The Maples defeated cross town rival Groves September 15 in a thriller that ended in a 3-2 Maple victory (25-21, 24-26, 25-20, 20-25, 15-12), but were met by a very rowdy crowd.
“Entering the Groves gym you could tell they wanted to beat us,” said junior captain Taylor Stinson about their recent game against Groves.
“The crowd of Groves football players and students were hyped, T-shirts saying "beat Seaholm" had been made, and of course the gym wouldn't have been complete without a poster saying "Burn the Leaf", which the team ran through during introductions,” Stinson said.
Despite the crowd, the Maples still played very well.
“We had great energy against Groves,” said head coach Heather Lippert. “The girls really wanted to win. We didn't give up when we lost a set.”
“We played really well and made minimal mistakes,” sophomore Paige Neuenfeldt said.
Seaholm added another win to their strong 2-1 record last Thursday with an easy 3-0 win over Troy Athens (25-9, 25-13, 25-12).
“The team played well together,” said junior captain Alex Gothard. “We had a lot of energy throughout the entire match.”
The Maples are looking to build upon where they left off last year. Seaholm lost to Marian in the district finals last season and are determined to win the league this year.
“Our goal is to win the conference this year,” Neuenfeldt said
“And to work hard. Which we have seen so far,” Lippert added.
The Maples have made many big changes this year to accomplish these goals.
“This year we are really concentrating on defense and making less mistakes,” Neuenfeldt said.
“We have been working hard every practice and have seen improvement every week,” Coach Lippert said. “The girls work at approaching hard and being aggressive either attacking or tipping the ball.
Serving and serve reception is also a huge part of our practice routine. The girls work with Mr. Carlton three days a week to maintain strong bodies.”
Seaholm has many spots to fill after losing 3 seniors from last season, including Anya Cekauskas who now plays for Yale. But surprisingly almost all of these spots were filed by underclassman. The varsity squad has only 2 seniors, none of who are starting.
“Last year we lost 3 seniors, all of which were fantastic front row players,” Stinson said. “However, this year we've come out with positive attitudes and high energy which really intimidates other teams regardless of our age or size.”
The Maples next game is Thursday October 1 at Rochester High School.
