Hall of Fame Weekend at John Jay

Please see tip, pledge and subscribe buttons below

Hall of Fame Photos

John Jay Volleyball Sweeps Pelham

On Friday September 20, John Jay hosted Pelham before the John Jay Hall of Inductee Ceremony, and at least two Wolves made a case for future enshrinement. “They are the definition of what hard work looks like,” said Coach Tom Rizzotti of Ilirijana Ahmetaj and Jaime Bartley-Cohen. So many spikes and dinks raining down, the three set victory wasn’t all the coach took home from the way the two big hitters effect the team and his mindset.

“The winning is awesome, but seeing them enjoy the game, seeing when they are having fun, that’s what makes this so incredibly fun for he,” the coach admitted.

After Hannah Martisen and Haley Hoskins dinked and aced the Wolves to a 3-1 lead, Ahmetaj was freed from the conservatory. Two spikes and a dink, the righty got familiar with the end line on all three winners and extended the lead to 6-1.

Of course, volleyball jerseys don’t just go to the rafters by playing above the net. Riley Buckingham, Haley Hoskins and Olivia Casabona all went to the floor with saves, and the defenders were rewarded with the point when Pelham spiked the ball into the net.

A dink and a kill by Ahmetaj made it 9-1, and the eight point lead was maintained on more strong defense. On an errant bump, Casabona raced from the back right for a diving save on the left, and Hellen Dollar followed with a point winning block.

Up 11-3, Ahmetaj made no apology for a mishit kill, and the same went for another standard slam that made it 13-4. Now, Bartley-Cohen was ready to deal a deuce, and both times Dollar dishes teed up the break out smiles for a 16-7 lead.

In command, the Wolves got Ahmetaj back in the mix, and two kills and dink later, Dollar was not just reveling the impact on the scoreboard “They motivate me to be better because they are so good,” said the setter.

Almost on cue, Bartley-Cohen delivered from the right and returned to sender with a block. 24-10, Maria DeGaetano’s ace clinched the set, and the Wolf execution that started game two was no surprise.

Ahmetaj mastered the bump, Dollar lifted the set, and Bartley-Cohen cashed the kill. In the bank, the lead was soon three on an Ahmetaj whirlwind, and after several Pelham miscues, Ahmetaj left Pelham in the dust with another slam.

Up 6-1, Dollar and Julia Sheppard stayed there for the block, and the two bigs alternated kills for a 9-4 lead. Then Bartley-Cohen got pushy. Casabona made the diving bump, Dollar raced over for the set, and the hitter made the most of the play by pushing the ball deep for a 10-5 lead.

Pelham answered with a kill of their own, so John Jay went to the middle. Martinsen received in the center and knocked down another.

Still, a five point lead, Riley Buckingham gave her team a breather whether they needed it or not. Three straight aces and the girls kept coming. Martisen was first from the middle, and Ahmetaj added a kill and dink for an 18-10 lead.

A couple of John Jay hits into the net kept the Pelicans in the game, so John Jay mixed it up again. Dollar set short to Shepherd, and the middle hitter stopped the run.

Now 20-12, the lead would grow to ten on a few more Pelham miscues and Bartley-Cohen got the Wolves on point away with another slam. The Pelicans did answer with four straight to make it 24-20, and that had the girls turning to their setter.

Only Dollar took Shepard’s set, and in putting game two away, she had no complaints. “Hitting gives me an opportunity to be versatile,” explained Dollar.

Either way, the Wolves were all business with Friday night calling. Buckingham began with a pair of aces, and the actual aces in the John Jay deck slammed their team to a 5-1 lead.

Two more Ahmetaj kills maintained the lead, and Dollar and Shepard took turns on the kill to extend to an 11-4 lead. Then off the bench, Nalaia Nosworthy wound up on the right. “She was not hesitant. She went up there gripping,” said Rizzotti, and down went the ball for a 12-4 lead.

Another Dollar spike made it 15-4, and way too much separation for Pelham to make up, Bartley-Cohen had the final kill and word. “This is a great group of girls to work with,” she concluded. “It makes it easy to play my game."

John Jay Falls 21-0 to Brewster

Homecoming Photos

On September 21, Football Saturday night had Contest Field alive for Homecoming/Hall of Fame Weekend. Brewster on the menu, the Bears quickly switched places with a first possession score, and in the end, the guests did all the eating.

A 21-0 shutout for the Bears, the Wolves were forced to go home on an empty stomach.

That said, the game opened in a very foretelling manner. Tre Ficarra got outside, ran 13 yards to the 50 and was far from done. Nine more yards on the next play, the back put the multi in his next opportunity. KJ Dillon dropped back, lofted a perfect pass to the well defended Ficarra, and the back was all hands for a 7-0 lead.

At 9:58, John Jay hoped to answer. But the Wolves moved backwards, and unfortunately on the changeover, the Bears didn’t.

This despite facing a third and 13 from the John Jay 37. Dillon stayed grounded and kept the ball for two consecutive ten yard runs to the 19. From there, Ficarra did most of the rest. He ran ten to the nine, received to the five and ran it in from the three.

14-0 with the extra point, John Jay did have some pushback. Nicholas Rinaldi ran nine yards to the 45, and the line got Brewster to jump offside for a first down.

Then the flags went the other way. An illegal procedure and a hold doomed the drive, and back the other way was even worse.

After John Jay had forced Brewster into a third and eight, Dillon tried to make up lost ground. He threw to his sideline, and Tommy Machado appeared to step in front for the interception. No such luck to start the second, the flag went up, and great field position was not to be.

John Jay did manage to stop the drive at midfield and showed good signs at the start of their possession. Rinaldi gained three on first down, and Braydon Currid connected with Theo Dorta for a first down at the 20.

Rinaldi followed with a six yard run, but a block in the back penalty was too much to overcome. Of course, the Bears had no mercy, and it began with Marco Parello returning the punt to the John Jay 36.

Smelling blood, Josh Walker ran six and 20 yards for a first and goal at the four. A breather earned, Ficarra got the call for the touchdown run at 4:42, and John Jay did not have a comeback in them.