Teamwork nets a victory for John Jay on the volleyball court

From left, Emily Fulton, Sophia Calandros, Audree Chong and Maria DeGaetano celebrate the final point in John Jay’s volleyball win over North Salem.

By Jim MacLean

One player after another rotated onto the court, and they all contributed as the John Jay varsity volleyball team scored a 3-1 victory at home on Monday, Oct. 19, to close out the regular season.

John Jay used its depth to pull away as the Wolves came out flying in the first game and finished strong for a 25-9, 27-29, 25-14, 25-11 victory over North Salem. With the win, the Wolves end with an 8-9 record overall heading into the Section 1 Class B tournament.

“It was a good win to end the regular season on a high note,” John Jay coach Theresa Swertfager-Assumma said after the North Salem match. “It takes the whole team to win, everyone got in today which was great, and everyone had a chance to show what they’ve got getting ready for the postseason.”

Maria DeGaetano returns a serve for the Wolves.

Seesaw battle

After dominating the first game against North Salem, the second game was a battle back and forth. The Wolves fell behind at the start 8-1, but rallied back to tie it up at 18-18. It was a nail-biter from there trading points before North Salem was able to score the last three points for the 29-27 win to even it up at one game apiece.

John Jay stormed back in the third game and dominated with Audree Chong registering a pair of kills in the final five points, and she served it out with an ace for the 25-14 win and a 2-1 lead.

The Wolves kept the pressure on in the fourth game, opening up a 5-0 lead and cruising to the 25-11 win to wrap up the 3-1 victory.

Blake Axelrod had a big day at the net finishing with 13 kills and four blocks to lead the Wolves. Sophia Calandros had 38 assists, 26 service points and 17 digs. 

Maria DeGaetano had 22 digs, 14 service points and three aces. Georgia Costa had 14 service points, 15 digs, six kills and three aces. 

Emily Fulton had 10 kills and nine service points. Audree Chong had 10 service points, five kills and six digs. Sivon Ohana had 10 service points and 18 digs, while Michaela Woodard had four service points and five digs as everyone contributed on the court for the Wolves.

Blake Axelrod slams one down for a kill at the net.

Making better connections

“We were running a 5-1 today with Sophia and she did a great job setting to the hitters and we were able to put the ball away,” Swertfager-Assumma said of Calandros. “We’ve been focusing on our attackers finding the open spot to put it away. We’ve been making much better connections the last couple of games between the setters and hitters and that’s nice to see and hope we can keep it going.”

Two days earlier, John Jay hosted Ardsley on Saturday, Oct. 17, in a match that went the distance for a five-set thriller before the Panthers prevailed by the score of 25-23, 23-25, 26-24, 11-25, 15-4.

It took another team effort for the Wolves to keep pace in the marathon match before Ardsley closed it out. 

DeGaetano was busy in the back row as she recorded 44 digs, 10 service points and four assists. Costa had 22 service points, six kills, 21 digs and three aces. Calandros had 22 service points, 17 assists and six digs. 

Fulton had 18 service points, seven kills, four aces and five digs. Layla Grassi had 10 kills and Axelrod added eight kills. Ruby Quinn had 10 service points, 11 digs, eight assists and two kills. Ohana had 11 service points and 11 digs.

“We’re a young team and we’re definitely much improved,” Swertfager-Assumma said, “A lot of growth from the start of the season to now. We’re moving up.”

Sophia Calandros makes a play.

Weather-delayed tourney

John Jay was set to host its tournament on Saturday, Oct. 24, with 12 teams scheduled to compete in the all-day event that was rescheduled due to the weather. 

The Wolves will then wait for the Section 1 tournament brackets to be released to begin the post season.