By Mahathi Uppuluri
On October 20th, the girls’ varsity volleyball team swept Stamford High School after winning 3-1. This match took place in Stamford High’s Kuzco gymnasium.
The secret of their outstanding performance? Teamwork and high morale.
“I think our biggest strength was definitely our energy and overall just the bond we have as a team. We work really well together when we work hard for what we want and we really play well,” said Finleigh Benkwitt (‘24).
After every play, the team makes sure to encourage everyone and they make sure they try their hardest on and off the court. One of their mottos is to leave everything on the court regardless of the outcome. This allows the team to keep moving forward and learn from their mistakes and commend their victories , rather than dwelling on the past. By working together to understand and help each other off the court, it helps them play connected, as one team.
“We do so much team bonding out of the sport and we just help each other out during school and give each other rides and the energy is always high,” said Liana Bilotti (‘23).
This idea of strong team chemistry is also reinforced by the coaches. Coach Caitlyn believes that when the team believes in one another, it allows them to communicate efficiently and play better on the court. She thinks that the young team has a lot of potential to keep developing their skills, and being completely comfortable with each other is crucial for the best performance, especially now that the team has qualified for the FCIAC.
“We need to work more on skill based communication and just coming together as a team really; Supporting one another and just being confident on the court, and I think that’s going to come over time because we do have a young team. In the beginning of the year, they had a difficult time, and once they really got to know each other, they became really successful, so I think if we keep that, we’re going to be great,” said Assistant Varsity Coach Caitlyn Santasiero.
