This Homecoming, the Spence Varsity Soccer team scored a dominating win against Nightingale, sending fans home in celebration and beaming with school spirit!
Spence fans gathered on Friday, September 26 on the field to cheer on the soccer team, while many more came to support the two volleyball teams and the tailgate on September 27th, marking one of the largest Homecoming attendances. “It was a special weekend and one that I know our student-athletes and entire Spence community will remember for a long time!,” Ms. Fichera said.
The Varsity Soccer team defeated rival Nightingale, who for the first time shared their Homecoming date with Spence, with a score of 4-1 in an inspiring and spirited performance. While the Varsity Volleyball team fell short to Nightingale in an edge-of-your-seat match losing two sets to three, the Junior Varsity team took home the victory!
What makes a Homecoming win more special than any other is the enthusiasm and spirit of the crowd. Tessa Cameron ’26 said, “Knowing that we have the support of hundreds of Spence students behind us is a feeling like no other. It really encapsulates what Spence is all about!” Not only were the games an event for the students, but for Spence families as well. “You see little kids there, you see people’s grandparents there, and the entire gym is packed,” Sienna Lambrou ’26 said. In classic Homecoming fashion, after the game ended the field and courts were crowded with students of all ages congratulating the teams. “It always brings so much joy to my heart when I see the Spence Sabers running to hug the players,” Tessa Cameron ’26 said.
For many of the current members of the Varsity Soccer team, this Homecoming game brought back memories of their own childhood as lower school students. Reflecting on her own experience watching the older players, “I remember looking up at those girls on the field as a kindergartener and absolutely dying to be one of them. As I became a member of GVS, and started playing in Homecoming, I finally felt what I hoped I would for so long,” Tessa Cameron ’26 said.
While unable to secure the victory against Nightingale, the Varsity Volleyball team put on a gritty and entertaining match for the Spence crowd! “The fact that we went to five sets this year was exciting and cool!” Sienna Lambrou ’26, a senior player on the Varsity team said. “There were also lots of good rallies in the match which made it more fun!”
In terms of preparation for the Homecoming games, the process involves not only the school but Spence families as well, and can take up to a year to plan. “We work very closely with the Spence Parents’ Association. They are instrumental in supporting Homecoming and helping us make it a true K-12 school wide event,” Ms. Fichera said. “Homecoming is an event that requires a great deal of coordination and logistics, and planning for Homecoming 2026 is already underway!”
Along with the many victories of the Spence athletic teams, Homecoming was successful at raising Saber pride and spirit as it brought students of all ages together in support of their community.