Phillips Exeter Academy Varsity Volleyball 1997

    The 1997 season started out strong for PEA Volleyball.  Four year letter winner, Emi Lizama and three year letter winner Anna Richardson co-captained an experienced team.  96 starters Emi, Anna, Lesley Belden, Jenny Vavra, and Caille Taylor were joined by senior Christena Cleveland and prep sensation Tei Carpenter.  The first four matches went well, with wins over Cushing, Loomis Chaffee, and Chelmsford.  An away loss to Northfield Mt. Hermon was tempered by strong play and winning one game.
 
    A close away loss to St. Pauls resulted in a shuffling of positions and the entry of Puja Ahluwalia to the starting lineup.  The loss psyched the team up for the rematch against NMH.  Big Red played hard and won the match 3-1, handing NMH their first loss in over 40 matches.  Unfortunately, the team was unable to retain its momentum and lost a close away match to rival Andover the next week.  After that loss, the team made some minor adjustments and focussed on preparing for the tournament, now a few weeks away.

    Three consecutive (but close) victories over Deerfield, St. Pauls, and Cushing showed the effectiveness of the new lineup and renewed spirit.  The only team PEA had yet to defeat was Andover.  Everybody knew the Exeter-Andover day match was a big one;  Exeter never won on its home court on Exeter-Andover day, and the winner of the match would carry momentum into the tournament the next day.  Big Red went down 2-0 early in close, hard fought games.  With our backs against the wall, we put together 2 wins to go to a rally scoring final game.  Exeter won 15-10 in front of a capacity crowd.  This match never fails to produce excitement.

    With 3 losses, Exeter was seeded 4th in the tournament, but had the consolation of knowing that we could (and had) beaten every team.  Of course, we also knew that we had to play our best volleyball to win.  Pool play went well, with victories over Deerfield and Andover.  As expected, we faced NMH in the finals.  Unfortunately, we never got going.  NMH seemed well-rested and ready.  Exeter had spent too much physical and emotional energy in two days of intense volleyball and had to settle for the second place trophy.

    Emi Lizama and Jenny Vavra were selected as Boston Globe All-Scholastic.  Congratulations to the whole team on an excellent season.  Good luck to the graduating seniors!
 

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