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Fall Sports Preview: Girls Volleyball

Coach Paul Thees says they may not be tall, but they are scrappy and determined.

With only one player (Jennifer Post) gone from last year’s team, Amity’s veteran volleyball Coach Paul Thees begins his 18th season with the Lady Spartans (29th year overall) holding high hopes to improve upon last year’s 8-11 record.

According to Thees, “Last year we lacked overall team experience and it was my first year back after being in Trumbull for three years. Now with that year under our belts, I think the girls know me and my coaching style and I know them better too. I can already see that they have matured a lot. We are showing a lot of overall team improvement. I think we should definitely have a decent record. Hopefully, we can qualify for the SCC tournament and I also think we should make it to States.”

The 2011 Lady Spartans will be led by Senior Captain Jessica Malinconico, a 5-foot 10-inch middle hitter. Dana Blydenberg is a returning 5-6 senior right side hitter. Catlyn Strona is a 6-8 outside hitter. Thees admitted that returning 5-6 senior setter Allison Mirmina will be a key cog this fall in the Amity machine.

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Rounding out the varsity roster are seniors Jessica Hoffer (5-8 defensive specialist) and Nina Waskiewicz (5-4 defensive specialist), juniors Rebecca Denny (5-6 outside hitter), Kristen Post (5-7 outside hitter), and  Sydnee Sousa (5-10 middle hitter); and also sophomores Allison Denny (5-9 middle hitter), and Clair Foster (5-6 outside hitter). All of the above played in junior varsity and/or some varsity games last fall.

While Thees admitted that his team does lack overall height, he does feel confident it can make up for that with scrappy, determined play.

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He added, “Maybe we’re not an outstanding team, but we are significantly better than we were last year. We are a decent serving team and we do play decent defense too. The key for us is to be aggressive and to challenge ourselves to get better each match.  Mentally, we have to be prepared for each point of every game. We have to avoid the mistakes and mental lapses that forced us to play so many exhausting five game matches last year.”

Knowing Cheshire returns almost its entire team that won the Housy and SCC titles last year, Thees pointed to the Rams as clearly the team to beat. He noted while Shelton may not have Cheshire’s depth, it has some very talented players on its roster. He also reported that Foran, Law, and Wilbur Cross look to be the best non-Housy teams in the conference.

The Lady Spartan spikers open their season on Wednesday, Sept. 15, hosting Mercy at 5:30 p.m.     

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