A strong serve is sent over the net towards Westford Academy’s half of the court. Within seconds, the libero bumps it up, resulting in a perfect set. An outside hitter slams it down, increasing WA’s lead once more. This was a common occurrence for the Westford Academy Girls Volleyball team this season.

The WA Girls’ Varsity Volleyball Team ended their season with a record of 8-13. Although they had a losing record, the girls reached their biggest goals by making it to the state playoffs and improving their record from last year which was 6-12.

The girls were impressed with how they played this season, as they grew individually and together as a team.

Head Coach Brandon Eang said that senior captains Mia Rose and Catherine Crane made the largest impact on the varsity team this year. He could always rely on them to be leaders for the team and encourage everybody no matter the circumstance.

Additionally, Eang credited his players’ consistent positive attitudes towards the game. No matter the score or how they were playing, his team would provide positive energy on and off the court.

At the beginning of the season, WA beat Lowell in a tight five set match. An extreme amount of energy was brought to the court, and everyone put their entire effort into this game.

“We brought so much energy which helped us earn the win,” Dupre said. “This game served as a model for what we wanted to achieve throughout the rest of the season.”

This year’s team consisted of mostly seniors, a few juniors, and three sophomores. Although she is only a sophomore, Eang acknowledged Sophie Krauss’s drastic improvement.

“I thought Sophie Krauss improved,” Eang said. “She developed consistency in her serves and attacks.”

Looking on to next season, Eang believes that for more improvement to be possible, his players need to work well together as a team. Eang considers passing to be one of the most important aspects of the game his team needs to focus on.

“Coach Eang has always been very focused on our passing, as it is one of our weaker points,” Dupre said. “I think that this season especially, through our constant repetition of serves, receives, and defense drills, we were able to vastly improve our back row and it became something we were a lot stronger in than in past seasons.”

This season the girls spent a lot of time together outside of practices and games as well. They wanted to build their bond as a team so they could also improve how they played with each other on the court.

“We had so many team dinners where we got to know each other off the court which was really beneficial because it made us comfortable with each other to the point where we could work together on the court and at practice,” Dupre said.

Announced at the end of the season were next year’s captains. Junior Jocelyn Vogel, junior Jenny Alexander, and Krauss will be next year’s captains. Eang saw how they are all dedicated to the team, and put a lot of effort into what they do.

Despite the team’s ultimate losing record, Eang was still proud of his team in the end.

“[We wanted] to make it to the state playoffs and we accomplished that goal,” Eang said. “I am proud of our team.”