Colts Neck volleyball team serving up victories
Second-year teams in Howell, Marlboro have improved
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

JEFF GRANIT staff Colts Neck's Kristen Anderson tries to get the ball past a pair of Howell's players during the Cougars' win on Sept. 20 in Colts Neck.

Glenn Jansen had every reason to expect his Colts Neck girls volleyball team to do special things this fall.

First off, the Cougars graduated no one from a team that went 17-15 and made the state playoffs. Second, volleyball isn't a second sport to most of his players. They've spent the last year getting better.

"The girls worked really hard in the winter in indoor leagues and travel teams," he said. "They played on the [Belmar] beach, and the team attended the Penn State Volleyball Camp, where, out of 18 teams, they placed third."

Jansen not only had winning talent, but improved winning talent to look forward to.

The Cougars have not been disappointed, starting the season 8-0 and establishing themselves early as a serious contender for the Shore Conference A North Division title. They are 5-0 in the division that includes Pt. Pleasant Beach, Rumson-Fair Haven, Red Bank Regional, Marlboro, Howell and Long Branch.

A second place at the Moorestown Tournament did little to harm the team's confidence. Moorestown is one of the state's powerhouses and reaching the tournament final, where they lost to Moorestown, was a win in itself.

"Moorestown is the best team we've seen in the last couple of years," said Jansen.

What has turned Colts Neck from a winner (30-22 over the last two seasons) to a championship contender, has been its offense.

"Our offense is clicking," said Jansen. "We're pounding the ball and serving well."

Senior captains Caitlin Clarke (setter) and Jackie O'Reilly (middle hitter) have doing outstanding jobs on the court, and, as leaders.

Kristen Anderson (middle hitter), Ferdesa Bauta (outside hitter), Tiffany Kirk (outside hitter) and Angela Papasso (Libero, or defensive specialist) are among the key returners. The offense, Jansen noted, flows through O'Reilly and Anderson.

Cherelle Hill (defensive specialist) has been very good on defense. The passing from the back row has been one area where the Cougars have made the biggest improvement. Samantha Shaw (outside hitter) has played a big role in the team's rotation.

O'Reilly, Shaw and Clarke are the top servers. Shaw has been working on a jump serve. Jansen pointed out that the jump serve is like having a lefty pitcher, it's something the opposition doesn't see a lot of.

Briele Higgins (outside hitter), Heather Perez (defensive specialist), Shannon Andl (outside hitter), Kate Festa (outside hitter) and Tori Mauro (defensive specialist) round out the 2006 Cougar squad.

In Colts Neck's 25-13, 25-14 win over Howell on Sept. 20, O'Reilly served seven aces and had 10 kills. Clarke served three aces and had 13 assists. Papasso came up with eight digs for the Cougars and Anderson had two blocks and five kills.

At Marlboro, the goal is to keep progressing and thus far, the Mustangs are doing just that.

Coach Tom Mullcahey said it's a matter of a year's experience of playing together that has been the difference. His team is off to a solid 5-1 start in its second season of varsity play.

"They know how to play, they understand the system, and they understand how to play with each other," he said.

Three seniors, Nisha Nadkar, Kristen Batts (of track and field fame) and Lauren Einecker, took it upon themselves to make themselves better players in the off season by going to Belmar Beach on Tuesday evenings for clinics with Russ Lewis and for games. They have let the rest of the team know that the only way to get better is to play.

"They are leaders by example," said Mullcahey, who went 7-11 last year. "The went to the beach and got a lot out of it."

Like a baseball team strong up the middle in defense, that's what this trio brings to the Mustangs. Batts is a middle hitter, and Nadkar and Einecker are setters. Nadkar is also the team's Libero.

Another senior, captain Megan Ragovin, has been the team's most improved player.

"She played club ball in the winter," said Mullcahey. "She put the time in to improve herself."

Ragovin plays great defense and is the team's best server. She has both velocity and control of it.

Rounding out the starting rotation for the Mustangs are Flora Dakas and Chiara Sturgill (middle hitters) and Amanda LeFonte, an outside hitter.

Marlboro improved to 4-1 by taking a three-set marathon from Manchester that was 28-26 in the third set. Marlboro won the first set 25-22, but Manchester came back to even it, taking the second set 25-20.

Sturgill had 13 kills and three blocks, and Batts had seven kills. Nadkar contributed seven assists to the victory.

The Mustangs followed that up with a 25-19, 25-17 win over Barnegat. Batts had five kills, one block and a pair of aces. Sturgill contributed one ace, two blocks and five kills. Dakas had three aces and three digs.

Howell High School finds itself in the same boat at Marlboro - a second-year program looking to improve.

"We want to do better than last year, improve every day and every match," said coach Todd Going.

Howell, 2-2, has already equaled its win output from last year and scored a big win last week against Pt. Pleasant Beach, a team that had beaten the Rebels twice in 2005. It went three sets with Howell winning 25-11, 12-25, 25-19.

"The girls have more confidence this year," he said of the big three-set win.

Winning attributed Howell's better showing this fall to overall control, better serving and better communication that comes from time spent playing together.

Sara Owen, the team's best all-around player, and Keri Hardiman have become consistent servers that the team can depend on for points. Both serve the ball hard and with good placement.

As an outside hitter, Owen has become the team's go-to player.

Lyndsay Smith and Kristi McGovern are a big reason for the team's better ball control. They are the top setters who start everything off.

Katie Tedesco is another outside hitter who has become a go-to player for the Rebels. Hardiman is a middle hitter along with being a big server, and Kelly Mormino is the team's best defensive player.

Tedesco and McGovern, both seniors, are the team captains. They led the off season commitment that had the Rebels playing during the winter and summer months.

Going went with underclassmen last year and means a lot of returning players to continue to build the program's foundation on.

Among those back are seniors Lauren Bolchune, Kaitlyn Brown, Amanda McClave, Shannon Moffler and Karyssa Reed; juniors Sabrina Jarliminski, Megan Moore and Kelly Ng; and sophomores Samantha Napoli and Heather Tallman.

Freshman newcomers include Nicole Bowman, Julie Kerr, Courtney McClave and Gabrielle Sebastian.

The Rebels are not a particularly big team (Owen is 5-6), but they are very athletic.

Against Pt. Pleasant Beach, Owen had six kills, Brown came through with six service points and three kills, and McGovern contributed three kills.