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HS Girls Schedule - Fall 2008

Academy Girls Schedule - Fall 2008

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Girls Volleyball, Pioneers of a Renaissance in Athletic

Department, Cap Remarkable Season with Courageous

Performance

October 25

The girls volleyball team entered the Union County tournament with high expectations.  While they fell short of their goal of winning the title, their performance on Saturday and over the course of the season will surely go down in St. Patrick athletic department history as one of the finest and most heroic displays of teamwork, resilience and stamina of all time.

During the 1:30 first-round game, the St. Patrick Six - Joelle Baez, Mary Hefferon, Jenifer Landin, Marlee Innocent, Pam Ojeda, and Jatirah Diggs - soundly defeated Dayton 25-16, 25-16.   While their opponent came armed with a deep bench, the Celtics had only six players eligible and competed for the entire contest with no substitutions. St. Patrick varsity players Sarah Smiley, Arlene Argamonte and Xiomara Perez were not eligible for the JV tournament since they were locked onto the varsity roster.  Sarah Smiley, however, was there on the bench on Saturday to show support and encouragement. At some point Dayton must have wished that St. Patrick had substitutes, if only to get any of  "The Six" out for a minute.  Pam Ojeda, who had been solid all year, saved her finest performance for when it counted as she played absolutely brilliantly.

Key stats:

Pam Ojeda: 13 kills

Joelle Baez :10 aces, 14 assists, 5 digs

Jenifer Landin: 10 kills

Jatirah Diggs: 10 assists, 5 kills, 4 digs

Mary Hefferon: 7 aces, 5 digs, 8 kills

There was no rest for the elated yet weary as the quarterfinal game was schedule for 4:30 that same afternoon.  The Westfield Blue Devils varsity had been knocked out on Friday evening, which allowed them to bolster their JV roster with varsity juniors.  In doing so, they played well above their seed and ousted Mother Seton to gain a date with the Celtics in the quarterfinals.   The Westfield coach, during warm-ups, approached Coach Dudis and asked him where the rest of his team was.  Coach informed her, of course, that "The Six" were the team.   She smirked.

She lost the first game.  This 25-16 victory brought the Celtic Six within one win of the semifinals.  However, in the second set, the depth of Westfield and the waning stamina of the Celtics began to take its toll.   Westfield took that match 25-17.  It seemed as though the Cinderella Story would come to an end quickly, and that the Blue Devils would roll to an easy third set win. 

The Celtic Six were not done: they would throw in the towel and concede to the Group IV power.  Despite the loud cheering and chanting from the sea of Westfield fans, they maintained their concentration and composure.   With the score tied at 13-13, Westfield had a 4-hit volley to send the serve back to the Celtics and Joelle Baez.   She gained momentum and rolled off several points, including an ace to make it 16-13.  On the next volley, a spike by Mary Hefferon pushed the lead to 17-13 and forced Westfield to take a timeout.    Westfield regained the serve and momentum, stringing together six straight points.  Down 19-17, we scored and took back the serve.  The tension in the gym could be cut with a knife at this point.   The back and forth volleying should only be described as classic.   Eventually, Westfield took a 21-20 lead, and Coach Dudis called a timeout.  Westfield served into the net when play resumed, knotting the game at 21-21.  After further intense volleyball action, the score stood at 23-23 with freshman standout Jatirah Diggs serving.   A long volley ensued, with Westfield eventually gaining a point.   St. Patrick took their final timeout with Westfield serving at 24-23 for the game.   The Celtic back line dug a sharp serve from Westfield, leaving Mary Heffron with no choice but to make an attempt at an acrobatic set of the dig.   Despite her best effort, the ball sailed toward the sideline.   Two Celtics dove after the ball as it wavered near the scorers table.   The round white object fell to the ground, and the fantastic St. Patrick girls volleyball season came to a befitting, dramatic close. 

Individual stats:

Joelle Baez: 5 aces, 10 assists, 3 kills

Mary Hefferon: 6 aces, 5 kills, 5 digs

Jatirah Diggs: 10 assists, 5 kills, 6 digs

Marlee Innocent:1 block 5 kills, 5 digs

Thus concluded the remarkable, Hoosier-like run for the St. Patrick Celtics.  They finished the season two points from the county semifinals.   The program had been resurrected this year after being dormant for a decade.   The girls still managed to win 88% of their games as they amassed a 15-2 record.   But more than the numbers alone can show, the St. Patrick girls volleyball team ushered in what might prove to be a renaissance of sorts in the athletic department.   Although we are nationally known for our boys basketball team, times may be changing.   While the boys hoops program stands ready again to compete for a county, state and perhaps national championship, the girls volleyball program has created a similar set of expectations for other athletic teams.  They have shown what consistent, dedicated effort can do.   They demonstrated that the team with the deepest roster, the nicest uniforms and the biggest gymnasiums does not always win.   The girls volleyball team made a cutting impact by changing the athletic culture in the school.   Perhaps their classmates expected them, at the beginning of the season, to struggle in their first year of existence.  And perhaps still many members of the St. Patrick community thought their first victory was a fluke.  Maybe even the second win as well.  But then came the third, the fourth and on and on and on.  The most important element of the season was that the girls always represented themselves, their families and their school with class and sportsmanship.   They refrained from cocky, braggart-like behavior, even as they man-handled some opponents.    The girls set the bar high in their inaugural campaign and have a tough act to follow next year: they will no longer catch anyone by surprise as they move into the Union County Conference Varsity Division.   But soon enough we may need to make room for another piece of hardware in the cramped trophy case in our main hallway.  

Sadly, many people ask me at High School Expo nights if we are an all boys school.  In the future, anyone who has followed volleyball this year will know well these three truths: 1) St. Patrick has girls, 2) St. Patrick has volleyball, and 3) St. Patrick girls can really, really play volleyball.   Great job Coach Dudis and the entire team. Congratulations and thank you for a wonderful, inspiring season.

P.S.  Jatirah Diggs moved from the hitting the ball over the net to putting it through the net on the basketball court in her P.A.L. recreation fall league game the next day.  In scoring 18 points, she showed that the team success in volleyball very well might carry over into our girls basketball program this winter. Sarah Smiley will also be joining Jatirah on the basketball squad.  Stay tuned......

September 10, 2008