North Shore on learning curve

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Just a year ago, the North Shore girls’ volleyball team finished at the top of the heap of Conference A-II. Undefeated in league play and littered with All-Conference players in the starting six, North Shore did not see a loss until Oct. 31 of last year.
With a large senior class, and entirety of the starting six graduating, coach Tracy Iacovelli is looking to build the confidence of a squad made up of a large junior class and three seniors to step up and improve as the season progresses.
“Our learning curve is very steep,” Iocavelli said. “We’re 0-4 in league play, and won a non-conference game, but in each of those matchups we are progressing.”
North Shore dropped its first four league matchups. The first two came on the road at Calhoun and Plainedge, where the Lady Vikings were swept both times. Then, North Shore welcomed Garden City in its home opener where they lost in four sets. Just a few days later, the Lady Vikings pushed Carey to five (21-25, 25-16, 16-25, 26-24, 15-25.)
North Shore played a non-league game against crosstown “friendly” rivals Glen Cove. The Lady Big Red currently sits in Conference A4. Nassau County Section VIII Girls Volleyball is broken into conferences by ability, unlike other sports where it may be based on school size.

North Shore took the game in four sets (25-16, 22-25, 25-22, 25-22). “They are much improved,” Iocavelli said. “It is always fun to play Glen Cove, and we have been doing so every year since Matt Carbone has been the coach.”
“It was a fun match, and we had nothing to lose,” Carbone said. “We played well, and their girls gave us some good competition.”
Of North Shore’s girls that have been making key contributions is junior Kaitlyn Gaeta. The junior saw some time on the court for Iocavelli’s undefeated squad last year, but not much. This is mostly a clean slate for the Lady Vikings, which is very natural, Iocavelli says.
“It is very cyclical,” Iocavelli said. “We want to focus on this year. We have some very good senior leaders that are doing a great job for us.”
Of those senior leaders are Leah Baron, Kristen Roth, and Daniela Portela. All three are outside hitters.
Setters Emma Malone, Lauren Hagen, and Lindsay Baron, as well as Kayla DePalma, Bella Barretta, and Sara Rush all are key parts of this offense. Barretta and Rush are the tallest on the court and usually find themselves around the net.
Clearly the shortest on the court, though, is Christina Forsander. Despite her diminutive size, she may be the most active and fiery according to Iocavelli. “She is easily the smallest on the court, but she has made some incredible saves,” Iocavelli said. “She has kept us in a lot of matches this year.”
Despite the slow start, the learning curve is starting to catch up to the box score for the Lady Vikings. The goal remains constant.
“Every year, we are always trying to at least get into the playoffs,” Iocavelli said. “We have to remain focused, which will lead to us getting more wins.”