Whitney Abell didn’t have a second to breathe, a moment to herself to soak it all in, a chance to stop and tell herself she did it.

Abell was too busy being mobbed with congratulations by players, Todd Beamer fans and faculty, and even her dad, who was in attendance for her first win as the Titans’ head coach and the team’s first win of the season, a 3-0 victory over the Thomas Jefferson Raiders on Monday at Todd Beamer High School.

Abell’s first win as the program’s new coach is a moment she’s been waiting to experience since the season began on Sept. 15.

“It feels great,” Abell said. “I’ve been an assistant with this team previously, so I knew all the players already, we have a great relationship, but I was nervous stepping into this role. There were nerves about whether or not they would buy in to what I wanted to do with the team, building a strong belief of being competitive.

“I knew they would buy in, there was no question about that, but I was still nervous. They’ve really responded to the message of competing. The record may not show it, but the other coaches and myself see it in their play in games and practice every day.”

After a successful nine-win season a year ago, Beamer (1-7, 1-2) is young and in the midst of a rebuilding stretch and the current season has been a grueling one. The same can be said about the Thomas Jefferson Raiders (1-10, 0-3) as they too transition into a rebuilding stretch as it graduates nine seniors at the end of the year.

Through their first seven games this year, the Titans didn’t win a single set during its 0-7 start.

Abell said the feeling of watching Beamer play in a confident, relaxed state was incredible. Something she hasn’t seen to this point in the season.

“It feels great,” Abell said. “To be able to see the girls be successful and to see the confidence come through them and just watch them do as they know how to do on the court and just relax.”

Todd Beamer set the tone early with a dominant first set, cruising to a 25-9 win. Senior middle blocker Mallorie Post led the way with two service aces in the set.

Post led the way in the attacking middle with eight kills on the night, while Angelynna McConville led the Titans with five blocks, and libero Kiahna Loane led the way with four digs.

With Todd Beamer clicking on all cylinders, it made quick work of the second set, beating the Trojans 25-9.

Abell said those two sets were the best moments of competitive spirit she’s seen from the Titans all season long.

“We’ve been working a lot on being competitive,” Abell said. “The girls came out and I thought they were really focused on that. They didn’t let up, they focused on the little things to make sure they were successful.”

With the confidence booming, Beamer did what confident teams have a tendency to do — it took its foot off the gas. The Titans lost an 8-3 lead early in the third set as Kaleesa Peters led the way for Jefferson with two kills in the set and four overall.

The Titans responded, growing their lead to 16-10, but again, the Trojans responded with a 4-0 run, cutting the Titan lead to 16-14.

Abell had enough.

She took her one timeout, darting onto the court and into the player’s huddle.

Abell said it was obvious. Beamer lost sight of the message. It lost its confidence. She said she could see it and could see she had to do something to bring it back.

“I told the girls, with the theme of being competitive, you can’t just let things slide in the third set,” Abell said. “We made some changes in our lineup, and told them you always have to go after whoever is on the other side of the net. They weren’t doing that, and I could just tell they needed a little break and a little reminder of what the focus was, and that was to compete.”

The Titans responded. They closed out the match, winning the final set 25-22.

Abell, who served a number of years as Patrick Taitano’s assistant with the program, said along with Taitano’s advice as her assistant coach, she’s relying heavily on the leadership of her two seniors, Post and Savanna Service.

She said the two have done a tremendous job not only communicating her vision, but also mentoring in the freshman class.

“They have done a phenomenal job,” Abell said. “They’ve done a great job stepping up as seniors and showing our young kids what it takes to be competitive on the court since both have played club volleyball. They’ve shown the freshman what it means to be a family.”

Abell was finally able to see the fruits of her labor in molding this family through her first win as Todd Beamer’s coach.

She said she had many people to thank for helping her get this first win and she was going to speak with all of them. As far as taking a moment alone to soak in her first win, she said she’d get there eventually.

But like earning her first win as Beamer’s head coach, it just might take moment.

“I’ll get there — hopefully,” Abell joked. “For now, I’m just so proud of these girls. We’ve faced some tough teams, some of the best, some of the top 10 teams in the state. With a team with four freshman, a schedule like that can be really tough mentally. I think have such a young team will be a huge strength for us at the end of the season and for the future.”