Volleyball Wins It All, Securing Winsor’s First Volleyball Championship

The 2024–25 varsity volleyball team had an incredible season, finishing with an EIL league record of 11–2 and winning Winsor’s first Eastern Independent League (EIL) in-season championship.

Director of Athletics Sherren Granese was nostalgic at the Fall 2024 Athletics Banquet. To a group of coaches, Upper School student athletes, and parents, Coach Granese recounted how in 2017 two Winsor students, Michelle Pu ’20 and Samantha Chin ’19, came into her office and asked that Winsor add volleyball to the interscholastic offerings. After some thought, and at Coach Granese’s urging, Winsor introduced a club volleyball team that fall and in 2018 became full-time competitors in the EIL. “I’m so happy that I listened to Michelle and Samantha and added volleyball, as the team made history this year, winning their first EIL regular season championship,” shared Coach Granese. 

At the banquet, varsity volleyball players stood up to be recognized for their achievements while the team captains, Kenna Schneider ’25 and Kelly Yin ’26, accepted Winsor’s first ever volleyball championship banner.

“As a coach, I believe that team chemistry is everything,” said Varsity Volleyball Coach Edmund Zhang, who focused on building strong communication and team bonding throughout the season. After the team won their first first five games, Coach Zhang told them that winning the league and raising a banner were within reach, “but it would take hard work and dedication.” 

After a tough loss to Newton Country Day School (NCDS), the team regrouped and focused on practicing hard. That practice paid off, first in an epic win against Dana Hall at Under the Lights and a well-earned victory in a second meeting with NCDS. 

“Our success this season was due to the fact that every player stepped up and played their role, even when asked to step into positions that they were not used to. The willingness to take on new challenges without hesitation speaks to the heart of this team,” said Coach Zhang, who added, “I could not be prouder of how far we’ve come. The players learned and grew so much.”

Congratulations to varsity volleyball on a historic season!