Lady Jets eye conference title

East Meadow may have dropped consecutive girls' volleyball matches to Carle Place last Monday (16-25, 25-15, 17-25, 23-25) and Clarke (25-19, 22-25, 13-25, 17-25) on Oct. 17, but entering the final two battles of the regular season, the team still had plenty at stake.

Already qualified for the upcoming Nassau County Class AA postseason tournament, still in play for the Lady Jets (11-2 overall) was the Conference AA-II title. They needed wins in their final two matches — against Uniondale and Valley Stream Central — to finish ahead of Carle Place.

“We’ve had a lot of people play so we’ve had a lot of contributions,” coach Pat Burnside said. “They’re a close knit team. We set the goal at the beginning of the season to win the conference.”

In their first season in Conference AA-II, East Meadow has been led by a quartet of seniors — libero Marrol Cajoles, middle hitters Rebecca Alzfan and Aleksandra Krol and setter Tianna La Rosa. The defensive-minded Cajoles knows one speed — full — and plays the game with the type of reckless abandon that keeps plays alive and her teammates motivated. “The hardest thing is controlling her power,” Burnside said. “She’s very strong and makes a lot of hustle plays. She picks up a lot of balls, and she’s our engine.”

A three-year varsity player like Cajoles, Alzfan is a strong offensive player at the net with good power and placement skills and the hardest hitter on the team. Alongside her stands Krol, who also excels with placement and is among the more vocal members of the team. Junior Jesscia Brass has also logged time at middle hitter.

In the team’s 6-2 alignment, La Rosa, a team leader with a strong serve, and sophomore Laura Tynan are the setters, and Tynan has also taken big strides as an outside hitter. She had a half-dozen well-placed kills straight down the line in the loss to Carle Place and is joined in the outside rotation with junior Nicole Santacruz, a steady hitter whose strength is defense and finding ways to keep the ball in play. Junior Jamie Schick and sophomore Jessica Laird also see time on the outside, while junior Nicole Hartcorn subs in for defense. Junior Chelsey Hoffman and Kristen Lindquist have also contributed as setters, with Hoffman’s jumpserve a key component in East Meadow’s five-set win over Freeport (25-18, 25-15, 24-26, 26-28, 25-22) on Oct. 10. 

“[The success] hasn’t come easy,” Burnside said. “It’s been [difficult]. We’re playing teams a little more athletic than us, but we’re playing better volleyball.”

The Lady Jets success on the volleyball floor has also helped lead to positive contributions off of it. Last Friday the team hosted a Dig Pink Side-Out Foundation event and raised more than $1,500 for breast cancer. The evening featured co-ed games between the boys and girls JV and varsity team. “The girls work hard, they’re nice kids and they are fun to be with,” Burnside said, noting the effort the Lady Jets put into the fundraiser.