At 4-7, the Wareham High School volleyball team still has a chance at making the postseason, but playoffs or not, this year can already be considered a success.

After winning only one game last year, the Vikings squad has begun to show confidence and team chemistry, as is evident by their come-from-behind, five-set, victory versus the now 7-3 Bishop Connolly Cougars Monday night.

Both players and their first-year Coach Ben Kaeterle agree that they’re just starting to hit their stride.

“The mentality is starting to change,” said Kaeterle following the team’s practice Tuesday afternoon. “They’re hungrier now for the wins.”

Kaeterle said the team has a good mix of sophomores, juniors, and seniors, and some younger players have played key roles in each of their four wins.

He mentioned sophomore outside hitter Sara Tymer, sophomore middle blocker Hunter Thatcher (12 kills versus Connolly), and junior Bekka Blanchette (23 assists versus Connolly) as players who stepped up.

Kaeterle said though confidence is improving, the team sometimes gets frustrated or intimidated too easily.

“They’re working to improve on that,” he said.

Senior middle blocker and co-captain Kia Fernandes said the team has grown close since the start of the year, and that she feels they’ve gotten better with the help of a “secret weapon.”

“We have a Teddy,” she said, referring to senior libero Teddy Mathews.

Mathews played for the boys’ freshmen and junior varsity teams, but when the boys’ program was cut last year, he was left without a team. That allowed him to join the girls’ team, and the results have been positive for the Vikings.

“This year, we have a libero—we struggled with passing last year,” said senior Rae-Lyn Pina, the team’s other co-captain. “He really helps a lot.”

Both co-captains agreed that having Kaeterle at the helm has also helped turn things around.

“We talk a lot more, and he stresses that,” said Pina of Kaeterle.

Kaeterle said the team still has a shot to get to .500, which would qualify them for the postseason. This Friday night at 6 p.m. at Wareham High, they’ll face Fairhaven High, which he said is a “powerhouse.”

“If we don’t beat either them or Case (another one of the area’s top teams), we’ll pretty much have to win out,” he said. “I think any team is beatable on any given day. The confidence is there. They’ve just got to get tougher, hustle, and keep working together.”