Uniondale serving up success
Winners of four of its first five matches, the Uniondale girls’ volleyball team is off to a terrific start according to coach Dan Splendore, in part due to the prep he put in beforehand to ensure success.
“I made it clear from the very beginning what my rules and my expectations are,” he explained. “I actually sat with every girl and told them where they were at with the team and my expectations, and it’s been really great where everybody knows their role.”
But the Knights know they’re the driving force, that this is a team effort between them and their trainers.
“I think between my expectations laid out, I think the girls realized that they have a voice in this,” he said. “As much as I’m the coach, it’s out team, not my team, and they feel like they can be themselves and vocalize when they don’t like what’s going on, and comfortable enough to support each other.”
What stands out are the elected team captains, senior setter Katia Gomez, described as a player who leads by example and lives to bring the energy to the court. “She’s just been so consistent where her sets have been great, her hitting’s been great, we have a good working relationship, and she’s just done such a good job of leading by example where she just does everything, I need her to do without me even telling her,” Splendore explained.
Anne Jean Louis and Jada Scott are Uniondale’s starting middles who Splendore listed as his most consistent offensive threats as well.
The last captain is a bit of an anomaly, a non-starter in the form of senior middle hitter August Carper.
“She doesn’t get in every game but she is very good at keeping it light, she has an awesome sense of humor, she’s super positive, she’s always joking, she’s friends with everyone on the team,” Splendore gushed. “Never in my years of coaching have I had anybody that wasn’t a mainstay on the starting lineup named as captain, but she also is such a perfect captain for this team where she does a really good job of keeping it light.”
And there’s anecdotal evidence to support it. Splendore talked about when the players made their own group chat, without the coaches’ instruction whatsoever, to order matching shoes, all Carper’s idea. Another time, he talked about how Carper coordinated for everyone, players and coaching staff alike, to have matching bows for extra game day support.
The back line deserves its share of the ink, too, starting with junior libero Cindy Blanco. “This is her second year on varsity and she has just been outstanding,” Splendore said.
Junior Aliyah Rose has been putting in the added effort this season as well, another noted outside hitter, and is particularly close with classmate Kylie Thompson, an opposite setter who’s a brand-new varsity player after two years in the JV squad.
