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Two years ago, during its debut varsity season in 2023, the Edward Little volleyball team failed to win a match.

Three years later, the Red Eddies are enjoying their best start to a season. They’re 6-2 and ranked third in the Class A Heal point standings.

The secret to the turnaround?

“Literally, the majority of our team plays club, so it’s definitely an advantage,” said senior Nellie Feeney, a hitter and defensive specialist. “But, other than that, we’ve been going to camps, we’ve just been working really hard in season and off season to get better for the team.”

Second-year coach Kristi Gordon has also made a difference. She turned around an 0-14 squad, guiding the team to a 10-5 record last year and a berth in the Class A playoffs, where they lost to Deering in a preliminary-round game.

The Red Eddies have continued their ascent, and making a deeper playoff run would be “a whole new world,” Gordon said.

Feeney agreed. 

“We’d never won a game before, so going to even the first round of the playoffs last year meant the world to me,” she said. “I hope that we can make it past that and just keep growing the legacy.”

The Red Eddies finished the 2024 regular season with six consecutive victories. They opened this fall with a six-match winning streak. Gordon said the early victories have helped the team gain traction.

“They work really well together as a team, and they’re all good friends, so it works,” Gordon said. “They try to bring the energy up and they try to be positive with each other, no matter what.”

After Edward Little suffered its first loss of the season, to Gardiner in four sets on Sept. 23, Gordon said the team felt a little down.

“We try to keep our heads up even when we’re down, because we’ve been through it before,” Feeney said. “Obviously, we’ve ended up coming back at the end, but I think (Gardiner) is just a little more challenging. It got to us a little quicker, but we’ve been through it before. Obviously, this isn’t our first time losing, so we know how to adjust to it, and we’ll come back better.”

STAT LEADERS IN EVERY POSITION

The Red Eddies fell to fellow upstart South Portland two days later. They played both matches without junior Sarah Ebersole, a KVAC first-team selection last year. In her absence, others, such as Feeney and senior setter Maija Bolduc, have had to step up more.

Before her injury, Ebersole led the team in kills per set (2.7), hitting percentage (0.415), serving aces (55), aces per set (3.7), kills (40) and receptions (49). Having her sidelined is a challenge, Gordon said, but Edward Little has persevered thanks to a new system that has athletes play all over the court. 

“Something that I did this year, actually, (instead of having) specific positions where one person is playing middle the whole time, they’re all so well-rounded that you can literally have them just go around the court, in every position,” Gordon said. “I lucked out that way.”

Defensively, Feeney leads the charge. She has 31 blocks, 3.2 digs per set and 90 total digs. Blocking is one of her specialties, she said, and she was ranked third in blocks her sophomore year.

“Every time you get a block, it just is a huge morale boost, they’re fun,” Gordon said. “It’s a lot of fun to see them get those, and it helps with the hard hits … takes that away for some points.”

Defense has been a focus of practice, Feeney said. A strong defense requires trust, especially for sophomore libero Sierra Reynolds, who is often calling balls mid-air so she can commit to hitting the ground to get a pass off.

“We’ve been working on defense constantly every day during practice,” Feeney said.

Bolduc also powers the team with her serves. In a win over Brunswick, Bolduc went on a 12-point serving streak and Edward Little finished with 38 aces. Bolduc is second to Ebersole with 47 aces, and she leads the Eddies in assists with 123.

“A lot of natural ability, they came into my season last year having it,” Gordon said. “For a couple of them, we work on spot serves specifically, or getting in the seams. Sarah (Ebersole), for example, if she serves right to their arms, they’re going to get it out. If you serve to the seam or where they have to move for it, then it’s gonna be a little bit easier to get that ace.”