The girls beach volleyball team finished with an overall winning record of 7-2 in its inaugural 2022 season.

Head Coach Natalie Morgan said many components such as players’ prior experiences with the sport contributed to the team’s successful season.

“There were many factors in having a winning first season,” Morgan said. “The leadership and guidance from experienced beach players and seniors helped the team learn the nuances and tactics very rapidly, allowing for a great first season.”

Morgan said despite the team’s achievements this season, she has noted areas of improvement that the team should focus on to become even stronger.

“For next season, a big focus will be limiting errors and better passing,” Morgan said. “When we [do] well at those skills, we are a difficult team to beat.”

Alex Adishian ’23 said the team can improve by becoming more aggressive in games.

“Overall, we had a great first season playing for [the school] ,” Alex Adishian said. “Looking ahead to next year, I think our coaches would like to see us all continue to develop our technique and have a more aggressive mindset during tough competition, even when we may [be] down a few points in a game.”

As she took on the challenge of experimenting with numerous roles, Alex Adishian said she honed her blocking technique.

“I think my blocking improved a lot this season,” Alex Adishian said. “Usually, I play the role of the defender, but this season at HW, I had a chance to play both blocker and defender.”

Bella Adishian ’24 said the team’s dedication at practices and games helped inspire the team’s success this season.

“We worked hard during practice, always focusing on good technique that could be implemented in games,” Bella Adishian said. “Each athlete put in a lot of effort in practices and games, allowing for us to win many games. Our 7-2 win-loss ratio is a reflection of the hard work that we put into training consistently.”

After playing indoor volleyball, Olivia Suddleson ’24 said she faced a difficult learning curve in learning to play beach volleyball. l

“I definitely improved on my overall understanding and application of new skills on the sand throughout the season,” Suddleson said. “Beach volleyball is very different from indoor [volleyball] , and just practicing on the sand more allowed me to improve.”

Suddleson said she has made various memories throughout the season and

“The team and the coaches were definitely my highlight for the season,” Suddleson said. “Not only was it extremely fun to hang out at the beach twice a week, but I was also improving at the sport while having fun with everyone.”

Izzy Hyman ’22 said she is grateful to have participated in the beach volleyball season after playing indoor volleyball

“I quit indoor [volleyball] during the [COVID-19] pandemic and thought I’d never play again,” Hyman said. “So I was so glad to be given another opportunity to play volleyball before I go to college.”

As a graduating senior, Hyman said playing for the team allowed her to connect with students from different grade levels.

“As a senior, it was so nice to be able to go to the beach after school to play a low stakes and super fun sport before graduating,” Hyman said. “I was one of the few seniors on the team, so it was a great opportunity to meet kids in different grades before we graduate.”