St. Joseph by the Sea’s Francesca Rini (24) makes a pass. (Damion Reid)
It wasn’t necessarily pretty or efficient and it wasn’t the best Cardinal Spellman has played this season. But the Pilots, for the most part, will take it.
As long as it doesn’t carry over into the finals.
“There’s no way they can play like this and be league champions,” she said.
Spellman gutted out a 21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-17 win against St. Joseph by the Sea in the CHSAA Archdiocesan girls volleyball semifinals Friday night at Preston HS in The Bronx. The Pilots were caught off guard by the Vikings’ athleticism and defense, as well as their different style of play, hitting from the 10-foot line and sending over first and second balls.
“They’re very unorthodox,” Faulkner said. “And to their credit, they had everything. They were right there, they got it. They didn’t let balls drop. They played really, really well together. They really, really did for a team that does not look like organized volleyball players. They did the basics – they served, they passed. You serve, you pass, you win.”
What made it all the more impressive was that this is the first time a Staten Island team has made it this far since the format changed in 2007. Both Sea (11-3) and St. Joseph Hill, which pushed St. Catharine Academy in a five-setter, advanced this season. The Vikings were also playing without five starters, including their best all-around player Jackie Kelly, because they were playing in a travel softball tournament in Florida.
“They did a phenomenal job,” Sea coach Kathy Kelly said of the group that was able to make it to The Bronx. “I’m so proud of them right now.”
Faulkner felt the opposite about her team. Sea pushed Spellman (15-2) hard, but the Pilots had 19 service errors.
“Nineteen service misses totally hands the match to the other team,” Faulkner said.
Olivia O’Farrill had 11 aces, 11 digs and five kills, Jo-Marie Aquino had seven kills and 12 digs and Laura McCaffrey had 13 assists for Spellman. Karin Arias had six kills, Cari English had five aces and five kills and Siobhan Flattery and Jessica Ricciardi each had 16 digs. The Pilots settled down after the first set loss and started to play more like they can.
“They did an amazing job coming back,” O’Farrill said of her team. “They didn’t give up and that’s what’s really important in a team. You need to be able to come back and shake it off and just redeem yourself.”
Added Flattery: “It took us awhile to transition and get used to it, but we got there eventually”
Spellman gets another shot at rival St. Catharine in the championship match Sunday at 2 p.m. The Pilots beat the Crusaders twice – once at a Long Island tournament and once in Bronx/Westchester league – and SCA won twice, including a tiebreaker last week. Faulkner’s group is relishing the chance to win the season series.
“We’ve been up and down with them,” Flattery said. “We’ve won, we lost, we won, then we lost. So this is the same old. We want to win, we want this title. But we have to be ready.”
