Features

Varsity volleyball serves up a Christmas game with the faculty

December 20, 2018

The student-faculty basketball game is a time-honored Sacred Heart Greenwich Christmas tradition. However, this year it has changed to a student-faculty volleyball match which occurred today, bringing faculty, staff, and students together before leaving for Christmas break. The varsity volleyball team joined forces with Sacred Heart alumnae who were previously varsity volleyball team members.

Dr. William Mottolese takes a foul shot for the faculty during the student versus faculty basketball game, 2017. Courtesy of Ms. Haley Sonneland

The school decided to switch from basketball to volleyball this year because the varsity basketball team is spending the beginning of Christmas break in Orlando, Florida. There, the squad will attend the Kaylee Scholarship Association basketball tournament.
Last year’s game was the tightest matchup ever with the varsity basketball team defeating the teachers 33 to 28. Mr. Brendan Heller, Athletic Operations Manager, shared his thoughts on previous games and his optimism for the new tradition.

“I look forward to the basketball game every winter, so it was unfortunate the timing didn’t work out this year with the basketball team traveling to a tournament,” Mr. Heller said. “With that being said, the past two losses really hit me hard, and I’m still not really over them. It was demotivating to lose to the varsity team the past two years, so this change of sport might be the change of pace … [the faculty] need to get back in the win column.”

After a successful 2018 season, the varsity volleyball team was looking forward to competing against the teachers. Sophomore, Eva Canellakis shared her excitement about participating in the match.

The varsity volleyball team takes on the faculty in the DuBois gym. Jacey Heffernan ’21

“I’m really excited that volleyball gets to play this year, and I hope we can be just as good as basketball last year,” Eva said.
The Varsity team won the first set with a score of 25 points, while the faculty trailed with 11 points.
Sacred Heart alumnae Brooke Wilkens ’16, Katie Kablack ’17, Jenna Whelan ’17, Laura Holland ’18, and Ellie Mckenney ’18 joined the team on the court and helped them to stay strong through the second set, winning with a score of 25 to 16. Senior co-captain CMeijah Donaldson shared her thoughts on the impact of reuniting with old teammates.
“I think that having the alumnae back was super exciting and really brought more energy to the team,” CMeijah said. “It’s always great when our alumnae come back because it shows that they are still supporting us even though they have graduated. Having that support ultimately helped us to win the game.”
-Jacey Heffernan, Staff Writer
Featured image by Jacey Heffernan ’21