By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
First-year coaches will take over the girls volleyball programs at Montgomery High, West Windsor-Plainsboro North and WW-P South as they look to continue their strong traditions.
Meanwhile, Princeton will be looking to move its program forward in hopes of a winning record this season.
At WW-P South, Mike Hussong takes over as head coach after the Pirates finished 25-6 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Group 3 state tournament last year.
“We expect Sweda Rajaram (setter), Niki Gadangi (libero), Maddie Lee (middle blocker) and Caroline Sabin (outside hitter) to be key returnees for our team this upcoming season,” said Hussong, whose team will open the season today (Friday) at East Brunswick. “It will be difficult to replicate last year’s stellar record, but I feel our team will be competitive.”
WW-P North has a new head coach in Katie Schuh. The Knights finished 12-15 last year and qualified for the state tournament.
“My team improves their skills every single day and I expect us to keep growing stronger throughout the season,” said Schuh, whose team is scheduled to host Delaware Valley in its opener today. “We have strong serves and a strong offense. All we need is passing to jumpstart us. My team is extremely energetic and they possess a strong will to win.”
The Knights top returning players are Phyllis Delk, Carolyn Vaca, Priya Kothari, Apoorva Balaji, Tianna Kwok, Lillian Chen and Crystal Tang. While Melissa Mason and Sahithi Mettu are both promising newcomers.
Montgomery finished 6-13 last year and has a solid nucleus returning this season.
“We are looking forward to a really great season,” Montgomery coach Kelsey Donovan said. “We have put together a great team of girls. There are many returning players from last year who are starting the season with sharper skills. This is my first year taking over the program and I am looking forward to building it with this great group of athletes.”
The Cougars, who were scheduled to face Voorhees on Thursday, return seniors Kyra Noell, Sydney McAlister and Jillian Wang, as well as juniors Elise Randolph, Sara Zembur, Sydney Bickel and Julia Loffredo. Sophomore Abrianna Barrett also returns.
Princeton is coming off a 4-12 season but has enough experience to make an improvement on that record this season.
“Senior Noa Levy is returning at middle hitter and contributes defensively with her blocking as well as on offense,” Princeton coach Patty Manhart said. “Anna Cao, who made the all-star team at middle last year, is coming back as a junior and moving to the outside position to increase her attacking opportunities. New this year is Gillian Hauschild, a lefty freshman at opposite with years of experience playing club.
“We are looking to break into the post-season this year for the first time in our four years as a program.”
The Little Tigers were scheduled to face Notre Dame on Thursday.
