JHS volleyball keeps on cruising

The Johnston girls’ volleyball team has had one little misstep so far this season, and other than that it’s been smooth sailing.

Thursday was no exception. Going up against one-win Rogers, the Panthers easily completed a three-game sweep, allowing only a total of 37 points against.

Johnston won the three games 25-8, 25-17 and 25-12, largely due to a dominating serving effort that was spearheaded by eight aces from Dana Desmarais and seven from Erin Tvenstrup. Victoria Parente and Angela Gallucci added four apiece.

“It was dominating,” Johnston head coach Greta Lalli said. “The serving was on point today, which was key. They were hard, they were streamlined, it was everything that we practiced. We do certain things in practice, and when it comes together in a game it’s the best. It’s the best feeling as a coach and the players, it pumps them up too.”

The win moved Johnston to 5-1, and the team went to 6-1 with a 3-0 win over St. Raphael on Monday. Its only loss of the season came to undefeated Central, which beat the Panthers 3-1 on Sept 18. Since then, the Panthers have reeled off four straight wins. Their record is the second-best in all of Division III.

“I don’t love to lose, but now they can identify, ‘We didn’t do that right, we didn’t do this right,’” Lalli said. “I always tell them that it’s 90-mercent mental. They have the physical stuff, they know how to play.”

Against Rogers, Johnston clicked. It turned a 4-3 lead into a 17-5 advantage in game one thanks to a long service run by Desmarais and another by Parente. Alex DiRaimo added one of her team-high three kills, and the team cruised from there to the win.

In game two, comfortable with how her team had played in game one, Lalli emptied the bench and let her second unit get some experience.

That group did more than hold its own. Ahead 4-3, Tvenstrup had a kill and then five consecutive serves that weren’t returned. Isabella DiRaimo added a kill, and others like Gisselle Blanco and Katherine Rocha helped out.

“If we can get far enough ahead, the newer ones can come in,” Lalli said. “Our motivating force is to get the young ones in. They work hard, the other kids get to benefit from it.”

Rogers battled back to get within one at 15-14 not long after – forcing Johnston into a timeout – but the Panthers came right back with their top group.

An ace from Desmarais added a point and a kill by DiRaimo added another, before Tvenstrup grabbed another ace. To close the game out, Parente served two aces and then a ball that wasn’t returned.

“Victoria has been an unbelievable server this season,” Lalli said. “Alex is hitting. Everyone has what they’re dominating in this season, and they’re all working as a team.”

Lalli went with a mix of players in game three, and Johnston continued to keep the pressure on. Desmarais started the game with three consecutive aces, and the Panthers never trailed. DiRaimo had a kill and two aces in the game, and a slew of Rogers hitting errors kept Johnston comfortably in front. A kill by Francesca Gaudiana ended the game and the match.

Johnston was scheduled to play again on Wednesday at home against 3-2 Shea, with the results unavailable at press time. After that, it will be at 3-3 Middletown on Monday at 6 p.m.

Later this month it will have its biggest match of the regular season, when it welcomes in Central on Oct. 22 for a rematch and a battle for first place.

Playing at home should be a big advantage this time around.

“Central is a strong team, for sure,” Lalli said. “It was just not [Johnston’s] day. It wasn’t their game. There was a lot of mental stuff going on, a lot of intimidation going on.”

And when that day comes, Lalli is confident her team can give the Knights a run.

“If we have the team that played tonight, we’re extremely strong,” she said. “We’ll see what happens.”