The NHIAA volleyball regular season concluded last week with ConVal, Mascenic and Conant all making program history.
In Division II, ConVal split their last two games of the season to finish at 11-5, their best record since the Cougars joined DII.
“I am really proud of how hard this team works to improve, support one another, and acknowledge each other’s accomplishments,” said ConVal head coach Amanda Hinton. “They are a true team and all give 100 percent each day.”
ConVal lost a close 3-2 match at John Stark Thursday night, despite good games from Emma Rodenhiser (14 kills, eight digs, four blocks), Ivy Armstrong-McEvoy (eight kills, four aces, four blocks), Kendall Sullivan (13 assists, eight aces), Aria Laurent (eight assists, nine digs) and defensive specialist Zadie Marshall and libero Samantha Henderson (10 digs each).
The Cougars bounced back on senior night Friday at home against Manchester Central, where ConVal honored their seven seniors and won in straight sets. It was a festive evening at ConVal, as the game opened with the entire crowd and players singing the national anthem in near-unison and also included the playing debut of senior manager Lily Mandel and the first varsity kill for senior Brianna Decker.
Rodenhiser again led the Cougars with 13 kills and five digs; Sullivan (10 assists, four kills, two aces), Laurent (six assists, two kills, two aces), Armstrong-McEvoy (three kills, one block), Sophia Hatmaker (four aces, one kill), and Henderson (12 digs, three aces) also had good games.
“Our team is scrappy and fast and can cover the entire court,” Hinton said. “They communicate well and are so much fun to coach and to watch!”
ConVal is the sixth seed in Division II and should host a preliminary round playoff game on Thursday night, pending an official tournament announcement from the NHIAA.
In Division III, Mascenic finished their regular season in historic fashion, shutting out Trinity at home for a perfect 16-0 record and locking up the No. 1 seed.
“There’s a saying that our program has embraced,” said head coach Karen Gibson. “‘Great teams reach potential.’ We have used that to remind us to keep focusing on improvement each week. Regardless of who our opponents are that week, we try to stay diligent about improving. I am so proud to coach a team of athletes that are willing to play their role with selflessness and commitment. From the coaching assistants all the way to the JV players who have been suiting up for games, everyone has done a great job of putting the team first. They earned this 16-0 record!”
On Thursday, the Vikings got good games from Lyla Buxton (12 kills, three aces, two blocks) Kenzie Cormier (17 assists, one kill, three digs), Hannah Zina (four kills, three digs), Delaney Traffie (five kills, one ace, three digs) and Lindsey Coponen (five digs).
Mascenic cruised through the regular season for the most part, though they were tested in a big way twice on the road, winning at then-No. 1 Somersworth and defending champion Newfound to assert their DIII dominance and ready themselves for playoff battles.
“Two of the biggest wins this season were five-set matches on the road, which are huge confidence builders that we can stay tough into the fifth set,” Gibson said.
Mascenic should have a bye and then host a quarterfinal game Friday night.
Over in Jaffrey, Conant’s season ended with a 2-14 record, and while the Orioles came up short of a spot in the playoffs, senior co-captains Emma Tenters and Adrienne Kennedy were proud of their team’s growth in the program’s first-ever varsity season.
“I’m honestly happy I even got to play volleyball,” Kennedy said, “because if someone had said to me three years ago you’re going to be playing volleyball at a varsity level your senior year, I wouldn’t have believed them.”
Both agreed that the team improved in leaps and bounds through the season, both in volleyball ability and team communication and camaraderie.
“This was definitely a learning and growing season, but the team came so far in just a few months,” Tenters said. “Everyone learned a lot and we developed into a team – we went from just trying to get the ball over the net to playing real volleyball. We competed all throughout the season and even though our record doesn’t show that we had a lot of close sets and good rallies.”
The two senior captains leave their marks as founding members of the team with hopes of years of success to come.
“There is definitely a good foundation for Conant volleyball and I can’t wait to see where the program goes in the future!” Tenters said.