Written By: Jolie Robinson

With the fall season complete, the Rye Country Day School Varsity Volleyball Team concludes a good run and amazing fight. Though holding a 2-8 record, their resilience has been incredible. One of the team’s major successes was their game against the St. Luke’s Storm.

The game started strongly with setter Sahana Bhat ‘29 as the first serve. Later in the first set, Claire Tucker ‘29 struggled to receive a deep serve as her libero sister, captain Chase Tucker ‘27, ran after the shanked ball. Bouncing back, Reese Morrow ‘28 quickly flicked her wrists and free balled it over, winning the point later in the rally. Many blocks and aces later, St. Luke’s called a time-out as RCDS was up 8-1. After the break, Kaitlyn Wong ‘27 made a quick pass as Bhat dove for the ball, and Natalie Zhou ‘27 hit it down the line. In the same rally, Zhou was blocked in her attempt to power tip it over, bumping the ball off the net. She was later blocked once again, but one-armed the ball, letting Lauren Visentin ‘29 save it and Bhat push it over.

With one set under their belt, the Wildcats continued to win the next two sets, 25-16 and 26-24. The third set brought a small bump in the road, with St. Luke’s at set point and RCDS down 22–24. However, captain Maleah Dunkley ‘27 won game point with a big swing downward, flustering the Storm.

Senior Captain “Lav” (Lavender) Kerridge ‘26 reflected on the season and the team, claiming to “love the community that our team has. I think that we have such a range of ages…we all just have such common interests, and it’s so easy to talk to each other that it makes practice really exciting.” In advising younger players, Dunkley emphasized “Stay committed and always enjoy the game…practice as much as possible and don’t lose hope.” When seeking inspiration, Tucker is the ideal person to turn to. She states, “Even when I feel I’m not meeting my personal standards on the court, my teammates and coaches are always there to encourage me and build my spirits back up.” The RCDS athletics program could not be more fortunate to have such talented athletes, and is already looking forward to next season.