A Look Back at the Varsity Volleyball Season

MARGARET GREGORY '10

The 2007-2008 Beaver Country Day School varsity volleyball season so far has been impressive compared to years past. Last year, varsity won two games and this year the team has doubled that record with four wins.

The team consists of six starting seniors, one junior, and two sophomores. The captain, Liz Cobb, is a leader both on and off the court, bringing laughs to practice and intensity to games. Additionally, Khadijah Gray has made over 25 kills and 73 attempts, making her the number one hitter on the team. She never lets a block go unblocked or leaves a hit un-hit. Every player has a sense of leadership and teamwork which makes varsity volleyball such an amazing team. “The team is so close it’s unbelievable, I have never been on a team where everyone is friends and gets along so well!” says Brooke Parker, a junior on the team.

The head coach, Aaron Montgomery, pushes the players every day in practice. He encourages them to try their hardest and to work as a team. Aaron also coaches at Northeastern University and is the assistant coach at Newbury College. His knowledge of the sport is extraordinary and he always has a fun drill for the team to try out every practice.

Come out and watch volleyball play in their last game of the season on February 20 at Chapel Hill at 4:30!
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Girl's Varsity Basketball hopes for a spot in the EIL tournament

LAURA BULKELEY '08

The start to the girl’s varsity basketball season at Beaver has been both trying and exciting. The first game against Berwick was a heartbreaker, when the girls lost by one point in the last few seconds. Though the girls suffered other losses, there have also been some exciting wins against Southfield and Bancroft. Dani Lubin Levy (’09) and Janaya Hart (’09) have led the team as junior captains.

Though the captains play a large role, other players such as Emily Belowich (’11) and Ibbie Yardley (’10) are regular starters and help the team with their high spirits and tough play. Their promise, along with a strong JV team, keeps hope for a strong program in the future. Already, Kasjah Scarlett (’11) has been brought up to varsity from JV and has had ample playing time. At the end of the year, the team will only lose three seniors, one of which has started in two games. Unfortunately, the team has begun to suffer due to injuries. Jessye Crawford (’08) and Kasjah Scarlett are both out due to hand injuries. Kasjah will be out for two weeks, and Jessye will be out for the rest of the season.

Though the team has gotten off to a rough start with a record of 4-9, there is still time to improve. The girls have beaten in-league Bancroft twice, showing that Beaver is a competitor and will hopefully grab a spot in the EIL tournament. The end of the season will surely be intense; come support the team on senior night this Friday at 3:30pm.

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Loss to Kansas Revealing for Boston College

DANA SPIGELMAN '08

Kansas’ post players produced 55 points including 25 from junkyard dog Darnell Jackson, who rarely scores far away from the basket. Kansas exposed BC all the way around. They were simply too weak and too slow in their defensive rotations to stop the tough Jackson and the polished Darrell Arthur. Kansas point guards routinely stood beyond the three-point line and lobbed alley-oops over the unaware BC defenders to their dominating big man. Al Skinner was simply out coached as Bill Self was able to time and again find the flaws in BC’s game plan. However, Skinner can only be blamed to a certain extent. BC showed their youth, committing 14 turnovers and making horrible decisions at every turn. Tyrese Rice committed six turnovers, unusual for the smart and instinctive point guard. Rakim Sanders was caught taking awful fade-away three pointers and Corey Raji seemed overly passive. It certainly got ugly in Conte Forum.

The young BC squad also showed their youth. Biko Paris was not bothered at all by the most intense pressure he will ever have to face, reversing his dribble and easing his way up the court against the intense Russell Robinson, Sherron Collins and Mario Chalmers. Rakim Sanders, while at first showing his youth, scored 14 points and led a minor second half surge with a barrage of threes and an electric put-back dunk. Through the first half Tyrese Rice also showed just how good he can be, dominating Kansas and keeping BC in the game as long as he could. Rice has a history of stepping up in big games against quality point guards, dating back to games against UNC, Georgetown and others over the past two years. Those strong spotlight performances can only be an indication of further success to come for the BC star.

With only a match up against a weak Robert Morris squad left, BC has just about finished off their non-conference schedule. In somewhat of a rebuilding year, the realistic goal for BC has become a NCAA tournament bid and they will have to play well now to achieve it. With a win over Robert Morris, BC will go into ACC play at 11-3 (1-0 inside the conference). With only the fifteen conference games left BC has a pretty easy conference schedule, facing Duke and Clemson each only once. The remaining games are against beatable teams and a 9-6 mark against the remaining schedule appears attainable. That would leave BC 20-9 with a 10-6 record in the ACC and a lock for the NCAA tournament. While this is attainable, it is still highly unlikely that the inconsistent, young Eagles could pull it off. They will need Rakim Sanders and Corey Raji to mature quickly, continued solid play from Biko Paris, Shamari Spears and Tyrelle Blair. Despite what anyone says, this is a solid BC team and one that nobody in the ACC is looking forward to playing. Although this year has the potential to turn for the worse, the future in Conte Forum is bright.

Image from: ESPN

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