Everyone on their side of the court is smiling and shouting.
Not the fans, who watch with anticipation each serve, almost holding their collective breath; or who yell “out” and cheer, only to then fall quiet on a spike from an exceptionally tall Deerfield middle.
The ones smiling are the players on the varsity volleyball team themselves, the 16 girls who, though down 21-14 in a set during an October 1 match, seem ecstatic to be out there enjoying the game they love. They smile and cheer as senior Nina Coffee’s block nets a point. They smile and cheer as senior Bella Marinello digs a ball; and freshman Rachel Xing hits a well-placed, powerful serve. They even smile when they’re down after a set, listening to a speech from head coach Ken Choo and assistant coach Tyla Taylor.
And then there’s the cheering and shouting they do as each player comes off the court during a substitution and joins the rest of the team standing, never sitting, just behind the back right line.
These cheers, I find out a few days later, at the Friday practice before the team’s October 4 away game at Berkshire, are personalized. As in, each kid has her own cheer, and her own handshake. There are also different cheers for every different point-scoring play, including aces, kills, blocks, sets, and digs. For Choo, it’s all part of the team’s mentality, something he Taylor repeatedly try to foster.
“It’s such a sport of communication,” explained Choo, who, after two years off, is back on the sidelines, a position he held the 17 years prior. “You can’t play well unless you’re communicating loudly. The more vocal, the better the team is. There’s a clear correlation between that and playing better.”
It’s a belief widely echoed by the team, including senior Sierra Grandonico, who plays as the team’s libero, a specialized defensive position. A team leader highly involved in team communication and ball control, Grandonico put it simply: “We just try to keep positive energy.”
Bella Marinello ’26, a six-rotation player, agrees, and says the team’s cohesion and positive energy are a result of them all being friends off the court. Her classmate Isabel Sorkin-Camacho took it a step further, explaining that those friendships allow for stronger, smoother play—and even prevent injuries. “It’s such a team sport, and you have to trust your teammates.” Injuries, Sorkin-Camacho said, can occur “when you don’t connect.”
Every player seemed to have something similar to add about the team’s infectious energy, which both Maya Green ’26 and Coffee called “benergy,” a portmanteau of “bench” and “energy.” I mentioned to Coffee the team was smiling and shouting at halftime of the Deerfield game.
“It was the best game we’d played,” she said, noting how Deerfield had several D-1 commits. “It was the most fun we’ve ever had.”
Coffee added that coaches Choo and Taylor lead with that same mindset, that the game should be fun, and that the energy matters.
Choo, in his characteristically humble and kind way, would argue he’s just a part of a much bigger picture.
“I’m the least experienced person on the court,” he joked, noting that former Athletic Director Mark Conroy, once he found out Choo played intramural volleyball 25 years ago while working in a science lab at Yale University, convinced him to take on the Williston coaching job. “That altered my entire career trajectory,” he said, laughing, clearly proud of the nearly two decades he’s spent shaping the lives of thousands of players. According to Taylor, Choo’s modesty is just a cover, a way for the notoriously friendly and well-loved science teacher to deflect the real influence he’s had, which is felt far beyond the confines of the court.
“He has so many nuggets of wisdom, and he cares so much more than that,” Taylor said. “He cares that they’re good people, that they’re kind, that they give back. He wants them to be good people off the court. He cares about them as whole humans.”
Taylor, in her fifth year as assistant coach, expresses herself with similar modesty despite years of experience at Williston and decades before as a player herself. Choo took the opportunity to share how important, from his perspective, Taylor has been to the team.
“As a college player, when she says something, everyone takes it seriously,” said Choo. Taylor played volleyball at Wesleyan University, and, before that, she traveled the country all through high school as a member of the CT Juniors, a Connecticut-based national travel team. “I have so much respect for Tyla, and she’s developed real relationships with the players.”
Last year, the team, with a 12-4 record, made the first round of the NEPSAC Class B playoffs for the first time in 16 years. Though they’re not quite where they want to be at this point in the season, their record isn’t slowing them down or putting a damper on their energy.
It’s best exemplified Grandonico, who took a quick water break from a pre-practice strength and conditioning session and, surrounded by Marinello, Green, and Sorkin-Camacho, outlined what very well could be the team’s motto: “When we’re all smiling, we play better.”
