Girls' Varsity Volleyball Team Ends Record Breaking Season

Jenna Kirschner and Laura Haynes combine for the block against Wantagh. photo by Newsphoto.com

Back on August 27th, the members of the girls' varsity volleyball team established several team and individual goals, and then they went on a mission. The Lady Trojans' season began with early wins over Seaford, West Hempstead, South Side, and Wantagh, the defending Long Island champs, and they never looked back. The team powered through the Class "A" Upper Ability Conference and went 16-0 marking the first undefeated regular season volleyball team in the Garden City history record books. Along the way, GC also captured the championship titles at the Cold Spring Harbor, the Herricks, and the Long Beach Shoot Out Invitational Tournaments. In each of the three prestigious tournaments, middle attacker Laura Haynes earned an unprecedented three tournament MVP Awards. Surrounding Haynes was a rock-solid cast including team co-captains, Amanda Joyce, a high-flying outside attacker, and Jackie Bishop, the team's libero and defensive standout. Junior setters Jenna Kirschner and Allison Castel orchestrated the high-powered offensive attack, and Rebecca Langer, one of Nassau County's top passers, made huge contributions to the team's front row arsenal. Middle attacker Kaitlyn Olsen stymied opponents with her great blocking ability while Taylor Becker and Carolyn Cutrone supplied offensive and defensive balance. Coming off the bench, Madison Horl and Lisa Yanosik consistently sparked GC with their effective play.

The team enters the gym before the game against Wantagh. photo by Newsphoto.com

The Lady Trojans headed into the Nassau County playoffs as the #1 seed, and they went on to three-game sweeps over Floral Park in the quarterfinals and Lynbrook in the semifinals. The County Finals pitted GC against #2 Wantagh (16-2) whose only two losses were to GC in conference play. In the best of five games, GC cruised with wins in the first two games (25-10, 25-20). GC dropped game 3 (23-25) which involved a series of controversial calls that went against the Lady Trojans. In game 4, GC's MVP Laura Haynes struggled with a calf injury that severely limited her effectiveness. Although Haynes made a valiant effort to continue to play in game 5, GC coach Phil Opinante had no choice than to replace his "go to" star, and GC eventually bowed to Wantagh, 15-25.

Jenna Kirschner prepares to block a shot against Wantagh. photo by Newsphoto.com

Afterward, Jackie Bishop stated, "I'm not so upset because we lost, but I'm just not ready to end our season with this amazing bunch of girls. I've been on a lot of teams, but this has been the most unbelievable team to play on. I will always look back on this team as my most memorable high school experience. Everyone was so together from the beginning, and it hurts to have it end."

After addressing his team, Coach Opinante put it all in perspective and stated, "There's a mutual and friendly respect between these two teams, and we congratulate Wantagh on their win. Ending our season under these circumstances is as tough as it gets on the high school level. But this team - the 2006 Garden City High School Girls' Varsity Volleyball Team - achieved something that extremely few teams rarely ever achieve: These kids all understand now and they have experienced the true concept of team. They played exceptionally well and were highly successful the entire season because they have a passion for the game, but mostly because they really and truly played for each other; they had a desire to see our team succeed as a whole. And because of their collective team effort day in and day out, they will always remember the fun and the exciting experiences along the way. They will always remember the amazing "journey" for what it was, and not how it ended".

#7 Laura Haynes gets the block for Garden City during the match against Floral Park. photo by Newsphoto.com

WORTH NOTING:

Seniors Amanda Joyce, Jackie Bishop, Laura Haynes, and junior Rebecca Langer, were All County selections. Jenna Kirschner was selected as All County Honorable Mention, and Kaitlyn Olsen was selected to the All Conference Team.

BY THE NUMBERS:

19 - The record number of wins in a GC volleyball season.

L-R Lisa Yanosik, Jackie Bishop, Carolyn Cutrone, Madison Horl and Allison Castel cheer on their teammates during the match against Wantagh. photo by Newsphoto.com

303 - The record number of kills in a season by Laura Haynes.

151 - The record number of digs in a season by Amanda Joyce.

7 - The number of team members who served above 90% efficiency.

40 - The average number of team digs per match.

.905 - GC's team serving efficiency.

185 - The record number of team block solos.

18 - The number of team block errors.

.877 - Jackie Bishop's reception percentage, a season record.

18 - The number of team aces per match.

30 - The average number of assists per match by Jenna Kirschner and Allison Castel.

10 - The number of aces in 29 serves by Rebecca Langer in the county finals.

Amanda Joyce in action against Floral Park. photo by newsphoto.com

.948 - Allison Castel's serve efficiency percentage, a team record.

.938 - Jackie Bishop's serve efficiency percentage.

73 - The number of block solos in the season by Kaitlyn Olsen.

Taylor Becker in action for Garden City. photo by Newsphoto.com Coach Opinante during the finals. photo by Newsphoto.com Carolyn Cutrone in action during the game against Wantagh. photo by Newsphoto.com