Windham High volleyball squads showcase skills against Scarborough

By Matt Pascarella

In their first games of the regular fall season, Windham High’s varsity and junior varsity volleyball teams took on Scarborough Friday, Sept. 3 at Scarborough High School and showcased determination and great improvement. Although the Lady Eagles fell 3-0 to the Red Storm, Windham set the tone that this season will be one where they will give a strong effort every game.

Windham High's Victoria Lin, a junior, taps the ball just enough
to get it over the net during the Lady Eagles' season opener
for varsity volleyball  against Scarborough High on
Sept. 3. PHOTO BY MATT PASCARELLA  

Windham’s JV squad fell 2-0, but not before they showed Scarborough that they had hustle during every game in the match.

Varsity

The teams played a match of the best of three games, with Windham coming together nicely in Game One. Scarborough took an early lead, but soon the game was tied.

The Lady Eagles had good communication and made several smart plays to add points to the scoreboard. Windham was not far behind Scarborough. Windham junior Scarlette Sawyer had a nice spike as the Lady Eagles closed the gap. After a great effort by Windham, Scarborough got this one 25-12.

In game two, Scarborough took an early lead, but Windham was quick to put themselves on the scoreboard. Windham had several serves Scarborough just couldn’t return. Windham sophomore Savannah Heanssler dove for a ball and returned a serve; senior Samantha Murphy did the same as Windham showed Scarborough what they were capable of. While Windham played hard, Scarborough won 25-5.

Game Three brought no lack of intensity from the Lady Eagles. The Red Storm had a lead, but Windham wasn’t far behind. Windham continued to play smart until the very end. Scarborough won 25-12.

“I think as a team we played really well together,” said Murphy. “I feel like we really bonded this year; we could have done better, we can always do better, but there’s always next game.”

Murphy said she thought this season was going to be a lot better than last, because they are making a better connection and have a more positive outlook.

Windham varsity volleyball coach Chuck Fleck said he knew Scarborough was going to come at Windham hard. They could have done a little bit better, but he is confident they’ll end up on top throughout the season.

JV

The games are best of three and in game one, Windham put themselves on the board early. They were returning serves and working well together with nice volleying. The Lady Eagles had a great effort, but Scarborough won 25-5.

In game two, Windham scored early and pulled ahead. When Scarborough got a lead, Windham was not far behind. Windham freshman McKenzie Keeney had a solid serve coupled with several volleys that Scarborough eventually couldn’t return. Windham kept adding points to their score.

Windham sophomore Lilly McLean had an awesome serve that helped the Lady Eagles bridge the gap after Scarborough had begun to pull away. So did Windham sophomore Jocelynn McFarlane. After a tough game, Windham lost 25-17.

“They came out ready to play,” said Windham JV volleyball coach Megan Fleck. She added that Windham had some nerves which were definitely a part of it but were able to shake them off and showed they could play.

McLean said she thought they did really well and wishes everyone could have seen them at practice to see how well they pulled together. She said that she thinks Windham will be able to pull together and win a lot of their future games. <