Sandwich's Foley Joins Buccaneer Volleyball
October 3, 2008
By Dan Crowley, Sandwich Enterprise
SANDWICH- After a year off the court, Massachusetts Maritime Academy volleyball is back. Rebuilding the program from the ground up Coach Ashley Lorance is starting from scratch. Only two of her players have high school volleyball experience; the rest are on the court for the first time. Enthusiasm and athleticism are driving the Buccaneers this fall and no one typifies that better than freshman Samantha Foley.
Foley is a 2008 graduate of Sandwich High School where volleyball is not a part of the athletic program. In high school she ran cross-country and played softball. Prior to joining the MMA team this fall, she had never picked up a volleyball.
Foley began her college career in August when she arrived at Mass Maritime for orientation. Suddenly she found herself in uniform and facing challenges she'd never dreamed of in high school.
"It was quite an awakening. I never imagined it to be what it was," Foley said of her first weeks as a cadet. "It pushed you to the limit. The discipline and leadership was a reality check. Before it was over I knew that some day I wanted to be a squad leader."
When she could Foley worked out with the women's cross-country team, but one day an upperclassman came to her and suggested volleyball. After completing her orientation cruise aboard the TS Enterprise, she joined the group of women at Alumni Gym intent on bring MMA volleyball back.
"I tried it and fell in love with the game," she smiled. "We have a very unique group of girls. We're all different, but once we hit the court we are one."
Because of orientation the five freshmen on the team were unavailable to practice with the four sophomores making up the rest of the squad. Once back together the nine women managed just seven practices before hitting the road to face Suffolk University for their opening match.
"Aside from our two sophomore captains Victoria Presutti and Christine Egbert, no one had any volleyball experience," Coach Lorance, a four-year player at Colby-Sawyer College, pointed out. "We were starting from scratch. I had to explain the rules and the fundamentals of the game, before we could practice."
Without a season last year, that meant no returning players. It was truly a new beginning.
"There was no talking, no communication," Foley admitted of those first few days. "I think we were afraid of the ball. We were shuffling people and still trying to recruit. I know when we played that first match, I was scared out of my mind. Most of us had never played before."
The young team quickly began to gel. With their knowledge of the game growing, and their combined athleticism making up for their lack of experience, the nine women steadily improved. Assistant Coach Lisa Lopes, the varsity girls' lacrosse coach at Falmouth High School, a Mass Maritime graduate, and veteran of four volleyball seasons with the Buccaneers, joined the effort.
"We're having a lot of fun," said Foley, who is this week's MMA Female Athlete of the Week. "We're definitely better than we were four weeks ago. We're keeping it positive and we're growing as a team. The first time I spiked the ball felt awesome. I really love it."
While the Buccaneer women's cross-country team may have lost a runner, Foley fully intends to play softball for MMA this spring. In the meantime, the 4th Class cadet from 2nd Company, who hopes to major in international maritime business, will cruise this winter with her classmates and teammates when the TS Enterprise heads for her annual eight-week trip to the Caribbean. But for now the focus of the young Buccaneer volleyball team is on the court.
"Right now, it doesn't matter that we're not winning," the freshman middle hitter smiled. "We're working hard and having fun and what matters is that, in the end, we still love this game."