At 15-11 the West Windsor-Plainsboro South girls volleyball team has concluded a successful first season in its new conference.
This is South’s first year in the newly created West Jersey Interscholastic Volleyball League, and a win in their final regular season match against Notre Dame on October 24 sealed the team’s undefeated conference record.
The conference championship is another accomplishment in a season where South has beat rival North twice, including a three-set contest win to open the season.
Head coach Dan Macionis credits a strong defense and improved teamwork as reasons for the team’s success.
“There’s still a learning curve with what I want them to do,” Macionis says. “I want them to be aggressive.”
This year has been a learning experience for Macionis as well. This is his first year coaching the girls varsity squad, replacing Mike Adams. Macionis has coached the boys squad at South for the past six years, and he teaches special education and language arts at Smalley Middle School in Bound Brook.
“I’m very flattered and excited to work in this established program,” Macionis says. While emphasizing aggressive, confident play, Macionis has also focused on figuring out each player’s tendencies and molding the team around their strengths.
He has noticed the girls squad are more skilled than the boys. More players from the girls team play club volleyball, Macionis explains, and so they enter high school with more competitive volleyball experience relative to what Macionis has seen coaching the boys team.
“All the girls have a high volleyball IQ,” Macionis says. “A lot of people say there is more hitting among boys, there’s not as big a difference as some people think.”
In mid-September, junior setter and team captain Jinae Park passed the 1,000 assist mark. Park has been a varsity starter since her freshman year.
“I’m very lucky to have a kid like that coming in,” Macionis says. “She’s one of the first kids who contacted me when I was going to be the coach, helping to the get the team together for summer workouts.”
Macionis also credits the positive and calming leadership of fellow captain Harshitha Gadangi, a senior who plays libero.
In the Group III state tournament 30th-seeded South fell to third-seeded Old Tappan, 2-0, in the opening round on November 5.
North’s girls’ volleyball team had its high and low points this season, finishing at 17-13.
“We’ve been on the roller coaster ride, but we’ve been picking up as of late,” says coach Joseph Schweitzer. “When the girls are communicating and talking on the floor, and are, for lack of a better term, happy, they interact and do all the little things, serving tough, putting balls away. It’s when we get quiet that a lot of the teamwork falls apart.”
The team was 10-5 heading into October before dropping five of its next seven games, including two close losses to J.P. Stevens and a loss to South. The Knights then closed October with a five-game winning streak, with a three-set season finale loss to North Brunswick.
“Skill-wise I think we match up with lots of teams,” Schweitzer says. “All 16 players are ready to contribute the minute they go in. Everybody pitches in and helps them do what they do.”
North entered the Group III tournament as a No. 27 seed and lost to No. 6 Wall, 2-1, in the opening round on November 5.
This season senior setter Anuksha Singh set a record for career assists, also breaking the single-season record. Senior Ashley Yao was a big beneficiary of Singh’s sets, as she now holds the single-season kills record.
After missing the playoffs in his first season as head coach last year, Schweitzer has led a significant turnaround. He has been a coach at the West Windsor Volleyball Club for 11 years, working as an insurance company software manager by day.
“You can’t win points for them as a coach, but you can keep them mentally focused,” Schweitzer says. “The absolute deep down internal belief that you are going to win. That’s our number one thing.”
Girls’ Volleyball
North (17-13): A 2-0 win over Notre Dame on October 22. Aces: Vrinda Gupta; Shannon Radey; Anushka Saddi; Tais Shallow, 2; Jen Wang; Ashley Yao. Kills: Apoorva Balaji, 2; Mathangi Ganesh; Preeti Methuku; Kavya Potchiraju, 2; Saddi; Anuksha Singh, 2; Wang, 3; Yao, 4; Zoe Zhuang. Assists: Lena Claus, 7; Singh, 6.
A 2-1 loss to North Brunswick on October 23.
A 2-1 win over Marlboro on November 3. Aces: Gupta, 5; Wang, 3; Yao, 2; Zhuang. Kills: Ylana Lopez, 7; Methuku; Kathleen O’Connor; Saddi; Singh; Wang; Yao, 15. Assists: Singh, 24.
A 2-1 loss to Wall on November 5. Aces: Gupta, 2; Lopez. Kills: Lopez, 2; Yao, 14. Assists: Gupta; Singh, 14; Zhuang.
South (15-11): A 2-0 win over Notre Dame on October 24. Aces: Ivy Li, 2; Emily Vena. Kills: Lauren Frullo, 4; Harshitha Gadangi; Danielle Gbekle, 3; Deniz Hatiboglu, 2; Jiwon Kim, 6; Li, 3; Vena, 5. Assists: Rachel Constantino; Jinae Park, 22; Vena.
A 2-0 loss to Old Tappan on November 5.
