Brooke Black, Jacqueline Vergis, Caroline Maloney
Staff Writers
“The New Hope-Solebury Girls’ Volleyball team is looking fresh this season, quite literally” says senior Caroline Maloney.
Coach Roy Watson has started his fourth season at NH-S by integrating the new freshmen talent that he has to work with. The team has played three games this fall season and has already won two out of the three. The loss was to Octorara High School, where our girls endured a nail biting five set fight that ultimately ended in favor of the Braves, a team who traveled two hours to the home of the Lady Lions just to play.
Interestingly enough, unlike past years, this season the varsity lineup consists of almost half freshman players. Linked to this is the time and energy these girls have put into their club volleyball experiences out of season. Coach Watson has always encouraged the girls to go out for club, and this year we’re really seeing the impact of his tireless work ethic and passion to pass on his love for the game. Like previous years, several girls attended the Penn State volleyball camp along with the annual week-long skills camp held here at New Hope in July. A lot of the freshmen coming into the high school from the middle school had an opportunity to bond with the upperclassmen, including captains Skylar Sherman, Caleigh Roach and Rachel McMahon, before the season had begun.
The team is currently represented by all four grades, with varsity captains in both senior and junior classes. The captains have enjoyed the mix of ages, giving them different skill sets and new knowledge added to the team. The team is confident that they will continue to succeed throughout the 2016 fall season with Coach Roy Watson and Coach Chris Marchok.
