By Jack Lampert
On Wednesday, October 17, the Lady Hiller’s varsity volleyball team swept town rival, Holliston, at the Hopkinton High School Athletic Center as a result of their great teamwork.

Senior Captain, Tess Chandler, dominated the game from start to finish.

“We did a lot of good trick plays, we communicated well on the court, we hit it down, it all went well,” Chandler said.

In the first game, Chandler won six points, while senior co-captain, Kristen Cooprider, served up two aces, giving the Hillers an early 10-0 lead in the first match. The Lady Hillers ended up winning the first match 25-4, the second match 25-16, and the third match 25-15.

“Our other starting outside, Holly Adams, was out but we didn’t play any different. Whitney (Thalheimer) did a great job as our other outside,” said Chandler on Whitney Thalheimer’s performance.

Chandler added, “Katelyn West also did a great job on defense. She really is a strong, strong player all around.”

Both Thalheimer and West are sophomores, who stepped up to help the Lady Hillers win. This was Thalheimer’s first game starting, filling in for the injured Holly Adams.

Thalheimer commented, “I think overall our team dynamic was awesome. We were all talking it out and had so much fun, which made it ten times better.”

West said, “ I think our passes were on the spot, our serves were killer and there was good communication between the setter and outsides the entire game.”

Sweeping Holliston boosted the varsity girl’s volleyball team’s confidence in themselves.

Thalheimer added, “The win was just another reassuring thing that we needed, like we can play our game and we are good. It really showed us that if we have fun and keep our heads in the game mentally then we can succeed and win.”

Thalheimer finished the game with 7 kills, 2 assists, and 1 dig. West finished with 1 kill, 3 digs, 2 aces, and going 4/4 with serve receives. Chandler finished with 8 kills in only two games. Kills are a lethal part of her game as she is considered to be in the top 10 athletes with the most kills in the state according to Maxpreps.com.

The step-up plays by both Thalheimer and West with dominating plays by Chandler helped the Lady Hillers cruise to victory. They are confident and ready to play on Friday, October 19th, away in Bellingham at 6:30 p.m.