Winchester Volleyball Looks to Improve on Success

After hosting a playoff game and making the second round of the postseason for the first time in program history, the Winchester volleyball team is looking forward to breaking more new ground in its fourth season.

Eight players return for the Sachems, who overcame injuries last season to defeat Burke 3-0 in the first round of the Division 2 North tournament. They then lost to Boston English 3-2 in the quarterfinals.

"We're trying to build off the success they had last year and be competitive every time we play," said coach John Fleming, who started the boys program last spring and is taking over the girls team on an interim basis.

The Sachems are led by setter Amy Wright, a co-MVP last year who is confident and knows the game inside and out. She is the most experienced player on the team, having played since elementary school in Texas — where volleyball is much more popular — before moving back to Winchester.

Middle hitter Sam Mangano is a physically-gifted player who led the team in its playoff win last season, recording 15 kills and 20 service points. And Katie Constantine, the team's third captain, is a great all-around player with a big serve.

"The three of them have great leadership qualities and well-respected by their peers," Fleming said.

Mangano is also a captain on the basketball team and Constantine is a captain on the softball team. Fleming said the strength of his team is the seniors, and he's counting on the returning players to continue improving and to lead the underclassmen.

"We have the group of seniors that have been around since the program began and are very talented, so I think we're going to lean on them to have a really good season and bring along the younger girls," Fleming said.

One of the question marks heading into the season is the play of the back row.

"The biggest thing we're looking at is some of our back-row players to step forward and really lift themselves up and get that area settled," Fleming said.

Still, Fleming said the team is excited to start the season Friday against Reading, and he's optimistic about the future of a program that's still young. Turnout was great at tryouts, and the Sachems will field full rosters on the varsity, junior varsity and freshmen levels, including 19 freshmen in the program.

"That's a good sign for such a new program to have that interest
level," Fleming said.

Winchester girls volleyball
Last season: 12-6
Key Players: Amy Wright, Sr.; Sam Mangano, Sr.; Katie Constantine, Sr., Rory Conway, So.; Lyvia Olson, Sr.
Key Loss: Jackie Murano
Outlook: Winchester is hoping to build off the success of last season, when it hosted its first playoff game and sent the fans home happy with a 25-8, 25-11, 25-16 demolition of Burke. The Sachems do lose captain Jackie Murano, who is now a setter and defensive specialist at Clark, but have a talented class of seniors which have been with the program since its formation and are ready to achieve more firsts
before graduating.
Quote: "We're going to try to build off the season the girls had last year and gear up toward trying to make a run in the tournament." — Coach John Fleming