The Deerfield Junior Varsity volleyball team (4-9) continued a busy schedule, traveling to St. Paul’s (9-3) on Wednesday, November 7, competing in its 3rd match in five days. Although the losses have piled up in the last few weeks, team spirit remains strong. The girls have fun in practice and are proud of their hard work. They show up for each match and compete to the best of their ability. The JV girls face tough opponents each and every week. In fact, almost every opponent has had a winning record! One of Deerfield’s last victories came against St. Paul’s early in October. Big Green arrived in Concord, New Hampshire, hoping to repeat some of its early season success. And although each set was close for the first half, St. Paul’s prevailed 0-3.
The first set was knotted 10-10 early on, with each team trading points and serves. Abby Persons ’21 led the way with three points at the net. But then Deerfield’s defense slipped a bit and gave up 10 straight points to one of St. Paul’s servers, losing the set 12-25.
The next two sets looked better, with Big Green steadily improving. In the second set, another pair of service and offensive rallies by St. Paul’s left Deerfield behind 13-15, but Deerfield was holding strong. This time, Elena Lu ’22 led the attacking charge, with three kills in the set (and seven on the day). Once again, though, Big Green couldn’t break the home team’s serve and they fell 17-25. The third set was Deerfield’s best. Both teams traded point back and forth, and the score was tied at 17-17 when Big Green finally broke through and took a 23-19 lead. It looked like a win was just moments away, but another late game collapse resulted in 6 straight points for St. Paul’s and a final loss of 23-25.
Deerfield has had a rough four weeks, losing 8 straight matches. At times, they’ve looked like a very good team. At other times, mental focus seems to lag, balls ricochet into the corners of the gym, and there is a lack of urgency to get the ball. For better or for worse, the season ends this Saturday, November 10 in Wallingford, CT. Deerfield Academy (4-10) faces their archrival Choate Rosemary Hall (11-3). The two records suggest a tale of opposites. But in sports…anything can happen. Go Big Green!
Set one: 12-25
Set two: 17-25
Set three: 23-25