Volleyball Setter Julianne Henkel: From benchwarmer to Division III commit

By Owen Lentner, Chief Reporter

Branford Girls Varsity Volleyball has been on a roll the past week, bringing home several wins from their matchups. The team of thirteen girls has played Hamden, Daniel Hand, Guilford and North Haven – winning three of their four respective games this past week. Led by senior Setter and Western New England commit Julianne Henkel, the season has been one they can look back on proudly as the currently sit 8-6. Henkel has been an important leader of the team as one of three captains along with Stella Andresen and Sophia Tamsin as the team enters the homestretch of their regular season.

As part of a regular series, The Branford Buzz will be highlighting different athletes and teams this fall. This is the second in the series. A previous installment featured football quarterback Chris McKittrick.

Game’s Summary

With the team’s only loss this week being against Guilford, they’ve had success claiming their spot in the SCC playoffs.

In their game against Hamden (currently 9-4) on Sept. 25, they won 3-0 along with winning each of the three sets. A strong offensive part of Branford’s victory came from Sophomore Abbey Mangler (#5) with 7 kills in the game. At 41 digs total in the game, along with 2 blocks, they stopped Hamden’s attack attempts efficiently.

In their game four days later, Branford struggled against Daniel Hand, currently 4-7, in the beginning of the match. They ended up winning 3-2, playing five close sets. Henkel (#11) had 27 assists along with 12 kills, 20 digs, and 9 service aces – a standout performance from the Branford team.

While the Hornets lost to Guilford (4-4), on Oct. 1st, they had a powerful first two sets. Lea Sekerovic (#13), a top hitter on the team, was injured in the game. Her absence caused the team to suffer in the last three sets, eventually losing to the Grizzlies 3-2.

Finally, at the end of the week on Oct. 3, the Hornets had yet another victory 3-0 at home. North Haven had a commendable start but couldn’t hold on and Branford won the third and final set 25-11, knocking the Nighthawks to a record of 2-12.

Background & Personal Life

At the heart of Branford’s volleyball team stands Julianne Henkel, who started her career as a freshman riding the bench on the JV team in the 2022 season. She’s worked her way to a star setter and a Division III-commit in just three years on Branford’s team.

She also was recently honored by the Branford Athletic Department for notching her 1,000 career assist.

“My mom made me sign up for a sport in eighth grade… I was like I guess I’ll play volleyball… and I just fell in love with it but I was pretty bad,” Henkel said in a recent interview. She explained how her parents wanted her to play a sport when theater wasn’t in session. What really made her stay, she noted, was the community she gained from the sport: “I just had fun on the bench… just goofed off on the bench [with my friends], cheering even though we didn’t play.”

Henkel also noted that she loves theater and performing in the winter musical at the high school when volleyball is out of season.

“Last year I was in Matilda as one of the kids,” she said. “That was super fun.”

She added that when she was young she was a “little diva” and always wanted the spotlight, eventually convincing her father to sign her up for a show at the Tabor Arts School. She fell in love with theater and has continued since after her first show, Peter Pan.

Training & Regimen

A full week of games for Henkel consists of the following: Saturday regular practice followed by a rest on Sunday. Then three games: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with a heavy practice on Tuesday and lighter on Thursday.

“[Tuesday] we’ll go a little bit harder knowing we have two games [for the remainder of the week]… We want to make sure we’re focusing on the skills we need to based on what we failed on in the Monday game,” she said. Thursday practices, she added, are lighter focusing more on recovery with a team dinner afterwards.

A typical practice day for her consists of the following: Wake up for school and pick out a spandex workout outfit.

“I love neon spandex, I have probably over twenty colors of spandex,” Henkel joked. She gets ready for school, then after class has volleyball practice. Practice starts with warmups including dynamic stretches. After, the players begin peppering: volleying the ball to a teammate along with serving and hitting. Once warmups are finished, the athletes begin the drill for the day. The drills range from practice games, almost like a scrimmage, to focusing on certain areas of improvement – including footwork, offense & defense, and setting up shots. When Henkel gets home, she noted she ices religiously for recovery and tries to watch game film as much as possible.

Character & Person

“The arc was pretty much a bench player, quiet her Freshman year to falling in love with the game and being good at the game… making herself good,” remarked Mike Martone, the head coach for the Volleyball team. Henkel, after sitting on the bench most of her freshman year, was told in 2022 there was a Setter position opening the next year from her coach, and that she could take the position if she put in the time. Henkel stated that over the summer she was constantly in the gym and in camps to better her skills, noting she worked every single day and by her sophomore year, she took the varsity setter position.

“Passionate, dedicated, driven… those are my three,” concluded Martone when asked to describe Henkel in three words.

“Hardworking, a leader, passionate,” Henkel stated when asked what three words her coach would describe her with.

As the fall regular season draws to a close, Hornets Girls Volleyball looks towards the championship season starting late October. With Henkel leading, they currently sit in sixth place in the 20-team Southern Connecticut Conference.

No matter how this season plays out, Henkel’s time playing volleyball is not nearly done; she has committed to NCAA Division III school: Western New England University in Springfield, Mass.

Their next game is away against East Haven on Oct. 8 at 5 p.m. After that, the Hornets have four games remaining in the regular season before the championships begin Oct. 22.