BY GEORGE ALBANO
Staff Writer
After the kind of season the South Brunswick High School girls volleyball team had last year, going 16-9 for its first winning season ever as well as qualifying for the state tournament for the first time in program history, many wondered what the Vikings could possibly do for an encore.
After all, with eight seniors graduating, including five of last year’s six starters, the 2004 South Brunswick volleyball team couldn’t possibly duplicate what the 2003 squad did, could it?
They did. In fact, this year’s edition of the Vikings even raised the bar a little higher, finishing 19-7, and not only posting another winning record and returning to the state tournament, but also capturing the Greater Middlesex Conference championship for the first time.
If last year was a breakout season for the Vikings, then this year was a coronation.
“After we got a taste of success last year, these girls wanted to taste it again and try to take it to the next level. They got that winning thing going,” head coach Nancy McDonald, who just completed her eighth season, said. “Then when we got our 16th win to tie last year and then our 17th to go one better. I said, ‘Now lets go win one more.’ ”
The Vikings would actually win two more matches and both came in the GMC playoffs, something even McDonald admits she didn’t expect.
“No, I never thought we could take it to this point,” she said. “Old Bridge and East Brunswick are always the top teams in our league. We’re always behind them and always trying to get by them.
“But our girls really pulled it together and they really became a team. They worked hard in practice and meshed to become a team. After last year, they had a confidence about them and they knew how to win. That’s what got them there. I just sat back and watched. It was nice. Nerve-wracking, but nice.”
McDonald did more than just sit back and watch, however. She molded a group of untested players with little or no varsity experience into a cohesive unit on the court. And if winning is indeed contagious, many of the girls on this year’s team watched from the bench last season as the Vikings accumulated their 16 wins.
“Last year’s team was a very talented group, and they proved it,” McDonald said. “But this year’s team had a little different focus. They were able to handle distractions and not get upset and or get down on themselves. But they learned that from being a part of last year’s team.”
Senior tri-captain Courtney Dwyer was the only returning starter from last year’s team and was the Vikings’ leader on the court.
“She had an awesome year at middle blocker,” McDonald said.
Meanwhile, Sara Koenig and Kristen Fortunato, the other two senior tri-captains who saw limited time coming off the bench last season, both excelled as outside hitters this season.
Another senior, Katie Kokoszka, who missed all of last year following shoulder surgery, was the starting setter this season, while sophomore Jordan Consossori, a JV player a year ago, was the starting opposite (outside hitter/setter).
Janelle Payne, a 6-foot junior and the other middle blocker, and sophomore Nikki Weiss, another JV player last year who rotated with Payne and played the back line, rounded out the Vikings’ “starting seven,” as McDonald calls them.
Led by All-GMC picks Dwyer, Koenig and Consossori, South Brunswick finished 11-3 in the GMC during the regular season and were co-division champs with J.P. Stevens.
“But they beat us twice during the season and were the No. 1 seed in the GMC playoffs,” McDonald noted.
South Brunswick, meanwhile, was the second seed and faced No. 3 East Brunswick in the semifinals. The day before, however, the Vikings had to play their opening state tournament match and lost to Dickinson 2-1.
“The GMC tournament coincided with the state tournament, which kind of makes it difficult,” McDonald said.
Even more so when less than 24 hours after losing to Dickinson, the Vikings had to play rival East Brunswick, a team they split two regular-season matches with. In the GMC semis, South Brunswick won the opening game 25-20 and had match point in the second game before East Brunswick rallied to win 25-23 and force a deciding third game.
“We had match point and they took it away,” McDonald said.
But the Vikings wouldn’t let the third game get away, winning 25-18 to take the match 2-1 and advance to the finals for the first time in their history.
“The past two years we lost in the semifinals. We never got in the finals,” McDonald said. “So that win was big for us, especially after losing in our state game to come back the very next day.”
Meanwhile, J.P. Stevens beat No. 4 seed Old Bridge in the other semifinal to set up a showdown between South Brunswick and J.P. Stevens for the GMC championship last Tuesday.
“We lost to them in three games both times during the season, so going into the final the girls really had confidence they could come back and beat them this time,” McDonald said. “The first time was at our place in the second match of the season, and we were just coming together then.”
J.P. Stevens also won the rematch at its place, and the GMC finals were scheduled for the same gym regardless of who the two teams were.
“That definitely gave them a home-court advantage,” McDonald said. “That and the fact we had never beaten them at their place before.
“But the girls were fired up and they got a lot of support. They organized a fan bus and got a lot of fans to come to the match. That took away their home-court advantage. There were about 600 people there and maybe 300 of them were for us. The principal was there, administrators and other coaches were there, a big parents group and a whole group of students. It was great
“And it’s such a small gym the kids couldn’t hear me because it was so loud. I don’t know how they heard each other calling for the ball.”
South Brunswick jumped out to a nine-point lead in the first game, but J.P. Stevens battled back and eventually tied it at 23-23. The Vikings held their composure, though, and scored the final two points to win 25-23.
“It was exciting and it was great to get that confidence under our belts,” McDonald said.
That confidence carried over into the second match, a nip-and-tuck affair that South Brunswick pulled out 25-22 to make it a two-game sweep and win the 2004 GMC championship.
“It was an intense match with two teams going at it back-and-forth, point-for-point, and we hung in there,” McDonald said. “I knew if we played with confidence, if we communicated and if we were consistent we could win. That’s been our [motto] all season. We call it the Three C’s, and we say it every time in our huddles. We definitely showed all three in that match.”
As well as in several other matches this season.
“We had some quality wins,” McDonald said. “We beat Old Bridge twice and we never did that before. And three of our seven losses were out-of-conference. We lost twice to Bridgewater and at the time they were ranked No. 1 in the state and they won the Group IV state championship. We also lost to West Windsor Plainsboro South, another top team.”
But they also won some pretty big matches, including the GMC final, and the question that now begs to be asked is: What do the Vikings do for an encore next year?
Five seniors will graduate from this team, but Consossori, Payne and Weiss are all returning, as is April Thomas, a sophomore outside hitter who “did a nice job for us,” McDonald said. Juniors Vanessa Cruz and Lauren Ellis, who both played mainly JV but got some playing time on varsity, should also help.
“Plus we added a freshman team this year that played some very tough competition and ended up with a winning season,” McDonald, who had 33 girls in all this season, said. “Our JV team did well too, so we should be OK.”
Then, of course, there’s that “winning thing” that the last two South Brunswick girls volleyball teams had.
“It kind of filters down from one team to the next,” McDonald agreed. “After you get a taste of success, you want to taste it again. That’s what happened with this year’s team.”