October 7, 2010
Pats sweep past Gaels
Secaucus' Cheryl Espinosa had four aces and a dig in yesterday's victory.
Click Here for more photos from St. Mary's Rutherford at Secaucus.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
SECAUCUS – When asked about what the goals are for the Secaucus volleyball team are for this season, all senior captain Andrea Lunapiena had to do was point to the series of red plaques on the wall of the gym.
“It’s our last year and we’ve been working so hard since our freshman year to win a state title,” Lunapiena said. “We want to fill in our spot over there.”
For Lunapiena and the Patriots, yesterday’s 25-9, 25-8 victory over St. Mary’s of Rutherford was as much about preparing for the challenges that lay ahead in that path towards title as it was about earning victory number 11 on the season.
“With our regular season, we try to play as hard as we can even though the competition isn’t always as hard (as in the playoffs),” she said. “We need to in order to play the really hard teams in the state tournament.”
“It’s definitely a focus,” Secaucus assistant coach Heather Aciz said. “I feel every year one of our goals is to win states.”
Playing for the first time since suffering their first defeat of the season (a 25-22, 26-24 loss to 12th ranked Rutherford), the Patriots, ranked 13th in the state, quickly eased any fears of a hangover effect.
Senior Alexis Waters recorded three kills during an early 14-1 run to put the opening set out of reach.
The Patriots’ momentum carried over into the second set as they scored 14 of their first 15 points. Shannon Waters would register four kills during the stretch. Lunapiena added five aces in the run, including four in a row to make it 11-1 in favor of Secaucus.
“It really affected us,” Lunapiena said about Monday’s loss. “We were really upset about it. But we have to move on and work for the rest of the season.”
As a team, Secaucus had 22 aces in the victory, led by Lunapiena’s seven and four from Cheryl Espinosa.
Shannon Waters had eight digs and six kills while Alexis Waters racked up five kills, four digs and two aces. Sophomore Danielle Roesing had five digs and Jackie McCaffery chipped in with five assists.
The Patriots’ next challenge comes today when they face 14th-ranked Bogota on the road. As big as that match is, Secaucus knows that is just another step towards their ultimate goal – their first state title since 2006 and another red plaque to add to the wall.
“It’s definitely pressure,” said Aciz. “But it also can be pressure in a good way to motivate them to bring one home.”
Jackie McCaffery had five assists, two digs and two aces for the Patriots.
1st |
2nd
|
|
| St. Mary's (Rutherford) Gaels (5-6) | 9 |
8 |
| Secaucus Patriots (11-1) | 25 |
25 |