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08/28/2017 02:57 PMThe Guilford volleyball team has made some major headway when it comes to garnering respect among their fellow Southern Connecticut Conference squads in recent seasons. With a balanced mix of new and familiar faces back in the fold, the Indians are ready to take it to the next level in 2017.
Last fall, Head Coach Laura Meyer’s club finished with an overall record of 10-11, while qualifying for both the SCC and Class L State tournaments. Although the Indians waved good-bye to plenty of quality players from the 2016 campaign, they also return several key people this season and are expecting to get an added boost from their underclass athletes.
“The coaches and the returning girls from varsity thought early on that we would be in a rebuilding year this season with the loss of talent from last year that graduated,” said Coach Meyer, whose team opened the year with a 3-1 win versus East Lyme. “But given the talent that has come up this year, along with the other girls that have returned, there is a will to win here, and I think we will be better than we anticipated we would be earlier.”
This year, the Indians are being guided by a tandem of senior captains who will make an impact on both sides of the ball in Julia Hyman and Trinity Flynn. Flynn, a right-side hitter, returns to Guilford for her third year on the varsity team, while Hyman will serve as the Indians’ setter in her second varsity season. Coach Meyer said that both players feature excellent skill sets that mesh well with their supreme leadership abilities.
“Trinity has an incredible vertical jump, an un-returnable hit on the ball, and a great block. There were games last year where she would just shut down the outside hitter on the other team,” Meyer said. “Julia has served as a utility player for us in the past, and she’s a good server. Both girls are great role models on the team, and the other girls really look up to them.”
Elsewhere for the Indians, senior Amanda King is back for her third varsity campaign on the heels of a season that saw her earn All-SCC Second Team accolades as Guilford’s outside hitter. Also, for the first time in Coach Meyer’s tenure at the helm of the program, the Indians will feature a pair of freshmen competitors in the varsity ranks with outside hitter Emma Appleman and libero Juliet Young.
“Amanda plays all the way around. She hits the ball very smart and always tips it to the opening on the court. Her serve in the preseason has already been more consistent than last year,” said Meyer. “Emma is our outside hitter, but she can also set. Both [freshmen] have great serves and always make great efforts towards the ball.”
The Indians are once again competing in the SCC Oronoque Division with the likes of primary rival Hand, as well as Mercy, West Haven, and Career. Coach Meyer anticipates some tight matchups against these schools, and her team is also expanding its schedule to face a few new non-conference adversaries this fall.
“Hand is our rival and we always have great games with them, and they are typically our opponent for our Dig Pink games for breast cancer awareness,” said Meyer, whose squad plays at Hand at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15. “Mercy is also a great opponent. We went 1-1 against them last year, so they should be exciting. Shelton and Sheehan are also big teams, plus we open and close the regular season with East Lyme.”
The Indians started their season on a winning note by earning a 3-1 decision (25-19, 25-16, 22-25, 25-15) over East Lyme at home on Sept. 9. Some of Guilford’s key contributors in the win included King (10 kills, 7 digs, 2 aces), Hyman (25 assists, 12 digs, 2 aces), Young (13 digs, 10-of-10 serving, 2 aces), freshman Hunter Halbower (6 kills, 6 blocks), and Appleman (5 kills, 5 digs, 4 aces).
In examining her program’s expectations in the standings, Coach Meyer said she wants the Indians earn their way to a return trip to both postseason draws this season. Meyer also wants to see Guilford benefit from having a team at all three levels of the high school game in order to build a sorority of sisters who bond on and off the volleyball court.
“On the court, we want to get to those eight wins at least and make SCCs and states, which we’ve done the past few years,” Meyer said. “We have three teams here in freshman, JV, and varsity, which we are lucky to have. We are trying to make all of that into one and have all of the girls on the three teams get to know each other. We also practice all together, which definitely helps with that.”
From the Sidelines
Laura Meyer is back for her fourth season as head coach of the Guilford volleyball squad.
Meyer’s coaching staff features varsity assistant/JV coach Jeff DeMaio, who is also head coach of the Indians’ boys’ basketball team, along with freshman coach Alyssa Dunn.
Guilford’s divisional matchups come against Hand (Friday, Sept. 15, away; Friday, Oct. 6, home), Mercy (Monday, Sept. 25, home; Friday, Oct. 20, away), Career (Friday, Sept. 22, away; Monday, Oct. 16, home), and West Haven (Monday, Sept. 18, home; Tuesday, Oct. 10, away).