BY GARY PHILLIPS
STAFF WRITER | THE RECORD
Samantha Gioiosa is always thinking about her team.
A rising senior and captain for Bogota volleyball, she is quick to deflect questions about her own accomplishments in favor of praise for her teammates.
Bring up Gioiosa’s selection to The Record All-North Jersey team and she will tell you about the Buccaneers’ State Group 1 title instead. Mention her improvement as a junior – she recorded 420 kills, 134 digs and 100 service points – and she will single out others who upped their game. She insists that her teammates are the reason for her success.
“They were just there for me,” Gioiosa said. “Without them I probably wouldn’t be the player I am.”
The outside hitter admittedly does not do much outside of volleyball. Ask about her other interests and she will tell you about volleyball. Gioiosa lives and breathes the sport, playing for Bogota and Sideout Sports, a club team out of Fairfield, in addition to coaching Bogota’s middle school program. In one way or another, she is doing something volleyball related nearly every day of the week. With Bogota already practicing, she has no summer break. Fortunately, most of her friends play volleyball.
“We’re always here at the gym,” Gioiosa said. “I don’t really hang out with other friends outside of volleyball. It’s just my volleyball friends. We’re always together, so we’ve become so close. We’re always with each other outside of volleyball. That’s really it for my life.”
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