When you have a sibling, the cliche is that you have a friend for life. You can do a lot in life together, even play sports. When you look at a roster, many times you will see two siblings on the same team. It’s rarer to have three on the same varsity team.
Defending Class B state volleyball champion Blind Brook is led by the Rosenfeld sisters – twins Oriah and Ella, both seniors and younger sister Annabel, a freshman.
We caught up with the sisters for an interview about volleyball and life.
Question: What drew you to the sport of volleyball?
Ella: Honestly, I got into volleyball around the age of 9 or 10 because my dad recognized that me and my sisters were taller than average and wanted us to play more than one sport (played basketball at the time). Therefore I joined some volleyball clinics and over time wanted to keep getting better and better, eventually trying out for club teams, etc.
Annabel: My dad recommended me to start and so I started volleyball when I was 8, and went from there.
Oriah: I always loved being active since I was a kid, and my dad would introduce me to multiple sports to see which one I liked the most. And that sport ended up being volleyball — mostly because I loved to jump.
Q: Have you ever played on the same team before this season on varsity? This can include club volleyball.
Oriah: Ella and I have played together on varsity since freshman year, and we’ve always been on the same club team. College will be the first time where we won’t play on the same team together. This is my second year playing on varsity with Annabel.
Q: What’s it like playing together?
Ella: Throughout the years I have played with Oriah, I always have felt significantly more calm on the court knowing that one of my teammates – I could trust to get any ball that came her way and that there was an individual who also had trust in my abilities. I also feel at ease when both my sisters are on the court with me (which was last year varsity season). When I know that I could involuntarily communicate and gain feedback from two individuals on the team who are also my best friends, it eases any pressure or tension felt on the court .
Annabel: I think it’s amazing that we all get to play together in a sport, as I get to spend every moment I can with them before they are off to college.
Oriah: It’s fun and competitive. We’re never afraid to challenge each other and hold ourselves accountable. We’ve definitely helped each other improve physically and mentally on the sport.
Q: Does being family give you any kind of an advantage on the court?
Ella: Family gives us an advantage because it allows for us to feel comfortable passing the ball to each other. For example if the offense demands an out of system play and I have second hands, I know that I could rely on Oriah or Annabel to set to and that they are also expecting me to set to them since they trust me and are related to me. It also is advantageous because of how much we support each other.
Annabel: I guess there isn’t a big advantage but if we are giving each other a ball, as out of system maybe, we could use different names that the other team wouldn’t know.
Oriah: I think it definitely holds an advantage; we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and are not afraid to call each other out.
Q: What position do you play?
Ella: I am recruited as an outside hitter but for the past 3 years I have been playing middle blocker for my high-school team and sometimes alternate between outside and rightside on my club team.
Annabel: My position is an outside hitter.
Oriah: I’m an outside hitter.
Q: Best part about your position
Ella: My favorite part about being an outside is how demanding the position is to be versatile. I love that I get to do a little bit of everything whether that is serve receiving, playing defense, or hitting.
Annabel: The best part of my position is that I probably get a majority of the sets, as I have to be the most reliable hitter, as setting an outside is easiest.
Oriah: I don’t just get to hit, I get to do other things—like serve receive. Also, I like being in charge of adjusting to out-of-system sets. And obviously, I love to hit the ball.
Q: When did Annabel get pulled up to varsity?
Ella: Her first full year on varsity was last year and she was pulled up in 7th grade.
Q: Thoughts on winning a state championship with your sisters?
Ella: Winning the state championship with both my sisters is something I will forever be grateful for. Not only is this a memory that belongs to me, it is one that belongs to my whole family. It makes me happy that I was able to experience and struggle through the deficits that we had throughout that weekend alongside them. I look back on winning and I wonder if i would have been able to win without them. Definitely not. Yes they are both amazing players but it’s not just that. They make me feel a sense of comfort on the court where I feel that “yes this is stressful and scary but they’re going through it too”. In a way I think I was playing my best out there for them because I knew that they wanted it just as much as I did.
Annabel: For not just winning a state champion with my team, I also did with my sisters which will be a great memory we can share for the future.
Oriah: Honestly, it felt very satisfying to see our years of hard work and passion for the sport pay off and achieve something so special. I felt proud of my sisters.
Q: How’s this season going so far?
Oriah: This season is off to a slow start. I’m also injured (I tore my ACL in January), so I’m currently playing a different role on this team. I’m looking to come back in late October though. We were worried about the setter position, because one of our setters is injured and our other one graduated last year. However, our new setter, who is a freshman, is doing extremely well and is very adaptable. Ultimately, I think we’ll finish strongly—we always have.
Ella: This season we are doing pretty well. Obviously we lost some seniors and Oriah still is not cleared, but we have won all our league games and our chemistry gets better after every game/practice. I think that this team still has so much more to bring and that by the end of the season we will be a whole different team.
Q: Ella, what made Colby the right fit for your college commitment?
Ella: I fell in love with Colby’s campus the second I saw it. Its facilities are incredible and the rural aesthetic of it really caught my eye. Additionally on the tour I saw students studying in different settings and I don’t know why but for some reason that helped me see that I belonged there. However, what really drew me was their volleyball program and culture. I was able to meet some of the players and have a meal with them and I saw the way they interacted with each other and their relationship with the coaches and it was exactly what I look for in relationships with my teammates and coaches. Their chemistry and the way that they communicate on the court intrigued me and I could feel their trust between each other even as a spectator of their games. Additionally, Colby doesn’t have Greek life and approximately 1/3 of Colby’s student body are athletes. This told me that I would connect with a lot of people at Colby not through Greek life but through athletic culture which is an aspect that I look for in relationships. Lastly I found that Waterville (Maine) itself contained a lot of differences in where I currently live, despite also being a non-urban area. The overall vibe of the adjacent town felt different, the good kind, and I look to be exposed to different ways of life and landscapes in the near future.
Q: Oriah, are you going to continue playing volleyball next year?
Oriah: I’m committed to playing Division III volleyball at Franklin & Marshall College.
Q: How weird will it be, Annabel, to not have your sisters on the team next year?
Annabel: I will be really sad to not have my sisters with me on the court as they were a big part of this team, and unforgettable.
Q: What will it take to repeat as Section 1 champs let alone the state title?
Ella: To repeat as Section 1 champs it will take dedication to reaching our full potential. That doesn’t just mean winning games, it means challenging each other at practice, implementing overcommunication and new plays in games. This will keep us prepared for both the pressure and competition in section finals. This also applies to winning the state title however it is not just about preparation, it is about belief. We need to believe that we can make it to state finals as in imagine being there and gaining confidence from past accomplishments. If there in no belief there is no cushioning of the pressure and doubt exhibited in high-stake games.
Annabel: To win a Section 1 or even a state title will take a lot of hard work and determination, from not just us but the whole team as a family.
Oriah: It will take a lot of sacrifice, tenacity, resilience, and discipline to get another state title. We need to achieve outstanding chemistry. We need to trust each other and communicate. We need to have urgency and understand that we cannot limit ourselves to one position. We need to be confident and have a fierce mentality. And most importantly, we need to want it.
Twitter: @LoHud_Debbie
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Blind Brook sisters Oriah, Ella and Annabel Rosenfeld talk about volleyball, family, life
Reporting by Debbie Schechter, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
