Kellenberg girls volleyball's battled-tested seniors were ready for challenge
Kellenberg poses after winning the CHSAA volleyball state fchampionship in three straight sets against St. Marys Lancers on Saturday, November 9, 2024 in Huntington. Credit: Dawn McCormick
An undefeated record can shift to a disappointing end in an instant. When the Kellenberg girls volleyball team captured the league championship without suffering a loss in 2023, they were just two matches away from a perfect season. But the Firebirds lost in the state semifinal and couldn’t help but feel they let a chance slip away.
This season, Kellenberg faced the same situation at the state tournament after defeating St. Anthony’s for the league title. Only this time the Firebirds made a statement, sweeping Maria Regina in the semifinals and sweeping St. Mary’s (Lancaster) in the final to capture the program’s fifth state championship and complete a 17-0 season.
“It’s been a magical season because of our senior leadership, there’s 10 of them,” coach Catherine von Schoenermarck said. “They pretty much empower the team to follow the culture that we’ve established.”
Kellenberg led each set in the state semifinal by at least 14 points and won the third set of the final, 25-11.
Stella Becker had 30 kills over the two matches in the state tournament, including the 1,000th of her career. The Hofstra commit also had 21 kills in the league championship and was named Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight year.
“Every year is a new year. We’re not walking into these matches thinking we’ll win just because we may have beaten a team before,” Becker said. “We knew any of those matches could be our last.”
The Firebirds went through the postseason without dropping a set and dropped just three during the regular season.
“We never concentrated on the outcomes. We never focused on the scoreboard,” von Schoenermarck said. “We focus on the individual point to stay spontaneous and have each play be organic.”
Kellenberg head coach Cathy von Schoenermarck reacts after her team wins the CHSAA volleyball state fchampionship in three straight sets against St. Marys Lancers on Saturday, November 9, 2024 in Huntington. Credit: Dawn McCormick
Bianca Sapano made her mark in multiple areas for the Firebirds. The SUNY Cortland commit had 219 assists, 159 kills, 143 digs, 46 aces and 26 blocks this season. She was the only member of the team to rank in the top three in those categories.
“There were points in all our final games where we started feeling a bit of pressure,” Sapano said. “We always stayed together, every single one of us. Even the bench in practice, everyone always played amazing.”
It wasn’t just the seniors that helped the Firebirds achieve their goals. Junior Julianna Lucie led the team in digs with 270, junior Angela Bush ranked first with 45 blocks and junior Josephine Speciale had 12 kills and two blocks in the state final.
“I think for the seniors that were on the team, they played so hard last year,” Speciale said. “So for them, what we did this year feels even more rewarding.”
Kellenberg will lose many talented players to graduation going into next season, but with a strong core of juniors, it will be in play to make another run.
“The seniors took it upon themselves to guide the juniors during the big moments,” von Schoenermarck said. “Those juniors in turn came up huge for us and it all had to do with the trust in one another.”
Christopher Matias covers high school sports for Newsday after spending time in Athletic Facilities and Operation at St. John’s and in Sports Information at CUNY York college.