High school and college sports are much different than the pros because each year there will be a new crop of players to work with. After a fantastic season last year for our volleyball team, which graduated many key seniors, it was going to be extremely difficult for this year’s squad to match the success of last year’s team.

However, no team should compare itself to others in the past; instead, new players step up to try and form a new team identity. This is exactly what the volleyball team did, and is now happily sitting with an impressive 17-4 record heading into states.

After losing a large number of seniors, the girls knew that Coach McDonald would look at certain underclassmen to step up and take on new roles that had to be filled.

While the team still had two returning stars in junior Chantal Ramhorst and senior Lauren Barinsky, the inexperience of the team at the varsity level was still an issue.

Throughout the season, they sometimes had 4 of 6 starters as underclassmen, underscoring the youth of the team. Although many people view young teams as great for the future, they usually start off the season slow because of chemistry and familiarity issues among the players.

When asked about how the team looked early in the year, Junior Danielle Bonnett said, “We struggled in the beginning of our season due to the fact that a majority of our team was so young, and it took us while to really become a team and learn how to play with each other.”

What defines a good team is one that can pinpoint mistakes and improve upon them. Bonnett noted, “As the season continued, each week we improved individually but most importantly as a team. If we were asked in the beginning of the season what our record would be heading into states, many of us would never have said 17-4.”

Bonnett, and Amanda Patalano, among other juniors, have certainly exceeded expectations this year, which is a big reason why this team has been able to flourish.

Coach McDonald commented, “This team has been successful because of hard work. They are always working hard in practice and never give up no matter what. The team has been commended by many teams for its dedication and hard work during games. What the players lack in experience, they have made up for with hard work.”

Despite a tough loss to county powerhouse IHA in the Bergen tournament, the Cowgirls refuse to let that setback affect them going forward.

“In States we will not face someone as strong and intimidating as IHA”, said Coach McDonald. “My girls know that they can’t get upset about losing that match. They have already moved past that loss and are looking forward to post-season.”