Above: Isabella Errante makes the kill between two defenders. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

The Avengers lost to Chariho in straight sets last week – 25-14, 25-14, and 25-23 – putting an end to their season at the quarterfinal round. There was a bit of foreboding when head coach Sam Paquette took a shot that jammed her wrist during warmups. She would spend the game wearing an ice bag.

EG started out slow and they just couldn’t seem to get their feet under them, unable to win enough points despite returning almost everything Chariho threw at them. 

After the game, Coach Paquette said Chariho was a team that doesn’t make many mistakes and EG needed to play its A game. They didn’t find that until the third set. 

“I feel as though as a team we looked onto this season with a bit of apprehension as we had lost five seniors,” said team co-captain Gabi Jackson. “Yet, I think things ended up working out better than we could have anticipated as so many girls worked hard before and throughout the season. Different players from all grades stepped up and filled those empty roles making the transition almost seamless. Being able to have a freshman team and see so many new faces on the court was amazing. It’s so exciting to see the program grow, creating opportunities for younger and developing players. Though we had our struggles and things didn’t end exactly as we wanted them to, I only look back on the year and see countless moments of excitement and improvement. Overall I am so happy of the way the team grew together.”

Jackson’s co-captain Amanda Duke felt similarly. 

“I couldn’t be more proud of all the girls,” said Duke. “We created our little community in EG Girls Volleyball, from the bus rides, to pasta dinners, to practices. I could count on every single one of my teammates to pull me through any of the little rough patches we faced. Our expectations coming into the season were quite low as we lost almost our whole starting lineup but it was just amazing to see everyone step up and create such a competitive atmosphere. I loved seeing the whole new dynamic of the freshman team that we didn’t have last season. There were so many girls supporting each other through games we made our own student section with all three of the teams. It was such a fun season and I loved getting to create new connections while strengthening the existing friendships from the last seasons.”

That’s Kaitlyn Toce behind all that hair after making a block. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Chloe Hartman makes the dig. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Stella Ruff goes up for the serve. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Kaitlyn Toce makes the kill. Photo by Chuck Nadeau

Coach Paquette sporting an ice bag on her wrist after a pre-game injury. Photo by Chuck Nadeau