On Friday night, fans filled the bleachers of the high school gym wearing red, white, blue and green to support the women’s varsity volleyball team on their USA-themed third annual “Pack the House Night.”
GDS beat St. Andrew’s Episcopal School 3–0 at the USA-themed third annual “Pack the House Night.” Earlier this month, The Washington Post ranked the team first All-Met.
Before the game started, athletic director Mike Brooks congratulated junior Caycee Chhum, who recorded her 1000th career assist in the previous game.
The announcement was met with exuberant applause from the fans, especially from members of Chhum’s family, who were there donning green grasshopper hats and waving congratulatory signs, balloons and large cutouts of her face. She became the third player in school history to reach the milestone, joining Claire Cooper ’22 and Clara Yu ’24.
St. Andrew’s earned the first point of the game, but GDS was quick to respond and tie the game. Chhum followed the point up with two aces, bringing the score to 3–1. An ace is a point scored directly from a serve. GDS maintained a steady lead for the rest of the set. The Hoppers were up by 15 as the set neared a close and, after a brief rally, senior co-captain Gigi Wigglesworth scored the winning point with a powerful spike. The set ended 25–9.
Before the next set started, GDS players ran to the stands and threw candy into the excited crowd. As St. Andrew’s served to open the set, a strong drumroll began from the stands, a distraction tactic GDS fans used many times throughout the game. The second set was more intense, and no team scored more than four points in a row. In a rally that turned out to be the longest of the night, junior Zora Dimbo dove twice to keep the ball alive before GDS ultimately scored the point. The play got the crowd on their feet, chanting, “Let’s go Hoppers.” Wigglesworth once again scored the final point, this time on an ace, ending the set at 25–16.
The third and final set had the lively crowd roaring. Both teams started strong, bringing the score to 14–11 before GDS scored seven unanswered points, cementing their lead.
The score was 24–14, and fans were chanting “one more point,” when Dimbo spiked the ball over the net in what many thought was the game-winning point. As the scoreboard updated to read 25–14, the stands began to celebrate, cheer, wave flags and chant. Soon, however, the board changed again, displaying a score of 24–15, the point having been awarded to St. Andrew’s instead. After the confusion, St. Andrew’s scored twice before Dimbo tipped the ball over the net, this time securing the point, the set and the win. The ecstatic crowd rose and celebrated the win with the team as the players turned and waved at them.
Head coach Brandon Wiest commended the team’s performance. “I was really excited how we obviously had an incredible crowd come out to support the team,” he said. “I was really excited to see our team feed off that energy and play a really aggressive and assertive game.”
Wigglesworth said the team needed “to work a little bit on our communication and staying focused throughout the game, especially when we’re up by a lot and the team is not giving us as much competition as we wish.”
Senior co-captain Ella Higday said she thought the team “had some slow moments” but overall played a great game.
“I think just having the energy from the crowd was really great,” she said. “We did a great job showing out and running our plays, and I think in our heads we were all like, ‘We’re going to come show the crowd how good we are.’”
Chhum also praised the fans’ enthusiasm, saying, “I really love that we had our fans to cheer us on. Their energy brings so much to the game—it makes it better for everybody.”
GDS’s next game will be against the Potomac School at home on Tuesday, Sept. 30.