Three years of anticipation and hard work finally culminated in the first-ever Conant girls’ volleyball varsity home game Tuesday night, as the players who petitioned the district to add the team and played two years of sub-varsity competition took to their home floor for the first time.
“It feels really good,” said senior co-caption Adrienne Kennedy after the game. “I’m glad we finally have a varsity team, because in the years past it was just a club and JV, so it feels good to finally be playing at a varsity level.”
Kennedy and her Conant teammates showed flashes of promise in Tuesday’s game, but were ultimately outmatched against Somersworth, a former Division II team that dropped down to Conant’s Division III and is 2-0 on the year to date. The Toppers beat the Orioles in straight sets, 25-14, 25-12 and 25-6.
“We have a lot of new players, and some of us haven’t even played volleyball yet,” said assistant coach Nathan Shirey. “They’re coming across quick. They’re picking it up.”
Conant’s captains, Kennedy, fellow senior Emma Tenters, and junior Isabella Hart did their darndest, with Hart diving all over the floor, Tenters doing a little of everything and adding a presence at the net, and Kennedy digging out mid-range serves and playing up at the net. Libero Hayden Aucoin was unafraid of getting down and dirty to dig serve after serve; Grace Lewis made some good plays around the net, and Alexis Mayer was able to put together a nice service string, scoring five straight.
But the Orioles’ biggest weaknesses – communication, trust, and inexperience – were exposed by the Hilltoppers. The experience can only come with time, but Conant can address the other two issues in practice and in their team culture.
“Volleyball’s all about communication,” head coach Morgan Cooper said. “There’s only six of them covering the court, and they’ve got to know where everyone is all the time – and that’s hard.”
Kennedy, a two-time champion in basketball, hopes to lean on that experience to help lead the Orioles going forward.
“I think we need to build a better connection altogether,” Kennedy said. “I know in basketball, we have a family mentality and I think in volleyball we need have more of a family, come together and communicate.”
Conant (0-2) is at Fall Mountain Monday and hosts Mascoma Valley Wednesday before traveling to Mascenic’s homecoming next Friday. It’s a tough road, but Kennedy and the team are optimistic going forward.
“I definitely think we could compete with teams in DIII,” Kennedy said. “We need to communicate more, and I think once we get that down, we can compete and win some games.”