By STEVE SINISKI
The Lady Jets continue their turnaround on the volleyball court this Friday when they open up the first round of the Nassau County Class A playoff tournament on the road. Either Massapequa or Baldwin is the likely destination for East Meadow. After a three-win campaign in 2004, the Lady Jets rung up 11 this year heading into the final regular-season match of the year against Hicksville on Halloween.
"Our offense keeps getting better," coach Pat Burnside said of the biggest reason for the rebound. "Now we need to get a game where everyone's playing well at the same time. We're still improving every day in practice."
East Meadow capped off its Senior Day with a four-set victory over Mineola on Oct. 18 (25-22, 25-20, 24-26, 25-22). Kelly Ruckdaschel paved the way with 13 digs, eight aces and seven assists. Kayla Neill and Jamie Wilen paced East Meadow with seven kills, each in a straight-set win over Plainview JFK on Oct. 27 (25-16, 25-15, 25-19), giving the team a chance to enter the postseason on a winning streak.
Neill added eight service aces and Wilen also contributed eight digs. Melanie Rosner pitched in with 10 digs. The Lady Jets final opponent, Hicksville, won just once in its first 15 conference matches. "It would be good to go into the playoffs with a couple of wins under our belt," Burnside said. "They've been working hard at it."
Though East Meadow endured a tough stretch of four losses in six matches during October, Burnside notes the defeats don't necessarily show the strides made against top competition. Seaford, still alive for first place in the conference heading into the final match, was stretched to the limit in five sets on Oct. 21, as was Mepham four days earlier. "It shows that in losses we've been very competitive and very close," she said. "We were up 2-0 against Seaford, then it was tied 2-2. We were up 10-2 in the fifth game and lost."
Senior middle hitter Taleen Aghabekian will be looked upon for leadership, and Burnside has elevated a pair of talented junior varsity players to aid in the playoff push. Middle hitter Nicole Zuccarello, captain of the unit, and outside hitter Katlyn Carlin are making the jump. "Both have practiced with us on and off during the season," Burnside said. "They're hard workers and will push us. Friendly competition is always good."
Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
