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01/08/2020 11:00 PMLily Blomster is always keeping busy at North Branford High School. Lily recently finished her career as a captain with the T-Birds’ volleyball team and is now in her second year leading the girls’ basketball squad in the captain’s helm. Lily, who also plays lacrosse in the spring, says that she has a special bond with the teammates on each one of her clubs.
“I just have such an amazing connection with all the girls I play with,” says Lily.
Lily played the middle hitter position for the North Branford volleyball team. She recorded 43 kills to go with 30 aces and 12 blocks during the recent fall season.
“I think obviously the height advantage is good to be a middle hitter, but I also have to read the other team to know when to go up to make a block. I tend to have good judgement of what can happen next. I think I’m always ahead,” Lily says. “Blocking is always super important for us, especially this year, because myself and the other middle hitter [senior Julia Ricardo] are both tall. It was our role to step up as much as we could.”
North Branford featured 12 seniors on its roster this season. At first, Lily felt that it was a challenge to lead the T-Birds, but she wound up settling in quite nicely to her captain’s role.
“It was definitely more of a struggle to be a captain with all the seniors we had, because we’re so close and friends off the court. When you have to take charge, be a leader, and correct them on a mistake, it was awkward at first, because you didn’t want to upset your friends,” Lily says. “In practice, we pushed everyone to be the best and give 110 percent in games. We didn’t dwell on mistakes and tried to stay as positive as possible.”
Head Coach Tori Ramada says that Lily’s attitude and approach made her a quality captain. Ramada knew that she could always count on Lily to get the best out of her teammates.
“Lily was a well-rounded athlete this past season. She stepped up as captain, as well as assisting with skill work. You never saw Lily without a smile on her face all season, and it was contagious,” says Ramada. “Lily worked hard as a middle and worked well with the outside hitters to double block when needed. Lily was also a great communicator on the court. She always knew where the ball was and assisted when needed.”
Lily is currently in her second year captaining the girls’ basketball team. Last winter, Lily missed about half of her junior season due to an injury. As a result, she was extra motivated to get back on the court for her senior campaign.
“It motivated me to work even harder, because I missed last season,” says Lily. “This is my last season, so I wanted to do the best I can for my teammates and make up for last year.”
Lily says that her previous experience as a captain is making it easier for her to lead the basketball squad this year.
“It’s definitely easier this year. I’m more comfortable talking to the girls about how to improve,” Lily says. “I have a really good connection with the other girls.”
Since this is her final season playing basketball at North Branford, Lily wants to help the Thunderbirds achieve as much success as possible before she leaves the program.
“We want to go as far as we can in the Shoreline and State tournaments,” says Lily. “Our other goal is to have a winning record and do the best we can in every game.”