LYNNFIELD — The Lynnfield volleyball team closed out its shortened season this past spring on the highest of notes, capturing its third straight Cape Ann League championship and finishing the year with just one loss.
Now, as the calendar turns over to the fall and a normal season is on the horizon, the Pioneers are aiming to defend their title once again.
“Last year was a really special one for all of us, and that class of seniors will always be special,” said Lynnfield coach Brent Ashley. “We had a great year and ended the season with a win, which almost never happens. It was a great way to close things out with that group, but we will have a new group coming in this year.”
It will be largely a different group in place to defend that title this fall, as five key seniors — Ava Buonfiglio, Jillian Babine, Daniella Colarusso, Olivia Murphy and Vanessa Torosian — all graduated in June.
“Those seniors were the last ones I ever coached on the JV squad, and they never had another coach other than me,” said Ashley. “We’ll always be really close in that aspect, and that group will always be special to me. Those will be some tough girls to replace.”
Luckily, the Pioneers have some talent coming back — starting with star junior outside hitter Ella Gizmunt.
“I’ll go out right now and say that Ella is the best player in the state and I will stand by that,” said Ashley. “She’s unreal out there, and I think she’s poised to have a really big year as a junior.”
Surrounding Gizmunt will be a host of players who saw some time in the spring but will be stepping into more full-time roles this fall. Grace Davie and Sophia Calle are two of the many juniors who will be looked upon to take the next step this season.
“It’s an interesting thing where we have almost entirely juniors on the team and a lot of them haven’t gotten a ton of playing time because we have had so many seniors,” said Ashley. “There are really going to be a lot of opportunities for girls to step up and take a bigger role on the team this year.”
One of the aspects of the game that Ashley is focusing on coming into the season is his team’s struggles with getting off to slow starts. He thinks that with an adjustment to the team’s serving philosophy, those problems will go away this fall.
“In practice so far, our serving has become a lot more powerful and aggressive, and I like the approach we’re taking,” said Ashley. “If we’re able to put more pressure on teams with our serves, I think that’ll help us avoid those slow starts that plagued us last year.”
The Pioneers have been grinding at practice over the past week and a half, even getting in a scrimmage against a tough, experienced Melrose team.
“I’ve been telling the girls since we got started, ‘you’ve got to live in the reps,'” said Ashley. “We’re grinding out there on the court and we’re also mentally engaging the girls off the court, so we’re really trying to get back into the flow and learning how to grind things out.”
Lynnfield opens up the season Monday evening (5:30) with a home game against Triton.
“The excitement and anxiety will all be there, so the key will be taking all of that noise, putting it away and just playing,” said Ashley. “It’ll be a great night where we’ll have the football team and all the families there cheering us on, so it’ll be a fun way to start off the season.”
