The St. John Vianney High School girls volleyball team is leaving no doubt that last season was just the beginning.
The Lancers won their first Shore Conference Tournament title and appeared in the NJSIAA Non-Public semifinals in 2014, concluding the year with a record of 23-2-1. This season, they have yet to post a loss while dropping a mere two sets through a dozen matches. St. John Vianney improved to 12-0 when they defeated rival Red Bank Catholic High School Sept. 21.
“In our five-year history, this might be our best team,” head coach Jessica Gadaleta said.
The Lancers are loaded with returning standouts, including senior Gabby Merced, who had 132 kills last season. Setter Alyssa Reardon and middle blocker Kim Evans, both juniors, are back as well. Their experience is making a big impact on the court.
St. John Vianney has six additional seniors: Ashley Csordos, Megan Furch, Emma Heary, Anne Manganiello, Laura Matsen and Melanie Ross. The Lancers have a large junior class with Reardon, Evans, Gina Ciarolo, Courtney Dobrzynski, Jillian Fortier, Dani Jankauskas, Elena Loeffler, Olivia Micalizzi and Lauren Sabol. Alexa Steensen is the lone sophomore on the varsity roster.
Gadaleta said the Lancers feature a lot of depth.
“Every player can hit the ball,” she said.
But more work can be done, so St. John Vianney is focused on improving its defense and the speed of its offense as the team ventures into the second half of the regular season.
“We’re not perfect. We’re cleaning up those little things where we think we can do better,” said Gadaleta, who coaches the Lancers alongside her husband, Brian. Considering their hot start and a stable of veteran talent, St. John Vianney sees an opportunity to make its mark on the postseason again. The Lancers are considered one of the best teams in New Jersey this season, and they are determined to fulfill that promise.
“Every year, our goal is to go one better than the year before. We definitely have some lofty goals, but it was important to establish at our first practice that everything that happened last year was last year,” Gadaleta said.
Simply put, the Lancers will not be satisfied by what they accomplished in their 2014 campaign.
“We need to be pushing,” the coach said. “We can’t rest on what we did last year.”