Finley Girls’ Volleyball “Blue” Grows Together

The Finley Middle School girls’ volleyball “blue” grew together in their skills and strategies. The 20-player roster was coached by Woodhull physical education teacher Carrie Postel. The squad played a schedule of ten games during which the seventh and eighth graders showcased their talents.

“This year’s team was a pleasure to coach,” Postel said. “They played with heart and determination, showing tremendous growth throughout the season. They fought hard in every match, demonstrated great teamwork , and never stopped supporting one another. They never gave up, learned from each challenge, and continued to grow together. There were some incredible rallies, serves, hits and blocks that showed just how much this team is capable of. The effort and passion they brought to the court are building blocks for future success.”

The top players on the team included:

• Victoria Creegan; Setter - 8th grade; Led team in assists

“Victoria Creegan is a natural setter,” Postel said. “She moves quickly to get to the ball and places the ball in a spot where her hitters are able to hit the ball.”

• Elisabetta Arra; Setter - 8th grade; Led team in assists

“Elisabetta Arra was a setter last year and improved tremendously,” Postel said. “She was able to get to the ball and give her hitters a great set.”

• Shelby Meystrik; Outside hitter - 8th grade; Led team in kills

“Shelby Meystrik is another natural volleyball player,” Postel said. “She picks up everything you teach her and applies it every time she plays on the court. Shelby was able to spike and jump serve really well by the end of the season.”

• Molly Barba; Outside hitter - 7th grade; Led team in kills

“Molly Barba is a very aggressive player that is able to move quickly,” Postel said. “She is confident in her play and it helped us out a lot when we played some teams with a lot of skill.”

• Maya Schneider; Outside hitter - 8th grade; Led team in aces

“Maya Schneider improved a lot since last year’s season,” Postel said. “She passed well which helped promote our offense. Her serving helped pace us in some of our challenging games.”

• Valentina Diaz Gonzales; Middle hitter; 8th grade; Led team in blocks

“Valentina Diaz Gonzales was a huge contributor to our team this year,” Postel said. “She played at the net very well. This was her first year playing and she improved tremendously from the beginning to the end of the season. She even got a few blocks during some intense games.”

• Pfeiffer Laycock; Libero- 7th grade; Led team in digs and Juliette Creegan; Libero- 7th grade; Led team in digs

“Pfeiffer Laycock and Juliette Creegan were our liberos or defensive specialists this year,” Postel said. “They both dove and hustled for every ball that came over the net. I told them when they were given their position that they are the go-to passers and they took that and ran with it. No matter what they always tried to get a hand on the volleyball and be part of the play.”

• Annie Lopez Berrios; 8th grade; Led team in aces

“Annie Lopez Berrios was an active contributor to our team with her powerful serving,” Postel said. “She was consistent and her serving was strong.”

Postel kept things positive with the team and kept everyone looking forward. She knew this was a learning experience for everyone, even her returning players

“Our best team accomplishment was when we played Brentwood West at home,” Postel said. “The game started out a little shaky with a 9-25 loss in the first game. With some strong serving by Valentina Diaz Gonzales we regained our composure and came back in game 2 and won 25-16. Game 3 was another 16-25 loss for the Finley Blue team. Game 4 was a nail biter, but with the help of Molly Barba's serving Finley Blue ended with a 25-22 win. This brought the fifth game to a deciding game, Finley Blue needed to win in order to win the match. This was a back and forth battle with Brentwood West and in the end Finley Blue won the fifth set with a 29-27 win. This was super exciting that the girls battled and won this game.”

Looking ahead to next year to both the Finley program and the JV and varsity, Postal sees potential for further growth as well as an influx of young talent for the high school.

“I am hoping that all of the current seventh graders will return to the court next year,” the coach said. “When our seventh graders return as eighth graders they usually come back stronger and more confident in their play. The current seventh graders are Hayden Amar, Sydney Amar, Molly Barba, Ava Bond, Katelyn Brite, Juliette Creegan, Sofia Felice, Pfeiffer Laycock, Delaney Madden, and Annie Mendoza. The graduating eighth graders consist of Elisabetta Arra, Victoria Creegan, Valentina Diaz Gonzales, Charlotte Krause, Annie Berios Lopez, Shelby Meystrik, Gianna Parides, Lilly Policastro, Maya Schneider and Annabel Stein.”