The varsity volleyball team hosted its first home match of the season against Worcester Academy, emerging with a 3-1 victory (25-16, 25-12, 19-25, 25-13).
With a solid crowd in attendance that got larger throughout the match, Deerfield was able to get out to a small lead before Zoe Gavros ‘23 stepped to the service line at 19-14 and proceeded to push the score to 23-14 with great serves and solid hitting from Camila Navarro ‘20 before Deerfield was able to finish the set at 25-16.
In the second set, Worcester was able to get out to an initial lead before 5-point service runs from Rosa Sun ‘21, Camila Navarro ‘20, and Aoife Bruce ‘22 allowed Deerfield to take control and then finish the set at 25-12.
Worcester showed that they were not to be taken lightly with their large blocks and quick middle hits. They took advantage of some sloppy serving by Deerfield and despite the boisterous crowd, Worcester took the 3rd set 19-25.
This was a great opportunity for Deerfield to decide how they wanted to respond and with a 6-point service run from Zoe Gavros ‘23, great hustle and passing from Daphne Gavros ‘22, strong hitting from Georgia Sackrey ‘23 and Keri Clougherty ‘21, and excellent blocks and hits from Aoife Bruce ‘22 and Lara Akande ‘20, Deerfield gave a clear response. A huge part of their success during the 4th set was a ceaseless desire to play every ball all the way to the whistle; we scored numerous points by hustling to balls and finding ways to keep the rally going so that our hitters could reset and finish the point. When the final whistle blew at 25-13, fans mobbed the court and the cheering song rang out proudly. Well done to players from both teams!
On Saturday, varsity volleyball opens an 8-match road swing as we take the long trip to Greenwich, CT for matches against Sacred Heart and Pomfret School.