By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Publisher
The way to build a championship team in high school sports is to get a bunch of players who have experience playing together, and get those players to believe in themselves and what they can accomplish if properly motivated.
The formula worked to perfection this fall for the Pleasantville girls volleyball team, which went 18-2 in the regular season and captured its first Cape-Atlantic League championship, upending perennial champion Absegami in the process.
“Absegami is absolutely the gold standard. They’ve been CAL champions ever since there has been a CAL,” Pleasantville coach Jim Bucko said after the Greyhounds beat Absegami, 2-0, on Oct. 19 to lock up the title. “Our girls have been scratching and fighting all year. We’ve been down at times, but they just keep coming back. They never quit, and they just wouldn’t be denied. This was our goal from the very beginning. We knew we were going to have an experienced team coming back, and this was the goal from the beginning.”
Pleasantville’s roster is dominated by upperclassmen who have varsity experience. There are eight seniors and four juniors. The only non-upperclassmen are sophomore Nairelys Gonzalez and freshman Kimberly Sanchez. The Greyhounds take their lead from middle hitter Jennifer Figueroa, one of the best players in South Jersey.
“This means everything to us. Throughout the years we’ve worked hard and progressed. I’m just happy that we got the ‘W’,” Figueroa, a senior, said after the victory over Absegami. “I was really nervous in the beginning of the game, but our crowd really hyped us up and gave us momentum, and we came out on top.”
“Jen is our middle hitter and blocker, and she’s such a presence up front. She gets a lot of kills, and she really gets us going. She has a lot of energy and really gets us fired up. She’s very athletic. And Nyasia (Fowlkes) is really coming along as an outside hitter. She’s getting confidence in her hitting, and she’s really making an impact on the outside. Last year, we only really had one threat, and that was Jen. But now we’re spreading the ball around a lot more,” Bucko said. “Everyone seems to gravitate toward Jennifer. You notice her because of her height, but she’s a funny girl, she helps keep everyone loose. She’s kind of everyone’s best friend. She’s an incredible asset to have on the team. We lean on her for leadership, and everyone looks up to her. We’ve had conversations in the past where I told her we needed her to step up and be a team leader, and she’s never let us down.”
Pleasantville also has gotten some solid contributions from players such as Janice Arroyo, Gissela Sosa and Zayna Tulu, among others, and also got a big boost from setter Cristal Velez.
“It’s really been a team effort. We have a fantastic libero in Gissela Sosa and we have two great setters, Christal Velez and Gisela Palomino. We have a different person stepping up every match. And they all support each other. There’s no team drama. It’s really a nice atmosphere,” Bucko said. “Christal is a great setter and has a great serve. We’ve won a lot of matches on her serve alone. She also plays excellent defense. She’s just calm, cool and confident out there. She’s somebody we’ve had to lean on a lot, and she’s having herself a great year.”
Coming into Pleasantville’s first matchup with Absegami, the Braves had an amazing win streak going against CAL teams. But that didn’t faze the Greyhounds.
“I knew going into the season we would probably be one of the top two or three teams. Last year we finished fourth in the league. Winning the CAL was on our mind and that was our goal from the beginning, but putting it all together and beating some good teams would be another thing. We had to just concentrate on one team at a time, one match at a time,” Bucko said. “Going into our first match against Absegami, they had won 44 straight against Cape-Atlantic League teams, so to beat them on their home court, I think that was the first time it opened the girls’ eyes to the possibility of winning the Cape-Atlantic League. After that, we continued to win.”
By continuing to win, Pleasantville set up a chance to win its first league championship when it met Absegami again, on Oct. 19. The Greyhounds won the first game, 25-18, then rallied late to win the second game 27-25, setting off a celebration at center court that included friends, parents and teachers.
“It was phenomenal. The gym was packed, the fans were all into it. We had teachers and friends out there watching, and that was a big moment for us. It lifted the school morale and gave them something to cheer for,” Bucko said. “No one expected us to get to that point, so that made it that much more special. Our girls have been working so hard. They just don’t give up. The CAL is very competitive this year — six of the nine teams made the state playoffs — so there were a lot of nail-biters. Our girls really showed a lot this year with their mental toughness and grit. It’s been a pretty amazing ride.”
“I always thought that we would progress and get better, but to actually make it to the point where we won a championship, I never thought we would get to this point,” Fowlkes said. “And to beat Absegami, that’s really big. It feels really good to be the new champions.”
“It was really exciting, especially with the crowd really pushing us through it. They really motivated us and I think that’s what helped us win. This is huge for us to win the Cape-Atlantic League championship. This is amazing for us,” added Tulu. “We felt like we could beat them again. We’ve always been a family, and we definitely push each other to do better and try harder. The confidence comes from all of us.”
The volleyball team’s success is helping spread confidence throughout the school, Bucko said, along with some other athletic programs becoming more competitive. Coach Mark Eykyn has built the boys soccer program into one of the more competitive programs in the CAL, and second-year football coach Chris Sacco has his team above .500 following two straight winless seasons. Bucko said it’s great to see a new, positive vibe around Pleasantville athletics.
“All the coaches stick together, we talk. And I think success breeds success. The success of one program will get students out and want to participate in other programs. I think that’s what we are seeing at Pleasantville,” he said. “More students want to get involved, they are excited, and there’s an overall excitement throughout the school. Too often, Pleasantville is in the news for negativity, and it’s great to see some positive news come out of Pleasantville.”
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays