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HARRISON, N.Y. -- Olivia Manley walked into the Harrison gymnasium for the first day of varsity volleyball practice, looked around and realized something was missing.
The nine seniors, highlighted by Jessica Segal, Jenna Webb and Lily Stokoe, who led the Huskies to consecutive Section 1 Class A volleyball championships, were not there after graduating in June.
It was very different, said Manley, one of only three seniors on the team along with Alexa Coloccia and Ali Fuerst. We were all very close and we had a great team.
Manley was taking a break from the first half of practice Tuesday morning in a hot Harrison High School gym. Manley, Coloccia and Fuerst welcomed a huge turnout between varsity and junior varsity. Manley knows the underclassmen will not only fill out the roster, but also have a major say in Harrisons season.
We know we are going to have to push each other and we are going to have to push the new players, as well, because we want to be just as good as we were last year, Manley said. We know that we have a lot of work to do.
Manley is familiar with many of the juniors hoping to make varsity because she was their teammate on JV two years ago.
They have been working hard, pushing themselves already, said Manley of the juniors. We are happy they are working hard.
Harrison will put its scrimmages to good use in preparation for the season-opener Sept. 7 against Rye Neck.
Our scrimmages are going to be important because we will use them to get accustomed to each other, Manley said. Even though we played together on JV, we have to get used to each other once again.
Following the graduation of nine players, many teams would view this as a rebuilding year. Manley and her teammates refuse to refer to this season as rebuilding. Instead, Manley said Harrison is reloading.
We want to be the best we can, Manley said. We have the potential. Everyone wants to play, wants to get better and show that we can be a strong team.
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