stephenson ’25, energy was a big part of the team’s success yesterday. Stephenson shouted out Nwaneri for all his cheering on the side to keep the team positive and motivated.
“We always look towards ND who’s our number one cheer squad captain on the side. He’s always jumping up and down, doing backflips. He can do backflips actually… We always look for people on the bench to cheer everyone up,” said Stephenson.
Looking forward, the team hopes to improve its consistency. Wu mentioned how working together as a team will help connect them on the court.
“I feel like in general, we just have to keep on putting consistent serves because as you can see in the game, there are a few missed serves and a few errors in communication. But apart from that, I feel like just working together more during practice is probably gonna be the most helpful way for us to improve,” said Wu.
The team will play away against North Andover High School next Wednesday.
