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Volleyball season is officially back, with the boys excited for this season. New players are making their first appearances, while others return for the new season.
JV sophomore Keegan Batchelder stated, “this is my first year playing on an official volleyball team, so I’m overall excited to play and bond with the team, but also to improve my serving and receiving skills.”
For JV, sophomore Chad Bavis says this is also his first year on the NH volleyball team. Bavis stated, “I’m most looking forward to becoming better as a player, but also hoping to be able to get a good kill in the front row.”
As for returning players, JV sophomore Johnathon Bowen has played volleyball for two years. He stated, “ For this season, I’m most excited about winning with my team, but also improving my skills so I’m ready for varsity next year.”
Bowen continued, “The hardest part of volleyball, I would say, is practicing and retaining your skills, so I’m ready to continue working hard this year.”
Varsity junior Andrew Tagliaferri stated, “There are many things that are going on at the court all at once. So, just trying to make a good play is hard because a lot of things can go unseen. Personally, I say nothing is really easy in volleyball except serving because you have the most control over it.”
Tagliaferri continued, “For example, you need to be ready when defending, such as blocking, and covering any tips over the net. But also, the back row players need to be ready for the hit, so the pass can go to the setter so he can pass it to the hitter to try and get a kill.”
As for preparing, many many players decided to take training in their own ways.
Varsity senior Casey Smith has played volleyball since junior year. He stated, “ For my training this year, I played beach volleyball throughout the summer. I just thought it was a fun way to still work on my volleyball skills but also have fun while doing it.”
Other players like Batchelder and Bowen trained by playing with local teams here and there. Batchelder played with his local church youth group, and Bowen played pick-up games.
Tagliaferri stated, “A fun story I have is what happened last night Sept. 18, against Fallston (3-1 win). Our middle hitter, [sophomore] Jordan Bogarty scored a point using his face when blocking a hit. He got hit in the face, and it went back over the net and he scored because of it.”