By Chris Ferrick-Manley
Deanna Lehr, photo by McDaniel Sport Information
After the Green Terror easily defeated Bryn Mawr three games to zero, the volleyball team sees that despite its relative youth, it can build on its success from last season when they went 18-10 and 6-4 in the Centennial Conference.
Head Coach Carole Molloy is entering her 15th season at the helm of the volleyball team. Molloy picked Haverford, who started 10-0, as the team to beat going into the season. According to Molloy, coaches are not allowed to select their own teams in the preseason poll. Other top teams should be Franklin & Marshall, Gettysburg, and Johns Hopkins, she said.
“We should be where we were last year or better,” said Molloy. “The team feels confident in its ability to feed off the success we had last year.”
Deanne Lehr, the team captain for the second consecutive year and a four year starter at outside hitter, believes that the team is talented enough to play for the conference championship.
“We’re definitely capable of it,” said Lehr. “We’re working on a better offensive attack to go with our solid defense.”
In her capacity as team captain, Lehr said her job was to motivate the team when the coaches were occupied and serve as a mentor to the younger players. She said it was important that the team stayed together and did not fight.
Kelly Toms, a freshman on the team at middle hitter and right side, laughs about some of the duties freshmen have on the road trips but agrees that the team is very close.
“We always get stuck doing the crappy stuff,” said Toms. “Underclassmen get along with upperclassmen though.”
Toms also believes that the team will do well this season and gives credit to Molloy whom Toms describes as “very motivational.”
Molloy also gave a brief list of the various volleyball positions and rules for those unfamiliar with the sport.
• Setter, who Molloy describes as running the offense “like a quarterback”
• Right Side Hitters, who play opposite the setter
• Middle Hitters, who are usually the tallest players on the team
• Outside Hitters, who play on the left side
• Libero, a defensive player that does not count as a substitution
• Each team gets six players on the court, 15-18 substitutions, and two timeouts
• Matches are played best three out of five to 30 points, 15 points if there is a 15th game.
Currently, the Terror’s record stands at 4-4 and 1-0 in the conference. The next home game is September 29.