Alice Yoo ‘27
Oct 4, 2024
Last Saturday, during family weekend, Blue Storm’s girls’ tennis, volleyball, girls’ and boys' soccer, and field hockey teams competed against The Hun School of Princeton. Family members were on deck during the matches, cheering for the athletes.
The girls’ tennis team prepared diligently for the match and ultimately defeated The Hun School 5-2. Hisano Enomoto ’25 said, “We have been working on our doubles a lot. Part of the reason is that we only have limited courts in the [Hale] Fieldhouse due to rain. But other than that, consistency and ‘first serve in’ are things we always work on.”
After the match, Cate Dougherty ’25 commented, “Having my parents at the match added another layer of pressure, but I often feel like I thrive under pressure and was able to pull off both of the wins because they were there.” Ava Marathe ’26 added, “Overall, we won, which I was glad about, especially since we played in [the fieldhouse], which we normally don’t.”
The volleyball team secured a victory of 3-0 with their new lineup. Alyssa Lee ’25 stated, “A lot of players on the team are playing new positions, so we're still working on finding a lineup that works and trying to encourage each other.” Lee continued, “We also have a smaller team this year compared to previous years, so we are all pretty close and encourage one another.”
The girls’ soccer team aimed for balance after facing a rough start to the year with injuries and illnesses. “We competed against a couple of very good teams right out of the gate, which put a big demand on our team physically and mentally,” said Head Coach Kristen Pixler. “Against Hun, we want to play our game: move the ball quickly and creatively, and support one another whether we are on attack, defense, or in transition.”
“I know the whole team is super excited to have family and friends come watch! While I know some may be a little bit nervous about having parents come to watch, I believe these nerves will play a positive role in the game this weekend and will definitely lead us to play better,” said Solie Stenger ’25 before the game. With families cheering loudly from the sidelines, the team pulled off the win with a late-game goal by Marlo Williams ‘25.
The boys’ soccer team also had a mixed start to the season. Pedro Abranches Pederneiras ’26 said, “Our team has been working to improve everything. We practice to [play] the best game we can perform, not only for this Saturday, but from now on, such as [our] positioning and formation.” Prior to playing, Simon Brennan ’26 stated, “We all have a sense of pride to make our families proud, so I think that we have something to prove but either way we go hard in every single practice. I love families being there. The crowd getting into it motivates us, and we felt the yelling and cheering.”
Although the boys’ game ended 0-4, the team is not discouraged. Brennan said, “It hasn’t been a great season record-wise. We have some things to work on, but we know that if we take the advice and coaches [head coach] Clark and [coach] Slater are giving us, we know we can start putting together some wins.”
The field hockey team focused on maintaining the team’s morale and grit. Head coach Michaela Singer said, “Something we take pride in is our grit. Every game, every minute, the team battles until the final buzzer. We've had some strong performances against some challenging opponents so far this season. The team is working hard every day to improve and are optimistic about our progress as we move forward.”
While the team looked forward to showcasing new skills in front of families, the spectators added pressure to the game. Unfortunately, the team was blanked in a score of 0-7. Following the match, Ava Guzic ’25 said, “We had some good moments where we got the ball up the field and put some good pressure on their defense. It was definitely added pressure having the family members there, but I don't really think it affected our play.”