The Miracle Season

Director Sean McNamara and writers David Aaron Cohen and Elissa Matsueda tell the true story of the Iowa City West High School girls’ volleyball team, defending state champions in 2011 who had to battle back from overwhelming grief when team leader Caroline Found (Danika Yarosh) died in a moped accident just before the start of the school year. It’s a by-the-numbers sports tearjerker, and high school girls’ volleyball isn’t exactly the World Series or Super Bowl, but the story is inspiring enough to make up for a more or less routine telling. Helen Hunt as the team’s coach, Jason Gray-Stanford as her assistant, and William Hurt as Caroline’s heartbroken father all lend professional heft to the cast, and the team members (led by Erin Moriarty and Rebecca Staab) tackle their roles with youthful ardor.