'I think there's a lot of trust': Windham volleyball surpasses last year's win total

WINDHAM — The third set was knotted at 20.

It was that time in a volleyball match when stomachs are often in knots as well.

Sure, host Windham had a two-set cushion, but still players typically get conservative when it’s tied that late in a set.

Not Bombers setter Quinn Justham.

The junior, perched near the 10-foot line and facing her back row, boldly bumped the ball over her head and into the middle of the Waterloo defense to put Windham in front.

Tied at 21, Justham went with another bold play, an attacking set, to put the Bombers in front once again.

After a little more see-sawing, Windham clinched a 25-20, 25-10, 28-26 victory over Waterloo to reach an important milestone. A year ago, the Bombers won roughly a third of their matches, finishing 8-15. With Wednesday's sweep of Waterloo, Windham surpassed last year’s win total, moving to 9-5.

Those bold Justham plays are a prime example of why the Bombers have had such success this season.

"I think the biggest thing is confidence," Justham said. "Not a lot of people are going to try to dump the ball over when it's tied 21-21 in that third set, but I think that we have confidence in our abilities and everyone else's ability, so I feel like we're able to do gutsy things like that."

"I think there's a lot of trust and a lot of connection," senior Briah Daniel added. "We all know how we all play."

There is, quite simply, a fearlessness to the Bombers.

There is an unpredictability as well.

Justham is a threat to attack at any time, including a number of bumps from her 10-foot line to the opponent's 10-foot line. Many setters will occasionally flick a surprise set into the middle of the opposing defense. Justham's bumps are a lethal twist on that play, as she sends the ball on a sharp line-drive trajectory into the middle of the defense.

Daniel is similarly unpredictable, with the ability to scorch spikes but often choosing to send softer shots to weak spots in the defense instead. The senior hitter also flashed a nasty one-handed push shot, a bit of an unorthodox look, against the Vikings.

"I feel like over the past year, I've gained a lot of confidence in myself," Daniel said. "I don't think I would have been doing this last year, but coming into this season, since it's my senior year, I have a lot of confidence, and I think a lot of that came from track season. It kind of carried over, so I do different things because why not?"

Meanwhile, senior Angelina Jones was as nimble as can be, wreaking havoc from the front and back lines.

None of this is by accident.

It's by design, with Bombers coach Lauryn Gintert noting she prefers to run fluid practices that let the players learn a number of ways of doing things, as opposed to leaning on more rigid drills.

"When we are playing against each other, I pretty much try to put everything at them I can," Gintert said. "Every position on the court, every hole, every push, pull, like whatever I can give them. They learn how to receive it, but they also are learning the different options that they have as a hitter. I don't want them to be just line every time because that's too predictable, so I like trying to give them that freedom and that diversity as far as seeing it and taking it in and then putting it back on the court to be able to do that in the games."

Not that confidence or freedom entirely explains Windham's rise.

The Bombers have also added players after barely having enough last year with a varsity roster of seven and six players on the court at all times in a volleyball match.

Jones, the versatile threat, returned to the team this year, as did fellow senior Memphys Lough.

"We didn't have them the past couple years," Daniel said. "They've been a really big help. I think just we're all comfortable with each other. Like, we know how each and every person play, so I think that helps us a lot."

And, of course, it's hard to miss Windham's new six-foot hitter, Lorena De Oliveira, a foreign exchange student from Brazil.

De Oliveira, it turns out, isn't just a strong hitter. She's also remarkably nimble in serve receive.

"In Brazil, I practice a lot, like the position I have to be in the court to be ready to receive the ball," De Oliveira said. "So I know where I have to be, so I think that helps. I think that makes [a] difference."

With Windham's additions, Daniel's new confidence and growth all over the court, Justham has more options than ever at setter — and it's safe to say the junior is taking advantage.

"My job, they make it easy, that's for sure," Justham said. "It's a really good feeling to know anywhere I put the ball, someone's going to take it or someone's going to attack it and get us points most of the time."

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Improved Windham volleyball has already surpassed its 2022 win total