Girls Varsity Volleyball has been preparing for this fall’s season since mid-August, with both off- and on- campus preseasons that integrated new and returning players.
First, the team spent four days training in Atlanta, Georgia. The off-campus preseason, which ran from August 18 to 21, allowed players to train with the number one junior volleyball club in the nation: A5 Volleyball Club.
The preseason was partly organized by co-captain Lillie Dase ’26, an Atlanta native, and fully coordinated and planned with the other members of the team. Dase reached out to A5 Volleyball Club, with which she had previously played, and arranged for her teammates to train with Boba Nisavic, who currently coaches the 18-2 team for A5. Coach Nisavic previously coached professional teams in Serbia as well as a number of high-level junior teams over the past 20 years.
The team trained for five hours a day, following Nisavic’s drills. Sloane Lynyak ’28 said, “His style was different from any of the coaching we’ve had before. To be exposed to someone who played professional volleyball overseas, who coaches division one commits, and who has been around the game for so long was really valuable.”
During the on-campus preseason from August 29 to 31, the team worked with Russ Rose, who is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in volleyball history, with seven national championships and a career record of 1,330 wins and 229 losses.
This is the second year in a row that the team has worked with Coach Rose. Dase said, “He brings a really high-level perspective. Our team has a variety of experience levels, and he brings it back to the basics and tells us what we actually need to do to play. He sets us up for a season with high standards, because he tells us that we need to win.”
Lauren Brown ’26 said, “Coach Rose does a lot for our team mentally, as well. Having a coach with that much success and history at our preseason telling us that we can do well and are good players does so much for our confidence, particularly for the new members of our team.”
Last year, GVV finished 12-8, qualifying for the playoffs as the eighth seed. In the first round matchup, the team lost to top- seeded King 3-0. King would go on to win the tournament, not dropping a single set along the way.
Dase said, “I think last season went pretty well. We did a lot that we were not expecting to do, like making playoffs for the first time in ten years and beating Andover for the first time in 15. We know now what we are capable of and the resources we have on our team.”
This season, the team will open with matchups against Berkshire on September 6, King on September 10, and Andover and Exeter on September 13. Dase said, “This season, we’ve talked about getting a home playoff game, because we want to represent our school in front of our peers.” To achieve this goal, the team will have to claim.
