The Blue & White

by Izabela Waniek

This year, volleyball season has been a lot different than it usually is. The COVID-19 virus is the main cause of that. The season recently ended on Thursday, November 12th, with the last game being against Billerica. Here is how the varsity, junior varsity, and freshman teams did this season.

The way the games were set up this year was the Rangers played the same team twice, one home game and one away game. However, because some schools were in the red zone or didn’t have a big enough gym, there were more home games than away games. Another result of this was the Rangers also had to play some of the same teams more than twice.

The varsity team went 5-4 this year. They won against Dracut and Tewksbury. They lost both games against Lowell and won one game against Billerica. Coach Matt Twomey said, “I am definitely proud of the way the girls were able to handle such a difficult season. We took to the court everyday not knowing what COVID was going to bring us, but the girls worked harder than ever to make sure that they were prepared for any situation. Their energy and work ethic was truly something for them to be proud of.”

The junior varsity team went 3-6 this season. They won their games against Tewksbury and one game against Billerica. When asked about the season, Timothy Gordon, the junior varsity coach, said, “This season was great. It gave the student athletes an opportunity to bring some positivity into their lives. It also taught us all to adapt to the ever changing situations that we were dealing with. Everyone involved worked hard and showed a lot of improvement. I just wish the season could have gone on a little longer.”

The freshman team won both games against Dracut and Tewksbury. They lost both games against Lowell and lost all three games against Billerica.

Katie Cronin, the freshman coach, had a few things to say about the season. “This season was different, to say the least, not only because of all the last second adjustments and lack of normalcy due to Covid safety protocol, but mostly due to the fact that I had the pleasure of coaching such an adaptable group of true athletes,” she said. “These girls came in with an open and willing mindset and the growth in their volleyball skills and knowledge blew me away. This year’s freshman team will truly help build this program for the years to come. I can’t wait to continue to watch their volleyball journey.”

This volleyball season was very different than it normally would be, but the teams did great this season with all the new rules because of COVID-19. Hopefully, next year the season will be normal again!