SPORTS
The Providence Day varsity volleyball team is on the fast track to the championship.
By Delaney Emerine and Ben Highum
The PDS varsity volleyball team is poised to have an extremely successful second half of their season. Currently 21-6, the team is in a very strong position to contend for the state championship. Three years ago, this would have been an unrealistic goal for the team, but over the past two years, Charger volleyball has experienced a complete rehaul.
With a large focus on teamwork and a positive attitude, the varsity team can be described as a family. Exemplifying this trait is what head coach Emily Carrara calls "family day" practices. In each family unit, a varsity player is the matriarch to a junior varsity player, eighth grader and seventh grader in her squad. This creates a great learning environment for players of all ages. "Some of the most special moments this season have been watching the younger players learn during family day practices," Carrara said. These practices really embody her vision for the program. When asked about these family days, Nell Warnock, a member of the varsity team, stated that the team has bonded a lot through these practices.
When asked how she keeps her team excited and motivated, Coach Carrara focuses on their dream catcher theme and what she calls their "No matter what's". During the preseason, the dream catcher theme was adopted. A dream catcher is a spiritual object that resembles a wheel made of twigs with a web of twine in the interior. The twine creates a hole in the middle of the wheel. Hanging from the bottom are feathers.
While a person sleeps, pleasant dreams flow through the center hole and down the feather into their mind. The bad dreams are caught in the web and burn off when sun hits the device. Every player on the team was given a dream catcher and it brings the group together. A very special moment was when the team presented a dreamcatcher to Head of School Glyn Cowlishaw. Another philosophy of the team is their "No matter whats" policy. No matter what happens, the team remains positive. These are things they always stand by regardless of the situation. It doesn't matter how bad they are getting beat, these are their tenets.
While the energy of the team is very impressive, the excellence doesn't stop there. On paper, they are one of the strongest teams in the state. Beating Country Day for the first time in recent years, the team is a certainly a force to be reckoned with. Lexi Mitchell, one of the team's captains, has a very impressive 254 kills and 50 aces. Maddie Grace Hough has an amazing 193 digs. Providence Day volleyball is on a fast track to the state championship.
Volleyball:
Dreams of success
Senior Carly Britt makes an incredible save.
Photo courtesy of Mike McCarn Photography
PD volleyball players make a pivotal play.
Photo courtesy of Mike McCarn Photography