John Jay Swept by Tappan Zee

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On Tuesday, September 16, John Jay hosted Tappan Zee and did jump out to a 4-0 lead in the first game. But unfortunately, the outset turned out to be an illusion.

The Dutchmen tied the game at six, went onto a 25-14 win and swept the next two games by scores of 25-10 and 25-19.

The game opened with a pair of Tappan Zee mistakes, and John Jay arrived at a 4-0 lead on two kills by Hellen Dollar. A serve into the net by Meghan McHugh ended the run, and Tappan Zee started to kill it. One from Devin Cunney from the middle, and one from Kiera Keane on the left and it was a 4-3 game.

Anya Keaney’s kill kept pace but Tappan Zee was not thrown off. Ava Handelman and Natalie Lai knocked two down, and Keane found the floor with a dink.

A 7-6 lead, Tappan Zee wasn’t ready to pull away yet. Dollar and Keaney slammed two for the lead, and the brief back and forth continued. Lai and Kerry Martin traded kills with Keaney and McHugh, but the 11-11 score proved deceptive.

Keane wound up from left, found the hard wood, and the 13-12 lead gave the Dutchmen the first game lead for good. Handelman and Cunney then delivered from the front and Alyssa Chiappa connected from the back with an ace. The 17-12 lead created enough separation and Tappan Zee cruised into game two.

No brakes, the Dutchmen went full throttle. They opened with an 11-0 run and went onto an easy win.

Onto the third, the Wolves did pause the Dutchmen’s flight. Dollar had a dink and a block to keep the game close at 5-3, and McHugh made the most of a tight set by dinking to a one point game.

An ace by Handelman and a kill from the middle made it 8-5 in favor of the visitors, but Dollar’s kill and block tied the game at nine. Prolonging the inevitable, Tappan Zee responded by taking a 15-10 lead, and after a dink by McHugh got Jay within two at 17-15, Handelman sparked the final run.

She dropped another kill and Kerry continued with a block. From there, Tappen Zee piled on and got back on the bridge with a sweep.

New Coach, Familiar Face will John Jay Leaving Everything Out on the Floor

Once a volleyball player at John Jay, Theresa Swertfager-Assumma feels more than familiar with her surroundings. “I feel back home,” she said, but replacing long time coach Tom Rizzotti still has too feel a little lonely.

Not quite, she said, “We talk all the time. He wants us and the coaching staff to have fun, keep developing the girls and hopefully go far in the sectionals.”

Of course, Hellen Dollar will play a big part in the success. “She brings a lot of communication and with new hitters, she's trying to get a good vibe going,” said the coach of her number one setter.

Julia Shepherd will be returning on the front line but she won’t be alone. “We have some promising youngsters coming up,” assured Swertfager-Assumma.

A few steps back, there’s a lot of returning experience. Meghan McHugh, Maria DeGaetano and Haley Hoskins are the defensive specialists and getting a read is the name of their game. “They work hard on tracking the ball,” she said, “that’s all I ask.”

As for the libero, the new coach is not sure yet but she likes having plenty of the talent to choose from. “We have a lot of depth,” said Swertfager-Assumma.

The same goes for the alumni depth chart in the coaching ranks. “Playing under Coach Rizzotti, we’re both back,” she said of assistant coach Allie Driesen.

So one day at a time for the first year coach, Swertfager-Assumma isn’t getting ahead of herself in terms of goals. “We want to play hard, leave everything out on the court, and win or lose, we want to do it as a team,” she concluded.

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