The volleyball team at Springside Chestnut Hill Academy is off to the best start in the history of the program, rising to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the Inter-Ac League with last Friday’s 3-0 victory over visiting Baldwin School. The Blue Devils have lost a total of just two sets over the course of this run.

A major breakthrough occurred during the last week of September, when SCH tackled the two longtime powers in the Inter-Ac, defending champion Germantown Academy and the perennially strong Academy of Notre Dame. No one in the SCH athletic department could say exactly when the Blue Devils had last defeated either of those squads.

Springside Chestnut Hill hosted GA on Sept. 24, powering to a 25-18 victory in the first set and then grinding out victories in two closer sets, which both ended at 25-23. The Blue Devils made another strong start when they played at Notre Dame two days later, capturing the first two sets, 25-18 and 25-17. The Irish staved off defeat by taking the third set, 25-22; then the visitors finished out a 3-1 match triumph as they secured set four, 25-20.

David Noll, in his ninth season as SCH head coach, noted that a lot of the offense has come from sophomore sensations Maddi Moynihan and Chloe Roberts, who can play outside hitter or right side. Senior London Jackson and junior Sidney Smith shore up the middle of the front line.

Sisters Amalya and Kalyn Freund, a senor and a junior, play in the backcourt as defensive specialist and libero, respectively. Their younger sister Lielle is the only freshman on the varsity roster this season, and is proving to be a poised setter in her rookie season.

Aside from Amalya Freund and Jackson, the other seniors on the roster are libero/defensive specialist Sarah Scally and setter Katie McMullen. Another SCH senior, Madigan Wallach, had been an accomplished hitter for the Blue Devils in the past, but she did not come out for the team this fall. Her primary sport is lacrosse, and she will be signing with Boston University.

One reason for the rise of the SCH program is that, increasingly, players have joined well-established club volleyball teams and have honed their skills outside of the school season.

As Noll noted, “This year some of our players really matured through their club season and came in with a lot of extra-competitive energy. They brought it at another level, and everyone else followed along with that and started competing very hard at practice.”

“Last year our team bonding was a little bit sporadic,” he continued, “but this year, they’re really all in it together.”

Early last week the Blue Devils went on the road for a 3-1 win at Agnes Irwin School, and on Friday they were back at home, playing in pink jerseys in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Their opponents, the Baldwin Bears, are at the bottom of the Inter-Ac League standings. Nevertheless, the visitors scored first and held an early 3-2 lead. SCH leveled the score with a side-out, then ran off seven more points with Smith at the service line. The Blue Devils went on to win, 25-11, but since Baldwin had put up more resistance than expected, Noll kept his starters on the floor for the second set.

Here, the hosts rolled to a 25-6 victory. With more reserve players on the court for SCH in the third set, the Bears hung in until the Blue Devils eventually won, 25-19.

Coming off of the euphoria of the GA and Notre Dame wins, the SCH girls did not seem quite as sharp in last week’s matches.

“We talked about that,” Noll said. “We had a tough match over at Agnes Irwin and they really played hard against us. We came out with a win, which is great, but we need to refocus on what our goals are and what we want to accomplish.”

The Blue Devils’ rematch against Notre Dame will take place in Chestnut Hill, but the return bout against GA will be played on the Patriots’ home court.

“It’s going to be their Dig Pink night (a Breast Cancer Awareness volleyball event), so they’ll have a lot of people there,” Noll said. “We need to learn to dial the noise out and concentrate.”