The Norwood High School volleyball team finished last year with 7 wins and earned themselves a 30 seed in the Division 2 State Tournament where the Mustangs would defeat Putnam Vocational before falling to Longmeadow in the Round of 16. At press time, this fall Norwood has already surpassed last year’s win total as the girls have secured 8 wins against 2 loses.

After defeating Millis for their second four-game winning streak on the year, the Mustangs find themselves a mere win away from an automatic bid to the State Tournament. The Mustangs are currently 6-2 in the Tri-Valley League and ranked fifth in the Division 2 power rankings while continuing to play well.

“Coming into the year, we had a lot of young talent from the year prior,” Norwood Coach Paul Nimblett said. “Last year, we made the tournament and got a home win before losing on the road. Having our two best players back this year gives us a lot of hope for success.”

The Mustangs top two athletes to grace this year’s team are junior captain Brenna Forbes and Zoey Fleming. Forbes is playing the outside for Nimblett and has been a killing machine for the Mustangs this fall. The junior had double digit kills against Millis to hold onto her team-leading numbers, while against Medway earlier in the year she posted 22 total kills. Fleming on the other hand is the team’s setter and behind her in second place with kills.

Along with Forbes, middle hitter Sarah Randall and outside hitter Sophia Michaelidis, both seniors, are the team’s other two captains.

“Beginning in the summer and moving into the preseason, the girl’s leadership skills have been great,” the Norwood coach said. “I knew early, along with the captains leadership skills and the rest of the girls already having a chemistry going because of that leadership, that this team was connected and ready to go. They have supported one another and have promoted Norwood volleyball as a whole; you can’t teach this stuff.”

Nimblett went on to say that as a longtime coach, having a group like this year’s makes a huge difference and the chemistry has gone all the way down the bench. 

Having only been susceptible to only two losses against Hopkinton and Ashland, Norwood is looking forward to playing the two teams again to gain redemption for the earlier losses.

The Mustangs opened the season with a road game at Westwood where they beat the Wolverines 3-0 and would continue shutting out their next three opponents in Medfield, (a team Norwood had not beaten in many years), Holliston and Walpole. Unfortunately, their first four-game winning streak would come to an end with a 3-0 loss to both Hopkinton and Ashland before rolling off another four wins against Dedham, Sharon, Medway and Millis.

Entering this season, the MIAA had incorporated a new rule where teams can substitute multiple liberos in and out of the game. Luckily, the Mustangs have two great liberos, both who improved drastically in the off season after having played for the junior varsity team last fall. The two senior liberos this season are Nimsy Santiago Colon, a hustler who continues to make saves for the team, and Jaeylnn Feliciano, a good floor communicator.

According to Nimblett, each libero brings a certain skill to the team while playing off one other providing what the team needs at any given point of the game.

Along with Fleming, freshman Nahla McCarthy will be playing setter this fall allowing Nimblett to go with two setters on the floor at once.

“Having the two setters allows Zoey to swing giving us production from both players, on two ends,” the Mustang coach said. “This gives us a huge dynamic that we did not have last year.”

Junior Liz Sweeney is playing the middle for the Mustangs and has a knack for the ball and net blocking. Other girls that will be helping the team this fall are sophomore Sophia Pereira, server and right-side hitter senior Katherine Gonser, outside hitter sophomore Savannah Beatty, and junior defensive specialist Shaelyn Coyle. 

“This year is different as we have so many pieces and they all seem to pick each other up,” Nimblett said. “They are playing so well together on the court and when they are all clicking, they are so hard to stop.”

Norwood had some tough games coming up on their schedule, but Nimblett feels that they will be an asset and help the team prepare for when the tournament rolls around. In addition to advancing into the State Tournament, the Norwood girls are really looking to capture the Tri-Valley League.

Being able to crack the Division 2 top 10 is a great feeling for the Mustangs and they are totally pumped to have been ranked fifth.

“The sky is the limit for this team and they have been playing good so far, but they’ve got to take it one game at a time and don’t look too far into the future,” the Coach said. “This is a special group of girls and they could make a long tournament run, one further than last year.”

One more win to advance into the State Tournament, but already finding themselves ranked fifth, Norwood is looking not only for a higher ranking, but one that comes with more home games, giving them the opportunity to go deep into the post-season.