The Norwin Girls Volleyball team is heating up for a bounce-back season. After an overall record of 3-11 in the 2023-24 season and a section record of 1-7 placed them at last, Norwin prepares to return to form this season. The team firmly holds a current overall record of 2-6, and a section record of 1-3, as they approach the mid-point of the season.
The Knights remain playoff hopefuls as they continue to play well against teams in their conference, Class 4A Section III. To qualify for WPIAL playoffs this year, Norwin must be one of the top four ranked teams in section record, which they currently are. This ranking system leads to many high-pressure games, with every conference game being a crucial chance to climb in the standings they must capitalize on. The 2024-2025 roster is headlined by senior outside hitter and captain Addi Matovich, senior middle duo Brandi and Averi Brozeski, and senior multi-positional player Natalie Aquilio.
This past offseason, the team has been hard at work to further develop their skills, with hopes of their personal improvements making an impact on their success as a group.
“This past summer, we held open gyms four times a week to give the players more opportunity to get in the gym and work on both improving their own skills and working on team play as a whole,” said Mrs. Ferragonio, veteran head coach of the team.
That hard work has paid off, as Norwin has been competitive in all of their matches, holding the title for the most sets played in their conference with 33. One game that likely contributed to that large number was their out-of-conference matchup against Fox Chapel. This was an incredibly intense and competitive game, going all the way to 5 sets, with the Knights eventually prevailing in an upset.
However, there have still been a number of issues plaguing and creating challenges for the team.
“We have had to learn to be flexible and adapt since we have a few players out with injury or with illness. Players are being asked to fill in positions which may be new to them,” said Ferragonio. Injuries have been a constant for the team this year, with multiple key players missing critical conference games.
“We’ve definitely learned that chemistry is important on and off the court,” said senior libero Alaina Fonzi.
Many of the players have also been attempting to raise chemistry and morale within the team after their lack of communication caused many issues for them last season.
“Last year, I feel like we didn’t really talk as much on the court, and when it gets quiet, we start to lose really fast,” said Fonzi. “We’ve been trying to keep the court vocal as we believe it will help guide the team.”
The Knights continue to improve as a team and as players as the push towards the playoff continues. Their final regular season matchup will be an away game at Plum on October 17th.
