The Huntington junior varsity girls’ volleyball team accomplished its mission, which was to advance the young players’ skills and give them as much on court experience as possible.
The Blue Devils’ roster included eighth graders Megan Donaghy and Lauren Gennarelli; freshmen Madelyn Bavaro, Cassidy Casabona, Kianna Criscuola, Caroline Gorecki, Alexis Kaloudis, Sofia Marchetta, Francesca Stamatatos, Grace Stolfa, Sophia Toscano and Nina Varvatsas and sophomores Mackenzie Madison, Kathryn Renkewitz and Grace Renkewitz.
Over the course of the 10 match schedule, Huntington won three and lost three others by excruciatingly close 2-1 scores. Over all, head coach Todd Donaghy was pleased with his players.
Captained by Mackenzie Madison and Grace Renkewitz, the Blue Devils were a competitive bunch. Stolfa tallied 79 digs and Gorecki notched 64 assists at setter and 20 service aces. Donaghy had 16 kills from her outside hitter position and 23 service aces. Criscuola shined at middle hitter with 33 kills and 74 digs.
“Kianna [Criscuola] was our best overall player,” Donaghy said. “She led the team in kills and was second in digs and she finished the season with 14 aces.”
Gorecki and Toscano were both outstanding at setter, combining for 104 assists and 36 service aces.
“Grace [Stolfa] was our best defensive player throughout the year, leading our team in digs,” Donaghy said.
Megan Donaghy enjoyed a great season as an eighth grader on the JV, finishing as one of the Blue Devils’ top hitters, compiling the second most kills and leading the squad in aces.
“I believe our best team accomplishment was our performance at the Smithtown East tournament,” Donaghy said. “Our pool had three very strong teams in it in St. Anthony’s, West Islip and Hauppauge. Our girls played outstanding. Everyone played and played well. Our starting group went 2-1 in pool play and the second unit came in and played extremely good volleyball against three good teams.”