By John Orrell, Contributing Writer
Marlborough – Developing high school sports programs from scratch often takes patience, tenacity and a genuinely strong will to succeed for the benefit of the students served. Perhaps no one knows this and has done this better than Advanced Math & Science Academy (AMSA) Charter School’s Joe Bengiovanni, who has done just that with the school’s prospering volleyball program.
Bengiovanni began coaching girls’ volleyball in 2003 at Braintree High School where his teams compiled a record of 89-42, qualified for the MIAA tournament six times, and won two Bay State Conference titles in seven years. Six years ago, as a chemistry teacher at AMSA and with the support of administration, the volleyball program was launched with Bengiovanni at the helm. Today the program is arguably one of the area’s most successful.
“We really started from ground-zero,” Bengiovanni explained. “None of the kids had ever played volleyball before and we went 0-16 that first year, but the kids had fun and loved it and they got better every year. Three years in, they made the (MIAA) tournament.
“The kids love to play and they hear how much fun it is and more kids come out each year to the point where we have a big program. We now have varsity, JV and freshman programs so it’s all good.”
Despite losing eight players to graduation and a roster with just three seniors in 2016, the team is having a successful season with a record of 8-5 building off last year’s equally prosperous campaign where the Eagles finished at 11-6. A win streak of five consecutive victories to open this season only served to boost the confidence of AMSA’s very young squad.
“At the beginning of the season, we came in and we’re all new,” said co-captain Anna Holmi. “We didn’t really know each other too much and we’re playing so much better. Seeing how far we’ve come is amazing.”
In just a very short time, the team began to trust one another and bond largely due to the leadership of the captains (Holmi and Jackie Helliwell). The philosophy of having fun and picking one another up when times get lean resonates through this Eagle bunch.
“Our captains are great leaders,” Bengiovanni said. “The good chemistry has to come from them. We’ve pretty much empowered the captains to take care of everything on and off the court. They do a good job. They love the sport and they love the team.”
“Every game, even if it’s a bad game, we just get even closer and we bond a little better every time,” Helliwell said. “I love playing volleyball and playing with other people who love volleyball is great. Everyone looks forward to coming to practice and games and I think that’s really special.”
“When we get down on ourselves and we’re not doing our best, I think that’s when we pick ourselves up as a team,” added Holmi. “Knowing that we’re playing good teams and not getting it into our heads is important.”
With the team heading into the season’s homestretch, a number of matches remain against tough opponents. How well the team plays and carries itself going forward will shape its post-season hopes. Bengiovanni and Helliwell weigh in on what needs to be for a victorious remainder of the regular season and MIAA tournament.
“We need to stay away from lapses where we give away a lot of points on the serve,” Bengiovanni warned. “We need to stay focused and keep control of the ball a bit better. When we control the rally, we’re a tough team to beat.”
“We’re going to need to stay focused and keep our spirits up,” Helliwell remarked. “We play our best when our adrenaline is high and we’re really in the game so I think that’s something we’re going to have to continue with.”
Members of the 2016 Advanced Math & Science Academy girls varsity volleyball team are seniors Deborah Bowen (MB, OPP), Haley Fong (MB), Anna Holmi (OH); juniors Hanna Bergman (S), Christina Bibinski (OH), Catherine Duross (MB), Jackie Helliwell (OH); sophomores Julie Calvalcanti (S), Erin Dean (DS), Reese Grinnell (OH), Medha Shekhar (L), Katelin Sherman (MB,OPP) along with freshmen Diana Bibinski (OPP, OH) and Olivia Deckers (MB, OH).