Sports
Wantagh Girls Volleyball Off To Strong Start In 2011
The Lady Warriors are hopeful of a repeat Long Island championship.
The Wantagh girls volleyball team knows very well of winning ways as of late. The defending Long Island champions from 2010 have started right where they left off with a current 3-0 record in the fall.
The Lady Warriors concluded the regular season last year with an undefeated record and a Nassau County finals win over Bellmore Kennedy, followed by a Long Island finals win over Bellport. The valuable experience to play in the State tournament will only help current players to get back once again.
“All of the girls work together and there is a lot of cohesiveness,” said third-year head coach Katie McKeefrey. “They just have each other’s backs and they know they were undefeated last year, and that’s what they expect to do this year. They know I expect that from them. They want to go States again, so they know they have to work hard.”
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Wantagh will again play out of Conference A-I with the likes of Garden City, Herricks, South Side, Bellmore Kennedy, Roslyn, Manhasset and Long Beach. Three of their oppositions were also 2010 County finalists in their respective classes (Long Beach-AA, Bellmore Kennedy-A and Manhasset-B), so the recent realignments should provide solid competition in 2011.
From the 2010 squad, Wantagh will look to replace seniors such as All-State libero Carissa Gagliardi and All-County setter Nicole Kelly. The key players looking to step up this year will be senior captain Jenny Ilibassi, senior middle Lauren Pennino and a pair of juniors in Carly Simeone and Anna Paulik.
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Wantagh opened up their schedule at home against South Side on Sept. 14. After dropping the first set, the Warriors stormed back to take the match in four sets. The Lady Warriors won their first road test at Roslyn three days later by way of a three-set sweep.
In their most recent match-up on Tuesday, the Warriors handled visiting Herricks in straight sets. Paulik and Ilibassi led the way with six kills each. Paulik also served a season-high 10 aces. Simeone contributed with 19 assists in the three games.
“Our goal is to beat everyone in three games, so it is a hard goal to achieve,” added McKeefrey. “We are trying to figure out who our new rivals are going to be.”
Wantagh will travel on the road next to play a talented Garden City team (4-1) this evening at 6:30 p.m.
