Finishing the 2024 season off with two wins and a full season of experience for the younger players, Sussex Academy volleyball has its sights set on a winning season.

“Preseason's been great; a lot of energy every day, especially with our 6 a.m. [practices] – they're showing up [and] ready to go,” said coach Hailee Gooch. “They have a mindset that's ready to win – they're determined, they’re focused throughout practice – so it's really, really pleasant to see. We're impressed.” 

Aleida Calloway, Carolyn Reese and Ellie Merrick will lead the team as seniors, and they are optimistic about the upcoming season, given how preseason has gone.

“It's been pretty good, a lot of the girls have a lot of talent,” Calloway said. “I'm really excited to play with that.” 

“Last year, we were really strong defensively, and the years prior, we've been more offensively focused,” Merrick said. “We lost our libero and one of our other defensive specialists, but I think we can really bounce back from that. We have a lot of younger girls who are ready.”

Gooch is also confident in the Seahawks’ backline.

“Our defense is scrappy, strong and solid. Almost our entire offense is returning, and some offensive players last year that maybe didn't show up always for every game are showing up now, so we're gonna have a pretty solid offense as well,” Gooch said. “Serve-receive is strong and serving is good, so I expect them to show up in all aspects. It's just a matter of them finishing what they start and having that heart to do it, which I think they will do this year.”

“We all gelled last year,” Reese said. “A lot of these girls have played together before, either in school or in clubs, so gelling isn't really an issue for us this season.”

Defense may be one of the team’s strengths, but Reese has been impressed with the offensive skills of the younger girls and sees reinforcements on the backline in the group.

“I think a lot of the newer girls are definitely more offensively driven rather than defense, but for a lot of the super young girls, like the eighth-graders, it's a lot of defense for them,” Reese said.

Sussex Academy opened the 2025 season at Newark Sept. 4