By: Spring Yan

Fall sports have been up and running for 6 weeks now and each team has played a fair share of games. Here are a few exciting stories from the girls’ volleyball teams. 

The girls’ varsity volleyball team is off to a hot start. The team has an undefeated record of 6 wins and 0 losses. When asked about the team’s beginning success, Ava Stamatelaky ‘22 expressed, “I think it is playing well together and being confident in our volleyball skills. We all are really mentally strong and have good chemistry.” Dana Hall was the first home match of the season and their team has a strong front row of aggressive hitters. The Beaver team also has strong attackers and an impressive defense. The match started out with Beaver leading 2-0 in sets. A strong showing of skills came from Emily Emmet ‘21 and Abby Cebula ‘21, alongside great sets from Lucy Hirshland ‘20. Quickly, Dana Hall came back winning a set and pressure built up on both teams. The Beaver community of parents, faculty, and students helped win the game, as the seventh player on the court. All this support added a thrilling energy to the game. The student section was spitting out chants with no filter. The team could have won that game with skills, but with added cheering from the school community made the win even more special. 

In another thrilling anecdote, the girls’ JV volleyball team won their first game of the season against the Charles River School. Every game before, the team had lost 3-0, but this only made them hungry for a victory. Upon arrival at the Charles River School campus, the team’s energy was heightened. All the girls had one goal in mind, “just win!” The first set was a flurry of strong serves from Maya Horne ‘22 with impressive swings from Sadie Stedman ‘22. There was passionate coaching and cheering from both coaches. Overall, everyone was happy for each other and the end result, a win. 

Last but not least, the varsity and JV teams both came back from Berwick Academy with wins. The big coach bus was barely half full of volleyball players. It was Saturday morning and a trip to the middle of nowhere in Maine was not the most ideal weekend destination. Everyone who did show up played with the same intensity as any other game. But, the most memorable part of the trip was that 3 varsity players stayed to help the JV team. If you do not know any volleyball rules, there is supposed to be 6 players on the court. There were only 4 JV players on this trip, which is not enough to play in a game. Thankfully, 3 varsity players stepped in and ultimately helped win the game. At one point, Ella Marcus ‘22 almost served 20 aces in a row. This was a special team made of JV players and varsity players, that came together to get a special win. 

All these successes will hopefully be an overview of what the whole season will look like. Go girls volleyball and go Beaver!