JV Volleyball travelled to Ethel Walker today to compete in their first match of the season. A talented squad with eight new players, this game was going to be a good test of the chemistry the team is starting to form. After just a week of practice, the team was nervous heading into their first match. This was a complete team win, as Taft swept Ethel Walker, 25-17, 25-10, 25-13. The team was good about substitutions and started to communicate better in the second and third games. Seven players recorded an ace today, including new players Kia Kellenberger '22 (seven aces), Fa Taepaisitphongse ‘22 (four aces), Omi Oliver '23 (eight aces), and Emma Jacobi '22 (three aces). Co-captain Carter Amaden '21 had five aces and Annie Segalas '21 had six impressive serves. Rounding out the aces was Holly Hu '21 with two. Caro Gura '22 and Katy Hrazdira '22 worked hard distributing the ball to the hitters at the net, and Co-Captain Keren Egu '21 was able to win a few close balls at the net. Tessa Graebner '21 was able to dominate as a middle hitter, recording two kills, and looks to have a great season. Elle Piercey '22 was very strong as an outside hitter and recorded five kills. India Brown '23 showed off her newly learned ambidextrous skills and has a lot of raw skill as a front row player. And finally, Coach Smyth recorded her first (of hopefully many) victory as a Taft coach! Taft will look to improve as a unit before we have our home opener next Wednesday against Berkshire at 2:45pm. Go Rhinos!