Stars shine at Classic

KARL PEARSON
Star Beacon

October 31, 2008 02:48 am

— SAYBROOK TOWNSHIP — It never ceases to amaze how well people who have never been in a collaborative effort before can work together when they want to and are enjoying themselves doing it.
That always seems to be the way it works out in the annual Star Beacon-Frank Roskovics Senior Volleyball Classic. Girls that may never have played together before, are given limited practice time and have been away from the sport for a while still seem to be able to acquit themselves well.
The 20th edition of the match, played Thursday night at Lakeside Gymnasium, was no different. Though the group designated as the Home team, which consisted entirely of girls from Ashtabula County schools, walked away with a 25-20, 25-23, 16-25, 25-18 victory, both teams put on a good show for a nice crowd.
Certainly, there were times when the players got themselves out of position or were confused by their roles at different junctures, but the level of play was still quite high. What’s more, the level of communication, one of the most vital aspects in volleyball, was extraordinary. Plenty of laughter and lots of encouragement were part of the mix.
The coaches of the event were pleased with the performance of their hastily aligned teams and enjoyed themselves as well.
“The girls did a great job,” Riverside coach Stacy Sepelak, who shared coaching duties for the Visitors, said. “Considering many of them have never played together before and don’t know each other very well, they did a great job. I thought the girls got along very well. We had a lot of fun together.”
Annah Haeseler of Geneva, her partner with the Visitors, agreed.
“I thought both teams played very well,” she said. “A lot of the girls tried to step up when it was needed.
“I was really pleased with my girls. Katie (Pristov of the Eagles) had to play outside hitter for us and did a great job. I thought Breana (Freeman, the Eagles’ setter) did an excellent job, and I think Erica (Napier, one of their middle hitters) did a real nice job). I was proud of them. They stepped up as leaders. And I think we had a lot of fun with the whole team.”
When Home coaches Lisa Newsome of Lakeside and Rob Wludyga of Pymatuning Valley saw the lineup they had to work with, they immediately became excited because of all the power they possessed.
“I thought the girls had a lot of fun and really played well because there was no pressure,” Newsome said. “We had a lot of strong hitters on our side like (her own) Tayler (Pugliese, who was chosen Player of the Match, Brittany (Morrison, the Dragons’ middle hitter) and Mallory (Zappitelli), plus Mary Mahoney (from SS. John and Paul) and Autumn Scott (from Geneva). We always seemed to have some big hitter we could go to.”
Wludyga found himself looking on in wonder at certain points at how well girls from various teams played together so well.
“It was amazing to me how girls from so many different volleyball backgrounds got along so well and seemed to make things work,” he said. “We were fortunate to have a group of girls who were so willing to work together.
“I think the girls were able to understand what each other’s strengths were and that allowed them to play well together. We were able to put some really good combinations on the floor.”
That kept the games pretty competitive, too. The first game was tied as late as 16-all, until the Home team pulled away behind three points off Pugliese’s serve.
The second game was even closer. The Visitors actually held a lead as late as 21-19, but the Home squad tied it at 21. Ties also existed at 22 and 23 before Home pulled away behind two points from Zappitelli.
The Visitors got off to a strong start in the third game and gradually managed to pulled away, leading as much as 20-10 behind five points from Madison’s Megan Boggs and four more from Freeman and kept their distance from there.
The Home team asserted itself just as rapidly in the third game, leading as much as 19-8 behind another spell of strong serving from Pugliese and holding the visitors off from there.
Pugliese led the Home team with 12 points and added six ace spikes and an ace dink to go with 18 ace sets. Zappitelli also scored 12 points and added five ace spikes, while Mahoney contributed 11 points and siz ace spikes and Morrison had 10 points, six ace spikes and two ace blocks.
Freeman led the Visitors with 10 points and 17 ace sets. Perry’s Meghan Golding added nine points and five ace spikes. Boggs scored nine points and had three ace spikes, while Lakeside’s Erica Villa also had nine points. Pristov contributed seven points and seven ace spikes, while Napier added five points and eight ace spikes.

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