Concord High girls volleyball is playing with focused excitement this fall. Throughout the entirety of a victory over Nashua South on Monday night, it was evident that the Crimson Tide’s mental fortitude has been rejuvenated over the offseason.
Tide volleyball has been one of the most surprising turnarounds during this early part of the campaign. After only winning four matches in 2025, the Tide convincingly beat the Panthers in three sets (25-21, 25-20, 25-22) to win their third match in four played this season.
“I feel like we’re ready this year. We’re hyped; we want to make it far,” Concord sophomore Annie Blinn said. “We just have a lot of trust in each other.”
The Monday night performance exemplified all the ways the Concord girls have found their groove and leveled up to compete in Division I.
The first set was a tight one until Concord pulled away late. The Tide went ahead by two points during senior Megan Wimpey’s serve and, after a big kill by South’s Maya Szymanski, Concord quickly recovered. Concord junior Grace Menchion slammed one down herself, and an ace by Blinn saw Concord go ahead by four, 22-18.
Concord’s outside hitters, senior Olive Kelley and junior Jillian Barry, were assisted precisely by setter Wimpey to finish out the set strong.
Wimpey came up big again in the second set, as Concord won eight points during her two stints serving. Concord’s key was quickly recouping the serve whenever it dropped a point and forcing Nashua South to rotate through its servers quickly while taking advantage of its size up front.
Concord’s offensive firepower at the net — Menchion, Blinn, Kelley and Barry — all worked well with Wimpey. Menchion and Blinn finished out the second set, while Kelley and Barry took care of the game in the third.
“I think we all came in with a really good understanding of each other through preseason,” Kelley said.
There are still kinks to smooth out, especially with on-court communication, Kelley added. Staying connected and celebrating in the moment after each point and throughout the week, whether at practice or team dinner, is helping the Tide stay strong.
“We have good energy as a team, we come together throughout the season, so I feel like our skill level is putting in the work,” Barry said.
The third set took everyone to lock in, playing with that focused excitement, to win the match. The Panthers came out in force, taking a six-point lead halfway through the set, 13-7.
A big dig by senior libero Gracie Lorden went straight up for Wimpey to lob, and a strong finish at the net by Kelley re-ignited the team.
The Tide battled throughout the final set for every point. Down 15-10, Jillian Barry went on a long serve run with two aces to bring Concord to within 16-14.
After that, the momentum couldn’t be stopped.
Even when Concord dropped points or made an error, the players smiled and cheered. That strength has carried the Tide through all three victories this season. Kelley had a smart dump at the net to win the final set and send everyone home early.
Fourth-year Concord coach Maria Wimpey said returning a large amount of varsity players has led to the consistent play this year. Last year was almost a transitional year with a lot of new faces, and now the Tide is ready for the challenge.
Wimpey thinks her team’s energy levels aren’t even at their peak yet. Yes, the team handles adversity well and stays calm under pressure, but when they have momentum they can continue building it.
“When we get those five-foot kills, and before the 10-foot-line kills, getting insanely excited would be a great thing,” she said.
Concord’s next few matches will be a challenge, as it will face three of last year’s Division I semifinalists. On Wednesday, the Tide play at Nashua North (2-2), which reached the semis in 2026. They’ll then return Friday to host 2025 finalists Dover (2-3) at 5:15 p.m. Next Monday is the biggest test, against defending champions Pinkerton (3-1) in Derry at 5:15 p.m.