Kent School’s inaugural season of varsity volleyball was amazing for the Lions, ending with an outstanding 11-1 record. The season started great, beginning with a ten game winning streak that included thrillers against Canterbury and Sacred Heart. Head coach Anne Ross describes the season as “Phenomenal” and stated, “We exceeded expectations on every level.”

The team elected leaders, assistant Captain Gabby Sullivan ‘21 and Captain Jane Malafronte ‘19 led the team. Malafronte described the first ever season as “an overall positive experience.” Despite having girls from various backgrounds with many different levels of experience and volleyball ability, the team was able to quickly bond together. Coach Ross described the team as “girls [that] love to work hard and play hard.”

Malafronte states, “the team energy has grown closer and closer” and that “everyone’s knowledge of the game has increased since the first day.” As one of the more experienced volleyball players on the team, she set a positive example for the girls on and off the court.

In their close game against Sacred Heart, in which they won three sets to two, the team impressively fought back from being two sets down. Malafronte says that the girls “were able to keep the energy throughout” and that even though “the other team was strong, our team was relentless.”

Announced in January 2018, the enthusiasm behind Kent’s first volleyball team has been tremendous. The team hopes to replicate its great first season for many years to come. Coach Ross stated that before the season, a lot of effort was put it to hit the ground running. She described the players as “feeling responsible for establishing a volleyball culture at Kent.” Sophomore starter Cori Gradison ’21 states, “we worked really hard to set high standards for future teams.”