……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
There is certainly no shortage of athletes on the Secaucus girls volleyball team.
While many of the state’s top teams feature players who dedicate their entire year solely to volleyball, the Patriots roster has several players who play basketball and softball as well.
That hasn’t slowed the four-time defending Hudson County champs in the past, and it shouldn’t this season.
“Some of the better teams have girls that play all year round,” said Sheila Rivera, who is entering her eighth year as Secaucus’ head coach and 15th season as a member of the staff. “While other girls were playing the whole summer, we only started playing volleyball on Aug. 14, because a lot of my girls were playing other sports.
“They have to understand that while we have only three and a half months to get to where we want to be, other teams have 10 months, so we have to work even harder.”
One of Rivera’s top athletes is junior hitter Julia McClure. Along with being a First Team All-Group 1 volleyball player, McClure is also one of the school’s basketball and softball stars.
“We’re just as good as them [other teams] even though they put in 10 times the amount of time that we do,” said McClure. “We work just as hard as them, but we just can’t do it all year round because we’re multi-sport athletes.
“It makes us want to beat them even more, because they put so much time. We have something to prove.”
The Patriots have been able to build a dynasty in Hudson County over the past couple of years. McClure and Co. will look to claim their fifth consecutive county championship in 2013.
Back in October, the Patriots (24-3) knocked off Hudson Catholic in straight sets to take home the Hudson County Tournament crown.
However, while county titles are always nice, Secaucus is thinking even bigger in 2013. The team managed to advance to the Group 1 state championship game last season before falling to Bogota, which finished the season as the No. 2-ranked team in the state.
While the loss may have been upsetting, it has served as a tool to motivate the Patriots during the preseason as the team aims to win its first state championship since 2006.
“We have our sights set on claiming Secaucus’ 19th state championship [in program history], so we’re definitely looking to go all the way this year,” said senior Kelly Riebesell, one of only four seniors on a young, but talented team. “We have so many girls coming back, and we’re just getting better and better.”
Aside from McClure and Riebesell, the team will return seven girls who received playing time last season, including junior outside hitter Kaitlin Schlemm, as well as junior libero Andie Lennon.
However, the Patriots do face the difficult task of replacing setter Danielle Roesing, a Second Team All-Group 1 honoree who graduated in the spring.
To replace her, Rivera will look to junior Kendall Caruso, a three-sport athlete who also plays basketball and softball.
The upcoming season certainly looks like it could be a banner year for the Patriots, as Rivera claims the team “got into the swing of things pretty quickly,” despite beginning practice only a little over two weeks ago.
However, although Secaucus certainly has the talent to make a run at a state championship, players and coaches alike know that the team cannot let up in working toward achieving its full potential.
“We’ve talked about things like becoming complacent,” said Rivera. “Because no matter what, our best always has to get better.”
