Greenhill Girls Volleyball defeated Hockaday 3-2 on Oct. 6 at a home game, breaking a five-year losing streak against the Hockaday Daisies, which moved them into first place in the Southwest Preparatory Conference rankings.
In the five-set match, Greenhill won the first set 25-23 and the second 25-19. Hockaday won the third set 25-21 and the fourth 25-22, forcing a fifth and deciding set.
“We may have gotten in our heads a little bit and been like, ‘Oh this is easy,’” senior captain Julia Deibert said. “Because they are a really consistent and scrappy team, they used our momentary weakness to their advantage and caught up.”
In a match that lasted two and a half hours, the tiebreaker became a test of stamina, Greenhill girls’ volleyball head coach Tatiane Deibert said.
With Greenhill leading 14-13, and receiving the serve, Hockaday hit the ball over the net in a way that was fairly easy and meant to avoid any risk, according to Coach Deibert.
“When I saw that last serve, I was 100% sure that the girls had it,” Coach Deibert said.
Sophomore Bree Carethers scored the final point, and the team ran onto the court to celebrate in a jumping huddle, with players chanting “Greenhill, uphill” repeatedly.
“It was so much fun, finally beating Hockaday,” senior captain Jordyn Wilkofsky said.
The match took place on Teacher Appreciation Night, which Deibert said the team scheduled on purpose to bring more people to a Tuesday night game.
Accompanying Greenhill faculty and staff in the stands was a small group of Greenhill students.
Senior Charlotte Faems, who attended the game as a spectator, said there was “a lot of energy in the gym” and that the win was “really exciting to witness.”
Greenhill and Hockaday have competed against each other for many years, and the matchup is familiar to many players on the volleyball team.
Junior Kellyn Lonergan has competed against the Daisies through Greenhill’s volleyball program since seventh grade, and to her, the rivalry feels deeply personal yet friendly and competitive.
“Carrying the burden of such a long losing streak made us prioritize doing whatever we could to win,” said Lonergan.
Greenhill’s girls’ volleyball team has not won a Southwest Preparatory Conference title since 2016, and although the win against Hockaday moved Greenhill into first place in the SPC ranking, the placement is not final. With the conclusion of their regular season district matches, the schools are likely to face each other next in the SPC Championships.
Coach Deibert said the win was significant but stressed that the memories and lessons the team learned along the way were much more important.
“For me, if they leave Nov. 7 not as SPC winners, but have grown individually and as a teammate, that is a much bigger trophy,” Deibert said.
