Susan Wagner’s Marco Altieri is The Post’s All-City girls volleyball Coach of the Year. (Denis Gostev)
For the first time in four seasons, Francis Lewis did not walk away with the PSAL Class A city championship. Susan Wagner crashed the finals party, shocking Lewis in the semis and becoming the first team from Staten Island to make it that far in three decades. Cardozo, though, was the victor, securing its first crown since 1981.
In the CHSAA, St. Francis Prep remained top dog, winning a fourth straight CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens title and advancing to a second CHSAA Class AA state tournament semifinal in three years. Horace Mann won a third straight Ivy League title and advanced to the NYSAISAA final for the second time in three seasons.
All-City girls volleyball Player of the Year:Julia Hannigan, St. Francis Prep
Hannigan was born blind in her left eye. Yet her biggest asset on a volleyball court is court vision.
No setter in New York City saw soft spots in opposing defenses or recognized where the blockers were better than the poised senior, who led St. Francis Prep to a fourth straight undefeated CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens title and a second berth in the CHSAA Class AA state semifinals in three years.
Hannigan, who is receiving Division I interest, also had the best hands in the city and was clinical in spreading the ball around to the Terriers’ high-powered offense. She was the conductor of the city’s best team. SFP did not lose a league match with her starting the last three seasons.
“Julia makes a tremendous difference on the team,” St. Francis Prep coach Kevin Colucci said. “Overall, she does such good things with the ball. Very even keeled, nothing really fazes her, she doesn’t get frazzled. It really helps the team stay focused.”
All-City girls volleyball Coach of the Year: Marco Altieri, Susan Wagner
Perhaps it wasn’t going to be a rebuilding year after the first two trips to the PSAL Class A semifinals in program history, but Wagner had just one other starter returning to the same position after star outside hitter Emily Burke.
Expectations were low and the talent on the roster wasn’t as bountiful. Altieri, though, did his best coaching job yet, getting every ounce of passion and hard work out of an inexperienced team. The fifth-seeded Falcons shocked top-seed and three-time defending champion Francis Lewis in the semifinals, becoming the first Staten Island squad in more than three decades to reach the city title game.
Wagner came within one point of the coveted crown, but fell short to Cardozo in the finals.
“He really built something that changed a lot of girls into actual volleyball players,” Burke said. “He’s almost like a dad figure to a lot of us. We see him more than we see our family. I wanted to win for him. I mean, I wanted to win for myself, but he puts so much into it, I really wanted to win for him.”
FIRST TEAM
MH Shannon Appel, Midwood
Without her, the Hornets wouldn’t have had a chance at making a second straight PSAL Class A semifinals. The much-improved, 6-foot senior was Midwood’s best hitter, best blocker and undisputed leader.
OH Emily Burke, Susan Wagner
There was no secret that Wagner would be going to the 6-foot-3, Hofstra-bound senior star early and often. It was just a serious chore stopping Burke – she led the Falcons all the way to their first PSAL Class A city championship match.
OH Talia Colasante, St. Francis Prep
When Colasante got a full swing, the ball was almost certainly headed toward the floor. The powerful, 5-foot-10 junior was St. Francis Prep’s best hitter en route to its fourth straight undefeated CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens title.
OH Ashley Grubler, Cardozo
As a sophomore she carried Cardozo to the PSAL Class A city final. This season, as a junior, the 6-foot-1 Grubler had 19 kills against Susan Wagner to lead the Judges to their first championship since 1981 – and she still has another year to go.
OH Paulina Jobczyk, Francis Lewis
Jobczyk rarely saw the court last season on a stacked Lewis title team. But the 5-foot-8 senior emerged as one of the most feared hitters in the city in 2010, leading the Patriots to the PSAL Class A semifinals.
L Jenna Hoffman, Archbishop Molloy
By far the shortest member of this group, the 4-foot-11 sophomore made up for it with uncanny court generalship. No libero covered the kind of ground Hoffman did and her passing was a key to Molloy’s trip to the CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens title game.
SECOND TEAM
OH Ragina Anthony, Francis Lewis
With poise and skill far beyond her years, the 5-foot-10 freshman has a chance to be the best player in the city before long.
OH Melissa Chin, Stuyvesant
By looks alone – Chin, a junior, is just 5-foot-4 – one would never assume her superior athleticism, leaping ability and powerful swing.
MH Lauren Ganun, Fontbonne Hall
A full package at middle, the 6-foot junior has power, excellent court vision and a booming serve, aiding Fontbonne in being one of the city’s best for a second straight year.
S Katie Lang, Fontbonne Hall
She arguably became Fontbonne’s most valuable player down the stretch with her great hands, agility and excellent serving ability.
L Margot Penn, Horace Mann
The senior’s great defense and passing was the glue behind Horace Mann’s third straight Ivy League title and second trip to the NYSAISAA finals in three seasons.
OH Martina Vaglia, Cardozo
The Italian foreign exchange student showed up serendipitously midseason and ended up being a key ingredient in Cardozo’s first PSAL city championship in 29 years.
THIRD TEAM
S Esther Jang, Susan Wagner
RS Zoe Kestan, Horace Mann
MH Colette Littell, Brooklyn Tech
OH Julia Paternoster, St. Francis Prep
OH Amarilda Shkoza, St. Catharine Academy
MH/RS Dominique Watt, Bronx Science
HONORABLE MENTION
OH Carolina Alfonso Reyes, Cleveland
MH Kelsey Carey, St. Joseph Hill
S Jacquie Chirdo, Poly Prep
MH Kelly Flynn, St. Francis Prep
S Gaby Frid, Hunter College HS
S Jessica Gonzalez, John F. Kennedy
S Song Hee Han, Tottenville
MH Kate Mulvihill, Archbishop Molloy
OH Olivia O’Farrill, Cardinal Spellman
MH/OH Stephanie Taibe, Mary Louis
