VARSITY

Varsity Volleyball now 4-0

Coach says chemistry responsible for turnaround

You might have though it was going to be the same old girls’ varsity volleyball team if you watched them get beat soundly in the first game of their first match of the season versus Nanuet. For a moment, the players might have thought it, too.

New coach Colin Hanahoe said you could see it in their faces. They remembered the losing. But then a funny thing happened. They won the second game, forcing the Nanuet coach to reinsert his starting lineup for the third. But even with Nanuet going up big, it was a different game altogether.

“Once they had a little bit of success and actually believed in themselves, it was contagious,” Hanahoe said.

The Gaels would come back to defeat Nanuet in that third game, then took the match, 3-2, for its first victory in more than a year. The team hasn’t looked back since.

Carving out their own memories, the girls have turned team chemistry and talent into a three-match winning streak to start the season, with convincing wins over Edgemont, 3-0, and Sleepy Hollow, 3-1.

When asked the secret to the team’s success, Hanahoe jokingly mentioned the new coaches before revealing the true nature of the resurgence—a committed group of very talented young ladies willing to do whatever it takes to bring the Kennedy Catholic volleyball program back to prominence.

Led by senior captains Tracey Honohan and Lisa Camilli, the Gaels boast two players among the top three in five of the six major statistical categories as of the third week in September. Honohan is tops in the league with 43 kills, while senior Laura Cocozza is first with 26 service aces. Senior Kristin Kennedy is the league’s digs leader with 22, with fellow senior Victoria Lakis close on her heels at 21. Then it’s Honohan again with 44 service receptions.

JUNIOR VARSITY

Coach:
Richard Desiderio

Freshmen

Coach:
Delphine Marino