Written by Olivia Morrissey|
Photos by Olivia Morrissey and Sandra Sirisoukh|

The Morgan School has a long history of volleyball. From 2016 to 2018, the volleyball team has been through three coaches. The first being Joseph Grippo who coached from 1983-2015.

Senior Ashley Annicelli said she was” grateful to have him as a coach for a year. Grippo really cared about the players and wanted us all to succeed. he seemed really scary, but he was really a teddy bear.” Annicelli was a freshman when she was coached by Grippo and has continued to play volleyball through her 4 years here at Morgan. “It was scary to lose such a huge part of the volleyball team when he left, and there was no knowing how the next season would go.”

Assistant coach at the time, Paige Trusty, was also a mathematics teacher here at The Morgan School. She stepped up as the head coach with Jessica Lynch as the new assistant coach for the 2016-2017 school year. Jared Stevens is the new assistant coach. Mr. Stevens is currently a Unified Arts (UA) teacher at Jared Eliot Middle School.

Ms. Lynch said “the transition was quick, definitely fun to step back and look at the program as a whole. I see a lot of improvement. The girls have brought what we have been trying to bring and are finally coming together.” Ms. Lynch recalls, “Our first win against Valley this year was the first time I saw everyone so excited and finally saw the improvement.”

Freshman Sydney Scanlon said, “Everyone needs to put in work. Respect is expected from everyone. Practices and games are time to work, not a time to fool around. The seniors try their best to help us understand everything. They don’t treat us like we have no idea what we are doing. They are very patient, helpful, and kind. They want the best for us.” Scanlon had two older sisters who played for Morgan’s volleyball team that have experienced all the coaches.

The transition from coach to coach has not been easy for the girls, but they are proving themselves by working hard to get the win.