MARYVALE VOLLEYBALL: LIVING UP TO ITS BILLING


�??There truly is a commitment by our kids to work harder and practice harder,�?� said Lions head coach Jim Jung. �??Some of our practices go better than two and a half hours during the season and they continue to want to do more to get better.�?�
From left, senior Veronica Arnold, junior Maggie Kosloski and senior Libby Boddiford are leading Maryvale Prep's drive to return to the IAAM B Conference volleyball championship match.  (Photo by John Strohsacker, CharmCityPhotos.com)

by Alejandro Danois

Thus far, the Maryvale Prep volleyball team has lived up to its billing as the team to beat in the IAAM B Conference. Behind the stellar play of an experienced corps of players who reached last year�??s conference championship game, the Lions are focused on taking last season�??s success one step further.

Maryvale has already exorcised the lone demon that has recently haunted them. In the opening game this season, the Lions defeated Bryn Mawr 3-0 (25-11, 25-13 and 26-24). Last year, Maryvale�??s record was unblemished aside from its three losses to the Mawrtians, including the conference championship game.  Last night, the Lions (4-0), who have dropped just one set thus far this year, dominated another foe as they topped host Mercy, 25-17, 25-23 and 25-15,in B Conference action.

The Lions concluded the 2006 campaign with an admirable 17-3 record, but the inability to beat Bryn Mawr, which gnawed at the players during the off-season, has provided some of the fuel to keep the Lions motivated. The other, and most significant, accelerator that keeps the flame burning in the Maryvale volleyball furnace, comes from the players themselves.

�??There truly is a commitment by our kids to work harder and practice harder,�?� said Lions head coach Jim Jung. �??Some of our practices go better than two and a half hours during the season and they continue to want to do more to get better.�?�

Jung assumed the head coaching duties in the fall of 2004, after leading Maryvale�??s junior varsity program for three years. Although his first team finished well below .500, Jung�??s vision was focused on the long term possibilities as opposed to the disheartening short term results.

�??We�??ve been on a building phase since then, consistently getting stronger,�?� said Jung.

Many of the players are now involved in club volleyball, participating in the Wild Blue program that Jung, for whom his assistants and JV staff coach.

�??It�??s the same philosophy and expectations all the way around now, from JV to club to varsity,�?� said Jung. �??Running the same drills and having the same expectations makes a big difference.�?�

This year�??s team promises to be Maryvale�??s strongest during Jung�??s brief tenure at the school. Although the Lions lost his daughter, conference All Star and All County outside hitter Liz Jung, to graduation along with steady middle hitter Karen Ramsey, the team returns everyone else from the last year�??s B conference runner up squad.

Leading the way are seniors Veronica Arnold, Libby Boddiford and junior Maggie Kosloski, who have a collective ten varsity years of experience under their belt.

The 5-foot-8 Arnold is entering her fourth varsity season. This will be her third as the team�??s setter. The role of the go-to outside hitter is now being filled by the 5-foot-11 Boddiford.

�??I anticipate that Libby�??s hitting percentage is going to be pretty high and she�??s going to be a real contributor to our team,�?� said Jung.

Kosloski, an All Conference selection last year as a sophomore, is a middle hitter with good reach who stands 6-foot-1. Coming out of middle school, she had no volleyball experience and attended Jung�??s summer camp before beginning her freshman year.

�??Maggie had never played before, came to one of our camps and really took to the game,�?� said Jung. �??She went to another camp, came to tryouts and I recognized the natural talent that she had.�?�

Kirby Hanlon and Marisa Joynt, both seniors, are also expected to be dependable defensive stalwarts in the Maryvale back row.

�??Kirby is our defensive specialist and Marisa is our second outside hitter and a defender that does a great job,�?� said Jung. �??They are valuable in the back row, and their commitment to defense allows them to get the ball up for Veronica to set it and for Maggie and Libby to put it down.�?�

The Lions have walked through the early season unscathed thus far, defeating A conference teams I.N.D. and Friends in scrimmages and posting victories over Mercy, Lutheran and Bryn Mawr to begin the 2007 campaign.

After easily winning the first two games against Bryn Mawr, 25-11 and 25-13, Maryvale found themselves down 23-19 in the third.

�??We were a little bewildered and never once led up to that point,�?� said Jung.

He called a timeout, gathered his team and made an impassioned plea.
At 5-11, Libby Boddiford (#10) has stepped forward this fall to give Maryvale a powerful presence at the outside hitter position. (Photo by John Strohsacker, CharmCityPhotos.com)

�??This is the time,�?� Jung told his players. �??We made two big comebacks last year against Notre Dame, one in each game that we played them. Let�??s get out there and play this game point by point. We have the experience to do this!�?�

In what Jung described as a �??Quiet Calm�?�, the veteran laden Lions turned up the intensity and roared back to secure a 26-24 win.

Maryvale is now developing a middle school program that will plant those philosophies and expectations even earlier, establishing a deeper and even more effective feeder system.
�??I want each player to improve and let the scoreboard take care of itself,�?� said Jung. �??Ultimately, I want my players to love this game because it provides a great social experience where you meet lots of good people and have a fun time.�?�

 Considering their realistic dreams of capturing a championship, the fun seems to be just beginning.