Volleyball team works toward their own goal

The girls junior high volleyball team with coach Karen Gibbs: (front row from left) Alexis Sulahian, Rebecca Martinez, Olivia Garrison, Taylor Rando, Rowan Hausman, Sam Cappello, (back row) Abbie Ross-Gates, Julia Martin, Mimi Lawrence, Logan Pendergrass, Keri Ann Mahoney and Erin Colligan (not pictured: Brianna Rietvelt).


If you go purely by the scores, the Lady Indians junior highvolleyball team endured a tough loss to Montauk on Monday. They wonjust one set, the fourth (25-14), and lost the other four (25-14,25-23, 25-15, and 25-9). Their season record so far is 1-4­- their only win was against Pierson on December14.

But simply fighting for a winning record isn’t part of CoachKaren Gibbs’ game plan: “Our goal for the season is playingvolleyball: three hits. She wants the girls to focus their effortson the fundamentals: rather than immediately slapping the back,instead passing, setting, and then hitting the ball over thenet.

Their attempts to pass, set and hit the ball in an organized waycreate more opportunity for error. But, as Coach Gibbs knows, italso creates the only opportunity for genuine improvement for boththe players and the team as a whole.

She uses her own scoring system, which involves keeping track ofhow many times each team hits the ball three times on their ownside, an indicator of how effectively they’re practicing these gamebasics and working as a team. And according to that score board,they’re undefeated: “Every time we always have more three-hits thanthe other team, said Gibbs, “but unfortunately we lose.

So the frequent defeats must be endured, for now. “They’reyoung, it’s junior high, they’re learning ¦ but we’replaying the game, so that’s their growth, said Gibbs, adding “nextyear I expect them to kill.

The score of yesterday’s game at Springs wasn’t available bypress time. Don’t miss their next game on their home court againstEast Hampton on Saturday, January 9 at 10 a.m.