By Christopher Tremblay

With Covid-19 running rapid amongst the country for the past year, high school athletics have not only been put on hold for a period of time, but when they did get back to playing, they had to endure all sorts of changes.  Norwood volleyball, which usually begins in September, was one of many indoor sports that was put on hold by the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA). Now that the winter season is complete, the extra season is about to begin.

“I believe that having the season postponed is better,” Norwood Coach Paul Nimblett said. “Originally the girls were upset that they were not having a season, but they are better off. They were able to get protocols right by waiting. The girls have to wear masks at all times and sanitize their hands each time they come off the court. There is also no hand shaking and the ball gets wiped down after every set giving us a game that is much closer to normal.”

The moved season will be broken up into the large and small schools of the Tri Valley League and will consist of 12 games. Norwood will square off against the large schools while also adding Norton and Dedham to their schedule. Each week, teams will play a home and away game against the same team with no tournament play at the end of the season.

Norwood’s season was slated to open at Medfield, on Tuesday March 9, at press time, with their first home game two days later on the 11th. During the tryouts, which saw a greater number of athletes trying out than in the past, the Mustang Coach could see how excited the girls were to eventually be back on the court.  The inflated number of tryouts were due to volleyball being played during the extra season. Athletes who usually played a different sport during the volleyball season were looking to do something different and tried out for the team.

Three-year athletes for the team, senior captains Lexi Curivan (setter) and Sydney Waitekus (middle hitter), will lead the Mustangs onto the court during the abbreviated season. Nimblett is glad to have two captains that have been with him and grown over the three years.

Other seniors who will be playing for Norwood will be back-up setter Chloe Mason, who can also play other positions, but Nimblett likes the option of running a 6-2 with two setters on the floor at the same time. In addition to Mason, seniors Kaitlyn Ford, the team’s libero who moved up at the end of last season; Sophia Eliodoulous and Diana Ekechukwu, both middle hitters; Kushi Shah, a defensive specialist, and Shaelyn Avery, a utility player who can play anywhere, will be on the courts for the Mustangs.

In addition to having a larger number of seniors on this year’s squad, the Mustangs also boast a very strong group of juniors as well who should definitely be a huge help. Kimberly Hanoian, a libero who is transferring to hitter; Elizabeth Hankson, an outside hitter who played during the off-season and has upped her game; Katie Mellon, a middle hitter who will supply Norwood with outside and inside force, and Alexia Martinez, a setter, all will bring something to the court.

Although the Norwood Coach will not really know what he has until the season gets underway, he is very excited about his sophomores. Shannon Brady and Brianne Fitzgerald have impressed the Coach thus far during tryouts and practices. 

While the large division of the TVL is primarily tough, much like his team, Nimblett doesn’t really know what he is up against until they actually take to the court and get to see what the opposition brings.

“I don’t know what we are up against at this point,”Nimblett said. “Hopkinton is always a tournament team and thus far I have been seeing good things in practice and believe that we will be competitive. I’m anxious to see how things go, especially playing now and our next season being just around the corner, where it will hopefully be back to normal.”

 Playing in a Covid year, the team will not be allowed to gather outside of practice as they’ve done in the past to build camaraderie; instead, they will have to do it on the court. However, Nimblett sees no issues with his team.

“Playing in the TVL large will be tough, as it usually is, but the girls will bring energy to the court and build toward the future,” Nimblett said. “Just to see them out and happy and playing the game they love is great. And although there will be some fans (only 2 per girl), we are not sure how it will affect their play.”