By:STEVE SINISKI
The influx of new faces undoubtedly had an impact on East Meadow-s (2-6 overall) early success, but the playing field has started to level off after a victory over Hewlett last Friday (25-10, 25-19, 25-15) and a strong showing at tournament the following day.
The communication is getting better, East Meadow coach Pat Burnside said. The girls know where they-ll be on the court. We didn-t have much timing at the beginning of the season because the games started during the second week of practice. We seem to be jelling now. Most matches have been close but we haven-t been able to push over the edge.
Senior outside hitters Jessie Zinger and Tami Occhipintiwho along with teammate Kayla Neil were named to last season-s Scholar-Athlete Teamhave jumped into the starting rotation, joining setter Kelly Ruckdaschel and sophomore Stephanie Ragone. Ragone is returning from an ankle injury.
Tara Werner, one of the team-s five impressive sophomores, has found a home as an outside hitter, while Justine Dziura lends support as a setter and tri-captain Taleen Aghabekian lines up in the middle. Seniors Kerry Monahan and Occhipinti are the team-s other captains.
They-re learning how to adjust to what teams are doing and seeing the court much better, Burnside said. Now we-re able to create offense [even if] the passes aren-t perfect.
As the offense rounds into form, the Jets have been able to stymie opponents with their defense. Defense takes heart and desire and offense takes timing and good jumping, Burnside said. The girls are hustling and playing hard on defense.
Monahan and sophomores Melanie Rosner and Neil have keyed the defensive effort over the first half of the schedule. Ava Goldsmith, Melissa Douglas, Meredith Plummer and Kim Plummer round out the depth chart.
The girls are responsive and noticing that what they do in practice [carries over] into games, Burnside said.
The Jets are home for consecutive matches against Calhoun (Oct. 15, 4:15 p.m.) and Cold Spring Harbor (Oct. 18, 4:45 p.m.), before hitting the road for a battle at Mepham (Oct 20, 4 p.m.).
