The girls varsity volleyball team swept the Newton South Lions 3-0 on Friday, Sept. 19, in the Schluntz Gymnasium.
The day featured strong play on the court, and a new initiative: Shoulder Check. Introduced this fall, this program encourages players to check up on one another with a simple tap on the shoulder.
The Warriors started strong in the first set with back-to-back blocks and multiple kills from senior and captain Emilie Ferdinand to put the Warriors up 15-10.
Despite a short push from the Lions late in the set, junior Molly Tipton finished the set with a powerful spike, giving the Warriors the win, 25-19.
The second set started in the Lions’ favor, with the Warriors trailing by 8, 11-3. This didn’t last, however, as spikes from Ferdinand and senior Maliah Thompson sparked a momentum shift.
According to head coach Caitlin Sobolewski, the Warriors’ comeback was fueled by mental work that the team had done ahead of the match.
“Yesterday, we really focused a bit on recovery and on being able to come back in really tough situations,” Sobolewski said.
With the Lions ahead 19-10, Ferdinand served back-to-back aces, and the Warriors went on a 15-3 run to win the set 25-22, to the excitement of the crowd.
Sobolewski said the team’s ability to lean on each other is what allowed them to recover.
“They played for one another, which is the most important thing, especially when you’re playing a team that’s really scrappy,” Sobolewski said.
In the third set, the Warriors took an early lead with strong offense and defensive pressure, taking advantage of multiple Lion errors late in the set. The set was ended by senior and captain Bella Bacon’s kill, which ended the match, 25-19.
Bacon said the team focused on unity during practice the day before.
“We had a really hard practice yesterday. We focused a lot on working together as a team, so I think that was it,” Bacon said. “We just pushed really hard, and we knew we wanted to win three, so we won three.”
Tipton said the second set comeback made the night even more exciting and hopes the team continues to win as the season goes on.
“I’m feeling really good,” Tipton said. “We definitely had a lot of good comebacks, and it was really exciting to win. There were definitely moments where we were very much down, but we always came back from it.”
