By Greg Tartaglia – Record Sports Department
Anna DeCesare owns the first name that has been heard most often during the Rutherford girls volleyball team’s past four seasons.
“We joke about it now, but since she was a freshman, I don’t think I ever called out a kid’s name more than ‘Anna! Anna!’” Rutherford coach Helen Antzoulides said with a grin.
Part of that is because DeCesare has been the team’s varsity setter all that time. As the “point guard” of an offense, setters naturally process more input from the coach.
For a player to start at such a pivotal position from the get-go is uncommon.
“I’ve been a head coach for 26 years, and she’s the only freshman I ever put into a 5-1,” Antzoulides said, referencing the standard one-setter alignment. “Ever.”
Now, DeCesare owns Rutherford’s all-time career record for assists. She has 1,592 entering today’s NJIC Colonial tilt at Glen Rock.
The 5-foot-9 senior eclipsed the mark previously held by 2014 graduate Karolina Kopacz (1,553) during last Thursday’s match versus Hawthorne.
“Being a four-year starter is helpful,” DeCesare said Wednesday. “Because I’ve been doing it for a long time, I know who to set it to and where to set it, and it makes a big difference on the court.”
The Bulldogs have felt the impact in the win column. They are 12-0 as they prepare to play the school with whom they have shared the past two division titles.
“Being a four-year starter is helpful,” DeCesare said Wednesday. “Because I’ve been doing it for a long time, I know who to set it to and where to set it, and it makes a big difference on the court.”
The Bulldogs have felt the impact in the win column. They are 12-0 as they prepare to play the school with whom they have shared the past two division titles.
“The whole team is just really pumped, because Glen Rock has been a rival of ours for a while,” DeCesare said.
In her tenure with the team, Rutherford has a record of 72-25. She has set for two Rogers sisters, Jess and Jenna, and even got to play with her own sister, Jordan, in 2014.
“[Jordan] really helped me improve my freshman year,” DeCesare said. “She would always try and pick me up when I was doing badly. It was a big help having her on the team.”
“The DeCesares work hard,” said Antzoulides, in her 14th season at Rutherford after 12 at Paterson Catholic. “I knew we were going to take some lumps [when Anna was a frosh], but she persevered because she’s a perfectionist.”
Jenna Rogers, a sophomore outside hitter, has gotten the most kills off DeCesare sets this season (142) and spiked the ball from her 1,554th assist. Senior OH Catherine Laza has 67 kills, while middle Abby Verderber and opposite Caroline Fisher have capitalized when the ball comes their way.
“In four years, there’s never been, ‘You set me more than you set her,’ because of the respect factor that they have for her,” Antzoulides said. “Anna makes everyone around her better. And on top of that, she’s one of the most likable kids in the school.”
CONGRATULATIONS FROM EVERYONE IN THE NJIC !!!!
