Diving into their first season wearing an official Marshall jersey, boys volleyball makes the transition from a club team to a varsity team.
Previously, Marshall’s boys volleyball was a club team that played other teams in the region. As popularity increased, it caught the attention of Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) and other high schools also formed teams.
Senior and right side hitter John Suggs said that FCPS allowed the schools to make their own teams because of people having actual interest in the sport.
Suggs said the community’s response has been mostly positive.
“We have some very supportive people who come out [to the games],” Suggs said.
Varsity boys volleyball coach Chris Denny recalled a memorable moment where the community support shone through for the team.
“The fans were amazing at our home game against Woodson [High School]” Denny said. “Although we lost the match, the crowd definitely helped us win a set.”
Junior Aidan Kelly also shared his most memorable experience this season.
“[That game] was our first win, I remember the team getting hyped over the win and it just being an overall good performance,” he said.
Behind the scenes at practice, Suggs said the dynamic is focused on building up the program.
“We’re trying to do as much as we can, get better and train hard and everything,” Suggs said. “At the same time, we want to make sure that everyone is feeling good and has high spirits.”
Denny is new to Marshall, but has years of past volleyball experience.
“As a junior in high school, I coached an adult women’s club team,” Denny said. “After playing in college, I coached a few girls volleyball summer camps at George Mason University.”
It wasn’t until last year that Denny said he had the chance to coach a boys team.
“A few years ago I coached a developmental league here in Virginia, but again it was all girls,” Denny said. “My first opportunity to coach boys volleyball was last year in the McLean Youth Boys Volleyball league.”
Growing up, Denny believes that boys volleyball wasn’t as popular.
“Boys volleyball was not offered in my high school and there were no youth [recreational] leagues,” Denny said. “I started out playing on adult rec teams and playing with adults during open gym on Friday nights.”
Taking initiative and forming a club in his high school years, Denny struggled to gain support from teachers and administration.
“I faced challenges forming the club as a few of the high school staff didn’t understand the idea and didn’t really think there would be an interest for it,” he said.
Now, as a coach, Denny said he places emphasis on the fundamental skills of serving, passing and serve-receive, as it is all crucial to the team’s success and development.
“We work a lot on serving to give us a better chance of getting the other team off balance [and] work even harder on passing to make it tougher for the other team to get points on serve or on offense,” he said.
Another thing Denny places emphasis on is teamwork.
“You need to play as a team in order to win. If you make a mistake, forgive yourself and focus on the next play,” he said. “If a teammate makes a mistake or is feeling low, support them and pick them up.”
As the season has progressed, Denny said one of his favorite moments with the team was beating South County High School after having lost to them during a preseason scrimmage.
“We were the first team to win a game or set against them [and they] were shocked at how well we played,” Denny said. “I was so proud of the team, I bought everyone snacks at the concession stand after the match.”
According Kelly, the behavior and skills of the team have improved steadily throughout the season.
“I think there’s always room for improvement, [but] there’s a big difference from how we acted and held ourselves as a team in the start of the season in comparison to now,” Kelly said.
He described one the biggest challenges the team has faced so far.
“One of the biggest challenges we had [was] getting used to playing with each other and communicating,” Kelly said. “But as the season progressed, it got better in terms of speaking to each other on and off the court.”
Denny plans to continue uplifting the program and suggests for any players interested in trying out for the team in future years to take private lessons, play pick up games or join one of the many club teams in the area.
“Take the time to practice the right way with the correct form,” Denny said. “Practice does not make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.”