Depth keys East Meadow's success

A blend of senior leadership upfront and an infusion of talented youth has been the key to East Meadow’s girls’ volleyball success this season. The Lady Jets find themselves off to a 5-0 start in Conference AA2, and have done it in dominant fashion – of their five matches, they’ve dropped just three total games.

 Longtime coach Patti Burnside noted the imposing presence of their top hitters and senior captains, Hannah Arbuse on the outside and Emily Shurina in the middle, who lead the team in kills. But she said that a strong focus on fundamentals as well as contributions from the team’s bench has also been a major factor to their early success.

“It starts with a pass, and we’re passing well,” Burnside said. “That’s a real key for us. We play pretty good defense. We dig up a lot of balls. We keep them in play.”

An insurgence of youth has also provided a boost. Sophomores surround Arbuse, Shurina and junior setter Stefanie Botman in the starting lineup – Danielle Hippner, Daisy Delgado and Lauren Schampier, as well as Olivia Castillo, who substitutes in as the libero. “The big surprise has been the play of Olivia,” Burnside said. “She’s just developed a lot as a libero. She’s a small kid but she’s gotten a lot stronger and she passes the ball well. We can count on her for steady play.”

A deep roster has offered Burnside plenty of flexibility. The coach will often start an entirely new rotation of girls in the second game of a best-of-five match, with seniors Alexa Festa and Sara Polansky, both setters, leading the second unit. It’s not unusual, Burnside said of her team’s first five games, for as many as 14 girls to see game action. 

The mixing and matching has not only led to success on the scoreboard, but also fires up the girls’ sense of competition. The squad is a tight-knit one, Burnside said, and the inclusiveness during matches has brought them even closer. “When you have two groups that are compatible with each other, they push each other a little bit,” the coach said. “In practice, it’s more competitive.”

On Friday, the Lady Jets will host the only other undefeated team in the conference, Farmingdale, which has started out the season by rattling off six straight wins. That match, said Burnside, will be a strong early season indicator of where her team stands. “That game against Farmingdale will exactly tell us where we are,” she said.

Burnside said she had modest expectations for the team at the outset of the season, but their fast start, as well as the quicker than expected growth from her sophomore players, has gotten her more excited for what this team can achieve. “My goal for this year, the way the kids are playing, is to win the conference.

“Everyone deserves credit,” Burnside continued. “They’re all friends and they’re all playing well. They pull for each other, and they know at any one moment, if someone is having trouble, I’ll throw someone else in.”