Different feel throughout girls volleyball season for Milford

Beth Solan was curious how the Milford High School girls volleyball team would react when it returned to practice on Tuesday.

The Spartans were coming off back-to-back five-game matches, picking up wins against Gilford and Windham, to remain undefeated in Division II play.

But while the win over the Jaguars the night before was something Milford hadn't achieved in some time, the Spartans weren't riding high off that accomplishment.

"They knew they didn’t play their best game and they came into practice ready to work to get back to what they were before," Solan said. "I think they were riding a high from Gilford, and it was good to see them coming out of that going ‘OK, next game,’ and not ‘oh my gosh, we just beat Windham,’ because they’ve been a challenge in the past."

That next game was Wednesday's 3-0 win over John Stark that improved Milford's record to 11-0 on the year, and even with matches at Portsmouth and at Windham over the final five of the regular season, puts the Spartans in a good position to earn one of three first-round byes.

The success has come despite only having two seniors on the roster and relying heavily on the talent of sophomores and juniors.

"It’s a young squad," Solan said. "My two seniors are really good about making sure they stay on top of the girls and they lead by example right now, which is awesome. (Libero Julia Guarniere) follows right in that path. Between the three of them, and the mindset of the girls in general, it works for us and the makeup of this team."

Solan has watched the Spartans become more than just a team this season, and Guarniere has been at the center of that movement.

"I call her sparkplug, because she really gets in everyone’s head and says let’s go," the coach said. "It’s never what could you do better, it’s what can I do better to help the team. That makes a huge difference.

"As a team, they’re in the right mindset for this year. They’re focused on what is the next challenge, not what’s in the past. What do we do to make it better."

While the Spartans and St. Thomas have both remained undefeated in D2 this season, there is a handful of teams not far behind in the standings. Both Solan and John Stark coach Jeff McClellan acknowledge there isn't much room for error over the final two weeks of the regular season.

"That middle group (of teams) is very competitive," McClellan said. "It’s very slim with some of the schools. We have to play Gilford and Windham. You see the records and they’re two of the best teams around. We’ve got our work cut out for us if we’re going to stay up near the top."

Even with a short amount of time remaining, there's a still a lot that can happen before the playoffs begin Oct. 25.

"Some of them are surprises," Solan said of the standings. "It’s an interesting makeup. You have teams that have played some tough games and their record shows. It’ll be interesting to see how it falls into place."