Valley Stream North riding 10-match win streak

When the force of its chief weapon was blunted by archrival Carey’s shrewd tactic, the Valley Stream North girls’ volleyball team – in a Nassau conference A/C2 showdown Oct. 15 – simply shrugged and devised a workaround. VSN, this season, has grown accustomed to overcoming hurdles.

Largely through pointed avoidance, visitor Carey was able to cap Spartans outside hitter Kayla Santo’s kills at 10 – two thirds of the All-County senior’s season average – but all hands were on deck for VSN as it booted the Seahawks from a two-way tie atop A/C2 and seized sole possession of first place in league with a resourceful win in four sets.

“Teams know Kayla’s our best hitter, but all of our girls can play,” said Spartans coach Mary Parisi, whose club improved to 10-1 with a 3-2 conference win at East Rockaway Oct. 17. “[Carey] was hitting the ball away from [Santos], because when she’s on she’s unstoppable. But the fact that the other girls stepped up threw them off. My team gets fired up and we were able to put them away.”

Bumped up a conference after winning last year’s A/C3 title, the Spartans received a rude welcome in the season opener Sept. 8, falling in five sets at rival Bethpage as a long autumn seemed to loom. But since its rough initiation, VSN has outclassed the field, justifying its promotion with 10 straight wins, including 3-1 vengeance Sept. 29 at home against Bethpage, which withered under Santos’ season-high 21-kill barrage.

“Our first game, we just weren’t ready,” said Parisi, whose club had entered the offseason with uncertainty at key positions. “Bethpage came out very strong and our inexperience showed. We just knew we really had to get in sync,” she added: “Which is where we are now.”

A pressing question that existed for VSN this summer found an answer in the form of setter Ericka Leus, team leader with 65 assists in seven matches. An outside hitter at the start of camp, the sophomore’s deft touch in drills suggested to Parisi that the team had found a new offensive linchpin. “I noticed Ericka had really good hands,” said Parisi. “We really needed a setter, and Ericka has just embraced it.”

Junior setter Cianna Nadal has kept good pace behind teammate Leus in her first season up from JV, while twin sister Alyanna Nadal ranks fifth in A/C2 with a team-leading 133 digs at libero.

Sparking the Spartans defensively in her third season starting on varsity, middle hitter Isabella Matura leads VSN with 35 blocks (fourth in A/C2). “Isabella’s a huge asset in the middle,” Parisi said of the 5-foot-10, Honorable Mention All-County senior, whose season-high nine blocks Sept. 29 helped VSN down visiting East Rockaway 3-1. “She commands the middle and keeps a lot of plays going for us.”

Parisi added: “Coming into the season, we knew we had good hitters and good defense, and that we’d build around that. It was a matter of getting the right girls into key positions, getting the new setters to vibe with the hitters. That was it. And once it clicked, it clicked.”