The FAA volleyball league is always highly competitive, with a handful of teams usually vying for the tournament title and Greenwich Academy is one of squads that’s always a contender.

Greenwich Academy is coming off a successful 2023 season in which it advanced to the semifinal-round of the FAA Tournament and qualified for the NEPSAC Class A Tournament. The Gators’ 2024 season is off to a strong start, as they have won two out of their three matches, both against Fairchester Athletic Association opponents.

Receiving impressive performances from numerous athletes, Greenwich Academy was victorious against visiting School of the Holy Child, 3-0, on Thursday, winning the FAA match by game scores of 25-9, 25-23, 25-16.

“It was great, there were some moments that we felt frustrated with our results and we turned back to our goals and what we can stay confident in and that helped us,” Greenwich Academy senior co-captain outside hitter/defensive specialist Natalie Bunnell said.

Bunnell captains GA along with senior defensive specialist Hannah Murray. The duo are the team’s only seniors.

GA’s 2024 team features two seniors, five juniors two sophomores, two freshman and one eighth grader.

“I love this team,” Murray said. “Something special about our team is we’re all really close and we’ve really built a community. We’re all really good friends not only on the court, but also during school and outside school.”

Bunnell and Murray are accustomed to competing in high-pressure matchups, as they have been members of the varsity squad since their freshman and sophomore years, respectively.

“They have been able to experience our culture, what we are trying to do together,” GA coach Bryan Coloma said of his senior captains. “They’re stepping up both on and off the court. They do things off the court together – they’re great and they are people that we can rely on when things get tough. They’re always there to cheer everyone else on.”

In the Gators’ 25-9, 25-23, 25-16 win over Holy Child, sophomore middle blocker Gioia Brown registered 10 kills, three aces and one block, Bunnell tallied five kills, six digs and three aces and eighth grader Caroline Brower, whose older sister Casey, a 2024 GA graduate, was one of the captains last season, posted 26 assists four aces and four digs as a setter.

“It was a great win,” Coloma said. “Holy Child always puts up a good fight. We are excited to see what we can do when we’re serving at our best, when we’re passing at our best.”

After winning the first set in convincing fashion against the Gryphons, the Gators jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the second game on a kill by junior outside hitter Devon Mahaffy. A kill by Bunnell later in the set, put the hosts on top, 9-2. Holy Child staged a comeback, but GA held on for the win, with Murray displaying strong serving.

The third set saw GA lead most of the way en route to sweeping the match. Greenwich Academy visits Hopkins School, an FAA foe, today at 12 p.m.

Indeed, the present and future is bright for this young Greenwich Academy team.

“I’m feeling great about our team,” Bunnelll said. “We definitely lost some big players from last year, which was tough for us in the beginning, but we’re really working on filling that void. We’ve been working on our mentality a lot and connecting with each other. We’ve got really great underclassmen.”

Greenwich Academy played well in its 3-1 loss to King School, the defending FAA Tournament champion.

“We’ve been working really hard in the gym and I think we’re ready for whatever comes our way,” Murray said. “We’ve been working really hard with our serve receive, especially. Even when it’s an out of system ball working on getting a good swing. We need to continue to work on our energy and staying upbeat.”

Greenwich Academy’s roster includes seniors Bunnell and Murray, juniors Mahaffy, Issy Fottrell, Mairin Butler, Dakota Barlow and Sasha Valdes, sophomores Brown and Hailey Custar, freshmen Teodora Diaconu and Tinsley Tarifi and Caroline Brower.

“The girls are clicking early, they’re able to rely on one another,” Coloma said. “This is a positive team and I’m excited to see what they can do. There’s a lot of great players that are stepping up in different roles. Devon is playing outside for us, she’s passing for us. She is doing a lot to fill those roles that were left behind with some of our seniors that left last year.”

“Mairin Butler has been passing great, leading the defense on the charge,” Coloma added. “She’s been a cornerstone on our serve receive. Gioa Brown started last year and was incredible as a freshman.”

In 2023, the Gators defeated Rye Country Day School in the FAA Tournament quarterfinals, before losing to King in the semifinal-round. Greenwich Academy dropped a tough 3-2 decision to rival Sacred Heart Greenwich in the NEPSAC Class A Tournament quarterfinals, after leading the match, 2-0.

“We’ve learned a lot about ourselves as we’ve come into the season,” Coloma said. “We’re growing and we’re trying to build our resiliency, we’re trying to build our confidence.”

“One of the things we want to do is to connect, we have a lot of new players this year, so we want to build a strong foundation for next year, as Hannah and I move on,” Bunnell noted. “We also want to work on our mentality. One thing we focus on is no matter what level the team we’re playing is we try to play our game and focus on our game.”