Odyssey Middle School’s girls’ volleyball team finished the 2022 season with a 3-6 record. The Owls beat Red Lion Christian Academy 2-0, Christiana 2-0, and Conrad Schools of Science 2-1.

The team also played in the DAAD Middle School Invitational in Smyrna at the end of the season and placed 7th.

Although the team didn’t finish with a winning record, first-year coach Stephanie Carini said she saw that her players had become much better by the end of the season.

“Every single one of them improved and they were completely different players, and stronger players,” Carini said.

In their third match of the season, the Owls lost to Conrad 2-0. Three weeks later, in their seventh match of the season, the Owls beat Conrad 2-1.

Carini mentioned three players in particular who had good seasons. 7th grader Caroline DiEleuterio and 8th graders Nadia Padovani and Roanne Ribaya led the Owls in points.

DiEleuterio played on the team last year and has also played club volleyball.

“I think we came far from the beginning from people not knowing how to play,” DiEleuterio said. “Mentally and physically exceeding the expectations of improvement. I think we all played very well.”

Ribaya had never played on a volleyball team before, but she did train at a camp for five weeks in Odessa over the summer.

“I was scared [about the season] but I was happy to have my teammates there because they helped me get through the emotional stuff,” Ribaya said. “I was really glad to have my teammates there with me because they helped my performance.”