Item sports: Nashoba girls volleyball teams steps up for challenging season with pair of wins

BOLTON – After a slow start, the Nashoba Regional High School girls volleyball team is back on the winning track, notching two consecutive victories over the Advanced Math and Science Academy (AMSA).

Last Thursday, Nashoba swept the Eagles 3-0, for its second win of the season, with set scores of 25-22, 25-17, and 25-9. 

Leading the way for Nashoba were senior Danielle Dietel and junior Taylor Riley, with 11 digs and seven kills, respectively.

In the first victory over AMSA, also a shutout, Dietel, once again, sparked her team, making 10 serve-receive passes, and three digs, while Riley contributed eight kills and five blocks.

“Both wins were a whole team effort,” Nashoba coach Kristen Marino, in her fourth year at the helm, said. “It was nice to see all the girls stepping up and contributing. We had several, digs, and kills, and blocks from many of them.”

Due to the pandemic, Nashoba, normally a Midland-Wachusett League B Division team, is now in Pod 4 for the Fall II wedge season. In addition to AMSA, the other teams in the pod are Westboro, Algonquin, Wachusett, Shrewsbury, Shepherd Hill and Marlboro.

With the exception of AMSA, all the other teams in the pod are a division higher than Nashoba, and that has made a difference in Nashoba's 2-6 start.

“This season has been a different change of pace for us,” Marino said. “We are playing teams that we would normally play, maybe, once a season, but are now playing them twice.

“I’m very proud of the girls continuing to play at a high level, and always playing with intensity,” she said. “We have been playing consistent volleyball.

“We are in a difficult pod, but I welcome the challenge,” Marino added. “When we get back to the playoffs, we are going to be playing tough teams.”

Nashoba girls volleyball has been highly successful over the years, and a perennial District qualifier.

In the past three full seasons, Nashoba has pocketed a Mid-Wach B championship, one in which they went undefeated, two District quarterfinal appearances, and 48 victories.

Marino, a Walpole native and Stow teacher, who played volleyball at St. Anselm College, has been a strong advocate for the sport.

“I’ve always promoted the sport, and I was the (Nashoba) freshman coach for several years, so I knew the program was a very good one,” Marino said. “Volleyball is one of the fastest growing female sports, so the girls coming in are taking the sport seriously.

“Over the years, the word has spread about the program, and the girls that come out want to play,” Marino added. 

The team captains this season are seniors Audrey Arsenault and Freya Blackmore.

Arsenault is a setter, while Blackmore is an outside hitter.

“Audrey (Arsenault) is just a ball of energy,” Marino said. “Her presence gives everybody so much energy both on and off the court. She is an outspoken leader, and has been on the team for three years.

“She (Blackmore) has really grown over the years, and really fell in love with the game,” she said. “She is an organized leader, and has helped me with logistical things. She is very consistent on the court, and I know what I am going to get from her.”

The other seniors on the squad are Dietel, Lauren Bechara, Emma Zinn, Lydia Foster-Smith and Isabella Hogan.

Dietel is a defensive specialist, while Bechara is a setter. Zinn is a right-side hitter.

"Danielle (Dietel) is a force to be reckoned with,” Marino said. “She goes after every ball, and is a quiet leader, and leads by example.

“Laura (Bechara) always works hard to be better, and just goes out and does what she needs to do for us,” she said. “She is confident on the court.

“Emma (Zinn) is another hard worker, who works hard in practice and in the matches,” Marino said.

Foster-Smith is a middle hitter, while Hogan is a defensive specialist.

“Lydia (Foster-Smith) is one of the happiest people you’ll ever meet,” Marino said. “She is very upbeat, and positive, and always cheering her teammates on. She sees the best in everybody.

“(Hogan) is crushing it as well,” she said. “She always tries to do her best on the court, and is always striving to better herself and the team.”

Riley, Devyn Wells, Norah Bracci, Adelaide Ogden, Sarah Leonard, Alexandra Descoteaux and Lucy Johnson are the team’s juniors. 

The team’s two sophomores are Kylie Doherty and Catherine Traywick.

“Kylie Doherty is a setter and right-side hitter, and plays all the way around,” Marino said. “She can bring the heat, and is one of our top hitters.

“She is consistent at the net and can connect, through setting, with our other hitters,” she said. “Her defensive skills are very good as well.”

Marino has seen steady improvement in her team, and is looking forward to the rest of the season.

“Everyone on the team is so coachable,” Marino said. “Even with a shortened season, they have all improved so much. They do what I ask them to do, and that is all I can ask of them.

“They have grown so much as players, and really getting to learn the game itself,” she said. “We started out with some strong teams, but we never give up. Even if we are down, we don’t play as if we are down.

“As a coach, I don’t worry so much about the wins or losses, but how hard they try, and they are giving everything they have, every game,” Marino said. “They are smart with the ball and mix things up, and that is a huge part of the game.”

Although Marino was thrilled to get her team back on the court in the Fall II format, she is looking forward to a more normal season in the fall.

“We have followed all the (COVID-19) safety protocols, but we aren’t as impacted as much as some of the other sports,” Marino said. “The thing I miss the most is at the end of the game, when the players congratulate each other.

“Many of them know each other, and have friends on the other team,” she said. “Just waving at each other isn’t the same.”