“It would be nice to repeat, but we are focusing right now on each game,” said Wang. She wants to enjoy this season with her teammates and see where it takes them. But that’s not at the forefront of her mind right now. With traits like those, it’s no wonder Harvard’s come calling for Wang, who has verbally committed to the Crimson. She is as strong a setter as there is in New England right now. “She blocks about two feet over the net with her arms angled down. “She has tremendous power as an attacker,” said Barton. Those newcomers are just as excited about Wang’s ability as she is theirs. She cares about herself, but more this year, she’s concerned about the others, especially the girls new to the team or the sport. “She is interested in being a good senior leader. “She is not interested in being a star player,” said Barton.
Her time on the sidelines has made her as valuable of a player as she is a leader. “It was just a pure and happy moment for all of us.”Īs the Tigers take the court to prepare for their title defense this season, Wang has become the ideal senior captain. “All of us were screaming so loud,” Wang said of the moment of victory. Wang made several crucial kills to bring Newton North back, leading to a 25-22 set win to clinch its second state championship in four years.
After taking the first two sets, they fell four points down in the third. Wang and the Tigers battled mightily in the title game against the Hillers. I wanted to do whatever I could to help the team.” So I helped out by managing and watching. “We would give each other advice in the huddle. “Our team is super close, and they take feedback really well,” said Wang. In the meantime, she managed the team and gave pointers to her teammates. Wang took several months off, hoping to rejoin Newton North in time for the playoffs. “I could see what we were good at and what we needed to work on.” “I got to see the team from a different perspective,” said Wang, now a senior. Then the injury sent her to the sidelines. Opportunities to play in college were starting to emerge, and the Tigers were oh-so-close to clinching another state title. The 6-foot-3 setter and right hitter was showing promise both on the court for the Tigers and for her club team, Smash Volleyball. She loved volleyball, following older sister Victoria onto the court when she was in seventh grade. When Newton North’s Ashley Wang discovered she had a stress fracture in her back during the spring of her sophomore year, it could have meant the end of her volleyball career.