East Meadow picking up steam

Following a bit of a bumpy start, things are on the upswing for East Meadow girls’ volleyball under first-year coach Devon Hagerstrom.
The Jets upped their win streak to four matches Monday night with a four-set victory over visiting Freeport to move into the top half of the vast 17-team Nassau Conference 4.
Senior Melia Campbell led the way with 10 kills, 8 aces and 8 digs. Senior Keziah Philip added 11 kills, junior libero Aleece Catalano had 12 digs, and junior setter Kirsten Frommeyer dished out 19 assists.
“In the beginning it was a little rough we lost to Roslyn and Valley Stream Central,” said Hagerstrom, who previously coached Island Trees for four seasons. “Our confidence was a bit diminished but the work ethic never changed,” she added. “Now we’ve won some matches and you can see the girls are trusting one another and are excited to be on the court.”
East Meadow (4-2) has dropped just two of its last 14 sets after winning just one of its first seven. Last Friday’s much-anticipated matchup against Baldwin was postponed due to severe weather and a makeup date has yet to be announced.

“We’re looking forward to playing against Baldwin I think it’ll be a good measuring stick,” Hagerstrom said. “Our conference is large, it’s too bad we don’t play teams twice. I’d be curious to see how we’d do against Roslyn and Valley Stream Central in a rematch.”
A trio of seniors are a fixture in the Jets’ starting lineup. Outside hitters Campbell and Cara Kelly hardly come off the court, Hagerstrom said, and are leading the team in matches and practices. Kelly had 6 kills and 6 aces in a four-set victory over Academy Charter Sept. 18, while Campbell had 8 kills and 5 aces three days later in a sweep of Westbury. “They’re both huge assets on offense,” said Hagerstrom, who also counts on junior Leah Stehr’s contributions. “Cara is also one of our top servers.”
Leading the way in the middle is Philip, who had 8 kills to help East Meadow get into the win column for the first time under Hagerstrom with a sweep of Uniondale Sept. 13, and junior Melissa Marien.
“Keziah aggressive, athletic and quick,” the coach said. “She has tremendous leaping ability and is tough to defend.”
With a logjam at the setter position, Hagerstrom didn’t have a difficult decision moving Catalano to libero to provide the Jets with a proven defensive playmaker. Catalano is an impact defender at the club level and brings a high volleyball IQ, anticipation skills and quick reflexes. Her back row presence includes a quality serve.
A handful of others have worked at setter, including Frommeyer who had 7 assists against Westbury, and Erin Schwartz, the JV starter last fall who played a strong match against Valley Stream Central and helped the Jets salvage a set.