The Colonia High School Girls’ Volleyball team has seen great success throughout its years as a program, and this year the township finally allowed for the program to develop a freshman team. After having a makeshift freshman team the year prior, the incoming girls were able to go undefeated throughout their entire season and ended up winning the county championships.
The freshmen began their GMC Tournament in late October and went on to beat every team, allowing them to move onto Finals on October 24th against Old Bridge at J.P. Stevens High School. The 19-0 team won every single game and pushed through until the very last point. They ended up beating Old Bridge in 2 sets, 25-14 in the first set and 25-22 in the second.
“What set them apart from other teams was the fact that they were able to control the ball and control their offense,” commented Jennifer Blash, who coached for Colonia’s Freshman team and has been coaching for the program at CHS for over six years. Blash was the JV coach and assistant coach for varsity with Thomas Hennessey prior to the Freshman team being developed. After the program was officially set in place, she chose to work with the younger girls in order to help them better understand the game. Developing the Freshman program allowed every player to reach their full potential.
The team itself consists of eleven freshmen, including captains Kelli Mulrooney (outside hitter) and Paige Woodward (setter). Woodward led the Lady Patriots to victory with twenty-one assists (sets that led to kills, or a point) and five service points (points gained while serving).
“Overall the season went very well. Being 19-0 says a lot about how bonded we were on the court. This season will always be a great memory of mine,” commented Woodward.
The eleven players for the Lady Patriots consisted of Sara Orbe, Samantha Cioni, Dakota Dacunha, Mulrooney, Woodward, Jordyn Pagnozzi, Emily Fernandez, Rebecca Anzano, Sharmi Shah, Natalya Busigo, and Alivia Tavaras.
“In the beginning of the season, I was a little worried about our team just because we haven’t played together, but when we started getting win after win after win, I realized that we all have great communication and chemistry on and off the court. I love being apart of this team and can’t wait to continue playing with them for the next three years,” stated Mulrooney.
Orbe, who is the Libero for Colonia, had the most digs and was a key server throughout both matches with four service points and twenty-nine digs. Cioni, who’s a middle hitter, aided the Patriots with four kills alongside outside hitter Mulrooney and opposite Pagnozzi, who each also had large roles in the team’s success this season. Mulrooney aided the Patriots by earning six kills and four services points throughout the game, Pagnozzi earned four kills as well three service points. Shah also aided the Patriots with nine digs and hitters Dacunha and Anzano each earned four kills and Dacunha even earned a block and an ace.
Despite it being the program’s first year having an official Freshman team, the girls were able to conquer it all as a unit. They played hard until the very end and after an amazing season this year, who knows, there may be more county titles in their future.
