LWA off to 6-1 start

The Lawrence Woodmere Academy girls’ volleyball team rebounded from their first loss of the season last Monday at home with a straight sets victory (25-15, 25-17, 25-19) over IPPSAL conference rival Our Savior New American.

The Lady Tigers (6-1) opened their 2011 campaign with five straight victories before falling to Kew Forest on Oct. 12, so the match against the Lady Pioneers was a chance to show their resiliency. LWA senior captain Ariel Schindler (nine kills) led the way with a team-high five service aces, while senior setter Emily Meoli boosted the offense with four service aces and 15 digs. Junior defensive specialist Taniya Walker added nine digs, five assists and two services aces to secure the win.

Under second-year coach Dan McMenamin, LWA holds sole possession of first place and appears playoff-bound for a second straight season. It hasn’t always been so easy for the Lady Tigers, as the team endured a stretch of eight years of futility before McMenamin took the helm. “We never really had a good record before last year,” McMenamin said. “We were always on the fence, with a 1-5 or 0-6 record. Last season, we turned the program around. The work ethic was there and we finished with a 5-1 record, and a three-way tie for first place.”

Our Savior New American, off to a tough 0-7 start this fall, ousted LWA from the postseason last year in the semifinals, so last Monday’s victory was sweet revenge. “Our girls want to play volleyball the way it’s supposed to be played,” McMenamin said. “The fundamentals have been taught and drilled into them. This year, we’re playing well against teams that manhandled us last year. The best thing about our league this season is that everyone is so close in talent. We only graduated four seniors last year, and we had such an influx of new students that wanted to play this year. We have 22 girls, which is almost unheard of for a volleyball team.”