Hey bloggers! I was over at Ursuline today for the match against Maria Regina and I thought I’d give you some highlights you might not catch in the paper.

First off, the Koalas came out victorious in the 25-14, 25-19, 25-11 match.

It looked like the Tigers had a pretty good hold on the game starting out with a 3-1 lead but the Koalas quickly closed it going up 11-6 and then 16-8.

In the second game, the Tigers had a strong 8-4 lead but the serving of Courtney Belligina (right with teammate Kristen Knight) for the Koalas tied the game at 10 and the momentum changed sides for the rest of the game.

In two words: not much. With the holidays, there is little action in the volleyball world, but we will still be at two matches this week.

Casey will check out Maria Regina at Ursuline tomorrow and I will be at the Westlake at Ardsley match on Thursday. Should be a great match between two teams that have combined to win five straight sectional titles in Class C and Class B, respectively.

Also, Wednesday will feature another batch of notebooks, which will include a look at an interesting side to one of the area’s most vocal (that’s a hint) coaches. A shakeup in the power rankings will also be unveiled so stay tuned.

Just got off the phone with Coach Jen Adams and I had to post on the blog that the Golden Knights (1-7) earned their first win today over league rival Irvington (6-2).
In the 21-25, 25-16, 25-20, 21-25, 25-23 win,  Lisa Endanattu had five aces and 18 assists. Teammate Noelle Lopopolo had four aces, three kills and six digs.

Amber Mayfield led the Golden Knights with 14 kills, Amy Delva had nine.

Kathleen Kim had seven aces and eight digs for the Bulldogs. Teammate Tara Gabelman had 11 digs, four aces, four kills and two blocks.

Edging slowly into league play, North Rockland defeated Clarkstown North 25-11, 25-18, 25-14 tonight.

Taking control of the court, the Red Raiders seemed comfortable enough on the away court. Setter Karly O’Brien had 26 assists and touched almost every second ball on the Red Raiders side of the net. Keri Perrotto had 10 kills and Keli O’Tuke had eight.

The Red Raiders broke out to early leads in all three games thanks to some impressive serving all around.

Just a reminder, VC Live will be tomorrow night. But this time, there’s a little bit of a twist:

Rye, Harrison players give their take on The Game live tonight (Wednesday)

With the anticipation for “The Game” building, Rye’s Patrick O’Callaghan and
Harrison’s Phil Dillulio, who are both senior stars, will be sharing their
thoughts on the annual meeting on Varsity Central Live today at 7:30 p.m.
They will join Kevin Devaney Jr. and Joe Lombardi. Tune in and post
your comments at “LoHud.com/vclive.”:http://lohud.com/vclive

Today I saw archrivals Pelham and Ardsley play. Surprisingly enough, for the first time in awhile this match was very one-sided.

Pelham won in straight games with scores of 25-19, 25-11, 25-9. Incredibly, the Pelicans won the final 11 points of the third game as Katie McNenney put together her own highlight reel.

The senior had seven of her match-high 16 kills in that final stretch. She also had 13 digs. Fellow seniors Falyn Torelli (nine kills, 11 digs) and Parisa Dore (31 assists) were also strong as usual.

Ivana Monserrate (seven kills and seven digs) and Tamilee Webb (six kills and six digs) led Ardsley, which lost its first match of the season.

In the past few years, this has become perhaps the area’s premier volleyball rivalry. The two teams have played numerous five-game matches, including a classic come-from-behind win by Ardsley in the Class B championship last year.

Pelham, which usually attacks predominantly from the outside, was much more balanced on offense tonight. The Pelicans’ serving was also much, much stronger than the last time they faced their rivals. The two will meet again at Pelham Oct. 17.

Pelham has nearly matched Ardsley, the winner of the past two sectional titles, in recent years. It appears, the Pelicans have passed the Panthers this year though.

But then again, the playoffs could be another story. And oh yeah, the Hen Hud Sailors are in Class B this year to add to the fun.  You may have heard of them…

I was out at the Spring Valley/Nyack game tonight and it looks like Class A is going to have some strong competition from the Indians this season.

The Indians came out victorious in a 25-16, 25-16, 25-22 showdown between the two league rivals. The Indians advance to 3-2 while the Tigers drop to 0-4.

The servers held the games in their hands with Jodeci Guzman and Mary Johnson leading the way. Solid serving, backed by a scrappy defense allowed the Indians to make their way to the top tonight.

Alexis Pierson was a strong presence at the net in the last of the games having a pivotal kill to earn the serve back while the game was at 19-18. She finished with three kills. Alexandra Mahabir, though not obvious through her stats, two kills and two digs, was essential to the Indians defense. She was quick on her feet and great at the net.

As for the Tigers,  Jasmin Sutherland had a successful night at the net with seven kills. She had several blocks but the Indians defense was ready for her and only one amount in a point.

Nykia Fray had five kills and was also helpful on the defensive end.

Check out tomorrow’s paper for more info on the game!

~Casey

Today I covered the first Section 1 volleyball match. Boys are in the mix this year after a new league consisting of four teams from Rockland was formed over the summer.

The boys season got off to a slower start with practices beginning Sept. 4. But today, the season finally started with a match between Clarkstown North and Ramapo.

Clarkstown North wound up winning 3 games to 1, but Ramapo certainly made it interesting, saving a match point in game three and then taking a 15-10 lead in game four.

I was very impressed by the match, especially the final two games. Both teams had some tremendous athletes and the crowd at Ramapo was great.

Moreover, the players on both these teams seemed so into the match. I was told that they even wore their jerseys to school and went out of their way to spread the word about the match.

Perhaps boys volleyball will spread as well. It’s very popular in Albany, Suffolk County and in areas of Western New York already as well as in plenty of other states across the country.

There was nothing unusual about watching boys play this sport. Then again, that could be partly because I caught some of the U.S. men’s team winning gold in the Olympics…

But seriously, boys volleyball is alive and well in Rockland. Now we’ll have to see how far it reaches.

In other news, the big match of the day featured Class C hopefuls Westlake and Croton-Harmon. The Wildcats, though, continued to roll with a 3-0 win. It’s looking more and more like they will claim a fourth straight sectional championship.

Also, in a match that mistakingly wasn’t reported last week, Hen Hud cruised by John Jay 3-0. The good news for Jay? They no longer have to worry about the Sailors come playoff time with Hen Hud moving down to Class B.

In honor of the first Rockland notebook hitting presses this morning, I thought I’d give a full-scale update on records and leaders in the county.

Jenna Hrycyk from Suffern has 56 kills. The Mounties’ Kristin Schmidt is has 47 while North Rockland’s Keri Perrotto has 46. Theresa Miller from Albertus Magnus has raked in 34.

Tayla Gardner from Tappan Zee is leading the section in aces on average per game with a total of 21 aces in only nine games. Lauren Schlanger and Gina Carlone  from Clarkstown South also have 21 aces though in 13 games.

Cristina Ruballos from North Rockland is leading the county with 40 digs.

Just a reminder that Varsity Central Live will be airing again this week, but it will be at a new time.

You can now check it out tomorrow (Wednesday) at 7:30 p.m. Here is the link:

http://lohud.com/vclive

As for volleyball, keep an eye out for the first edition of notebooks, which will come out tomorrow as well. The first edition of the power rankings will be unveiled and Casey and I are curious as to what everyone thinks. As, always, your comments are welcomed and appreciated!