Hayes Goodman ’27
Contributing Writer
Trinity Volleyball began the year undefeated with five consecutive three-set sweeps, led by a strong offense. They lead their opponents in kills, assists, aces and digs by a wide margin, and had only made 29 errors. On Friday, they clashed with No. 2 ranked Colby, a team which had just won the East-West Classic tournament in Atlanta, GA.
Colby won the first two sets with an aggressive attack. The third set was tightly contested, with Trinity pulling ahead to win 25-23. Amy Boller ’29 and Emma Ewart ’29 each had impressive kills, and Scarlett Jago ’27 was a defensive standout, absorbing powerful spikes and directing the ball to her teammates. In the fourth set, Bella Nash ’27 served well and dove on the floor for a couple digs. Chloe Gentile ’27 and Maya Hall ’28 each had a block at the net on match point, but the team could not slow Colby’s momentum, losing the set 25-22.
Ewart (14 kills, 15 digs) and Boller (12 kills, 11 digs) each scored a double-double, and Jago finished with 20 digs. Maya Hall ’28 contributed 9 kills and 5 assists, and Catalina Hendricks ’27 added a team-high 17 assists.
In an interview with the Tripod, middle blocker Grace Soltis ’27 said: “The gameplan was to get four hands up in the air at all times to make things easier for our back row, and we did a great job of that tonight.” Despite the loss, Bella Nash ’27 showed tenacity: “In the third set, I realized we really had a chance of coming back here, so I locked in.” Moving forward, Maya Pace ’27 added: “We definitely want to hit the deep corners when our opponents come in, and close the block.”
Nash employs an unusual serving technique, hitting the ball about five feet farther back than most players. She explained, “When I got to Trinity, I was always blasting the ball out. I didn’t like how hard the ball was getting to them, it was easier to return. So when I step back, the ball has more flow and it’s harder to pass.” When asked if she focuses on placement, she added: “It depends on the moment, but I mostly want to have a tough, reliable serve. If I overthink the placement, I might mess it up, so I’m just focused on staying in flow.”
Coach Jen Bowman commented, “I was most impressed with our defensive effort. After the first two sets, we were scrappy and our blocking was better. It was fun to watch.” The volleyball team is high-spirited during games, with the bench always cheering on the players. I asked Bowman why the players chant “Side-out” during games. She explained, “Side-out means when the returning team wins the point and the serving team doesn’t get the ball back. It’s a holdover from old school volleyball, when only the serving team could win a point. It basically means, let’s get this ball back and score.”
Volleyball will face more tough NESCAC opponents in the next few weeks, including No.15 Wesleyan and No. 13 Tufts.
