Tuesday against Greenwich Academy. (Evan Triantafilidis Photo)
Sacred Heart volleyball coach Beth Wilson-Jordan knows that experience is invaluable in a competitive FAA conference.
This year, her sixth with the program and fourth as the Varsity head coach, she believes she has it in her returning starters highlighted by a pair of experienced captains.
Senior captains Katie Kablack and Jenna Whelan will serve as the team’s two captains and vocal leaders for the Tigers.
Both have been on the varsity squad since their freshman year, and their playing time has only increased over the years according to their coach.
“Jenna has been a starter since she was a freshman,” said Wilson-Jordan. “She’s been in a defensive specialist role for us and now is in outside hitting. The leadership she brings to the court is great. When girls are learning new rotations, she can help out and take charge. Our players with less experience look up to these two athletes.”
Seniors on the team also include Tasha Adison, Genevieve Capolongo and Kate Gersner.
Having graduated three players from last year’s team, the Tigers used a preseason scrimmage against Greenwich Academy to test out different rotations for the regular season.
“It’s definately great preparation for the regular season because they are a great team,” Kablack said of their FAA foe. “It’s crucial to get that chemistry back.”
“We had such a fun preseason,” added Whelan. “Our energy doesn’t lag on the court.”
With both teams coming off trips to the FAA semifinals, Tuesday’s scrimmage also served as a measuring stick for the in-town rivals.
“Short-term, I’d like to see us improve our serve receive,” said Whelan. “That’s our weakest part, so we should know where we should be in our rotation. Overall, we want our offense to be as strong as possible with those clean passes.”
The offense will be led this year by the group of seniors along with libero play from Capolongo.
Juniors featured this year will be Mae Briody, Magdalena Dutkowska, Lucy Graham-Fleishman, Laura Holland, Ellie McKenney and Sofia Piriz. Natalia Pazos, a sophomore and Valeska Lasky (8th) make up the underclassmen.
“I hope we improve on our mistakes each game,” said Wilson-Jordan. “Hopefully, we peak at the right time. If the girls go out there and play the best volleyball they can play, the score will take care of itself.”
The fourth-year head coach said the FAA has been getting stronger in recent years, and that come playoff time, anything can happen.
“I think in the FAA there are plenty of high quality teams,” said Wilson-Jordan. “It’s definately getting better every year. We played well at the end of last year and we hope to be there again this year.”
The Tigers open up season play at Greens Farms Academy, which will be streamed live by GFA.
After three road dates with GFA, Loomis and Hamden Hall, the Tigers will host St. Luke’s on their home court for the first time since the full completion of the new gym. They played on a side court for most of their home games last season.
Sacred Heart also hosts Holy Child (10/3), Hopkins (10/5) and Greenwich Academy (10/13) this regular season.
