Team chemistry

May 6—There are few things as important for volleyball success as familiarity.

One can talk about team chemistry as vital in nearly every sport, but it's absolutely crucial in volleyball. Knowing your teammates' strengths and weaknesses, recognizing where they are at all times and being able to have that special connection are all ingredients for success.

Which brings us to the Windham volleyball team, which is currently unbeaten at 7-0 and playing together like a well oiled machine.

At first, it seems surprising that the Jaguars are off to such a good start, since they have only two players back from their 2019 state finalist team — starter Jeff Draper and part-time starter Jared Stivala.

But Draper, who has moved over from right side hitter to outside hitter and leads the team in kills, is not surprised at all. And he points to team chemistry as one of the reasons.

"I think we have a good attitude and stay positive and we know each other really well," said Draper, who is co-captain along with Stivala and had 15 kills in Wednesday's defeat of Salem. "Five of us play (in the offseason) for Mill City and that's helped us become a really good team.

"I think we expected to have a good start. We came into the season pretty confident."

Draper, who is good friends with Stivala, is in his third season with Mill City and he's convinced that the offseason work has made a big difference.

"I'm a much better player now than I was two years ago (because of it)," he said. "I know my passing has improved a lot and I've also improved my serving."

Windham coach Matt Bynon has seen huge improvement in another area as well.

"I think the one thing he has really grown the most on is just his physical ability to terminate the ball," said Bynon. "He has been in the weight room a lot over the last year and it really shows. Even though we lost seven seniors last year without a season because of COVID, I felt good knowing we had a player like Jeff on our team."

Draper first started playing volleyball as a freshman, but he became intrigued with the sport before that. Older brother Thomas, who is now a senior at St. Michael's College in Vermont, also played volleyball for the Jaguars and that's what hooked him.

"I went to some of his games (as an eighth grader) when he was a senior and it (volleyball) looked like fun and something I wanted to try," said Draper, who focuses on volleyball at Windham.

And playing volleyball for Windham hasn't disappointed him as he very likely winds down his career on the court. He's headed to the University of Rhode Island next year where he will enter a six-year program in pharmacy.

But first he'd like to help Windham do something it has not accomplished in volleyball, although it has come close.

"Our goal is to win the state championship," he said. "I think we can do it."

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"Even though we lost seven seniors last year without a season because of COVID, I felt good knowing we had a player like Jeff on our team."

Windham coach Matt Bynon