By Tess Letendre— School News Editor

Sharon High’s Girls Volleyball team is excited to get onto the court as they have been working hard in practices to get their season rolling. Coming out of a hot 2021 season last year that went 2 games deep into states, they hope to match their energy this year. 

The team is currently experiencing a lot of changes within their program. Not only have they lost 5 seniors from varsity, they have welcomed two new coaches, replacing last year’s junior varsity and varsity head coaches.

There are two new coaches for all 3 teams; varsity, junior varsity, and freshman, but although they are newly appointed, they are most certainly well known. The Sharon Volleyball program welcomes back Coach Andrea Lovett as varsity and freshman, and Coach Ronde Gassman taking on junior varsity. 

Captain Emily Coplan says she’s glad to welcome in both coaches because they have worked with the players before. “It’s nice to have familiar faces and we won’t have to rebuild a relationship with them because we’ve had relationships through school and sports before,” said Coplan. 

Senior Captain Olivia Nau is excited to work alongside both new coaches but she is upset about the loss of their graduated seniors. “I think it’s good to get some new insight into the sport,” said Nau. 

“We definitely lost some really good talent but I am hopeful that we can train everyone up, like we’ve all lost some skills, but we’re going to gain them back,” she added. 

Senior Captain Amanda Brown agrees. “Last year, our seniors passed on their energy onto us, and all the current seniors have been waiting for our senior year and are trying to make it the best year we can,” said Brown, emphasizing their ongoing energy and enthusiasm for their season. 

“I do think that it could affect the team chemistry, because most of the girls who were underclassmen have been pulled up from JV so it will take some time for us to gel together,” said Coplan. 

Prior to the beginning of their season, Coplan shared how she hopes to see the program grow as a whole due to the new facility and equipment. “I’m looking for improvements in our team dynamic between all 3 teams, and I’m looking to see more player dedication to the sport.”

Junior Masha Doljenkova shares that she is extremely excited to see how their team chemistry works, not only as friends but on the court too. 

Sophomore Piper Hanna is similarly eager to start. “I’m excited for the team spirit and working together and improving as a team,” she said. 

Nau says that if everyone is able to have fun while playing, all the other boxes, to have a good season, are checked. “I think that I’m just hoping to have fun and make sure that we create a really fun volleyball environment for everyone. If we win that will be super awesome but I know we have a great group of girls and I am just super excited to play with everyone,” said Nau.

Brown agrees. “We know volleyball is a team sport so definitely all of these aspects together are necessary, and we’ll decide as a team which needs to be prioritized over the other throughout the season,” said Brown.