Being a senior in high school is bittersweet. 

There are a lot of “lasts” for students, including the last first day of school, the last Homecoming dance and the last Spirit Week. 

However, these lasts make for special celebrations.

The Wareham High School volleyball team had its own bittersweet celebration on Wednesday, Oct. 25, which was Senior Night.

Although it was not the last game of the season, the five seniors on the team reminisced on old times and received flowers, candy and a sash. 

Then they, along with the rest of the team, entered the court by bursting through a “We love our seniors” banner, which was followed up by the seniors singing the National Anthem. 

Senior Co-Captain Julia McDuffy said she’s been playing volleyball since the eighth grade and although there have been a few coach switch ups, she said, "We've always stuck by each other.”

McDuffy said her favorite memories on the team are the bus rides. 

She added there is good music and conversation: “It’s always a fun time to just surround ourselves with people.”

Senior Co-Captain Stoney Ferry said she loves doing the “costume practice,” in which the whole team dresses in their Halloween costumes to practice in. 

“It’s really fun and funny,” Ferry added. “It just relaxes us before our game.”

With a 14-5 record for the season, she said she is “really proud” of the team’s work this year, adding they have won more games than expected.

Head Coach Allyson Collette said last year, the team was at 32 in the power rankings. This year, the team is at 24. 

Collette said going into the season in the Mayflower Conference, their goals were to improve the team’s win record as well as “get some confidence into the program.”

In the new conference, the teams are more evenly matched with Wareham’s program, she said. However, she added, “Looking forward to the tournament, we might see some stronger teams and we might be a little more shell shocked when we get to those.”

Colette said although this is only her second year coaching the program, she sees the seniors as “essential.”

Senior Riana Phillips said at the start of the season she managed to get five kills in one game — this is now her favorite volleyball memory. 

Phillips said, “Every day is just a better day.”

Senior Keira Pierre said she transferred to Wareham from Falmouth and she was “really nervous” to join a new team. 

However, Pierre said, “When I came here, I felt really accepted.”

Senior Co-Captain Makayla Young was also a transfer to the team two years ago. 

Looking back on her time on the team, she said her favorite memory was at a game at Bristol County Agricultural High School last year when all the Wareham players wrote notes to each other that were then read together as a team after the game.