BERGENFIELD - No fewer than seven players scored points for Pascack Valley and the Panthers went on to topple Bergenfield, 2-0, Thursday afternoon. In so doing they improved their league record to 4-1, 7-2 overall. The Panthers excelled in the three important facets of the game: offense, defense and serving.
“I think this is a great season, said junior Riley Hirsch, who had 3 kills and 6 digs in the match. “We’ve really been working up to this the past couple of years. Our team chemistry is really good, especially with a lot of new players on our team. We’ve been working together really well and it’s shown in our record.”
“It was definitely exciting to come into this year with the same collective goal,” added coach Kaitlin Mac Iver, who is a PV alum. “The mentality is that we treat every opponent like it’s a state match - it doesn’t matter who we’re playing. We have to lock in and focus on ourselves - playing as a team, being a team and wearing a shirt that reads ‘I am because we are.’ We’re a team-oriented group and they’re an awesome group of athletes who just really love the game, love each other, so I’m really kind of blessed.”
The Panthers’ two losses were from two of the very best teams in Bergen County.
“We had a very tough loss against Old Tappan (a 3-set match), who is a very big rival,” said Mac Iver. “We have nothing but respect for their program. Then we had IHA, another powerhouse, and we didn’t feel like we played like ourselves against them. They did what they were supposed to do and we didn’t. We won’t forget that; we’ll just use that as more fuel to our fire.”
Valley lost a ton of talent from last year’s squad but the new group is learning to work well together.
“I feel like a lot of the team that was on the court last year all felt such great chemistry and it kind of translated over to this season,” said senior outside hitter Jillian Feeley, who had a match-high 13 kills along with 3 digs. “In the beginning of the season we all had a goal in mind to be undefeated but that’s not always going to be the case. We know that staying together as a team and picking each other up when we’re down helps us stay consistent over the season and become a great team. As the season progresses more of the team that wasn’t part of it last year is responding very well and it shows on the court. We’ve been able to overcome obstacles throughout the season and overall we’re getting closer as a team and it’s helping us progress even more.”
“We lost 9 seniors last year and we had 3 juniors (now seniors) and 4 sophomores (now juniors) on varsity last year,” Mac Iver said. “Now I have 3 seniors, 11 juniors and 1 freshman. So this will be a copy/paste next year. We’ll be losing talent but we have talent and our bench is very deep so it’s awesome to have such versatility.”
The Panthers got balanced scoring against Bergenfield, which helped them defeat the Bears in straight sets.
“My setter [junior] Celia Torres (22 assists and 3 digs) has quite a smorgasbord of hitters,” Mac Iver said. “As a setter myself I tell her she is so lucky. As awesome as Jillian Feeley is on that pin we also have on the right side [junior] Addison Demyen (4 kills, 1 block, 5 digs), who is an absolute lefty powerhouse and we also have [senior] Alexys Bland (6 kills, 1 block, 1 dig). And my other middle, [senior] Shana Weiss (2 blocks), can also hit outside some time. They can do anything - they also like to attack from the back row - like my libero (junior Maddy Romero, 2 kills). There is always an option. It helps Celia that no matter where and at what position she is with the pass she can always do something with the ball and always be aggressive.”
“I think it’s good,” added Hirsch, “because it gives the other team a surprise - they don’t know what to expect. It’s not like anyone has to carry it - we’re a diverse and well-rounded team, which is hard to play against.”
Feeley led the way on offense blasting hit after hit in each set and as a team the Panthers finished with 29 kills.
“We have a very well-rounded team,” Feeley said. “I think everybody pulls their weight. It’s not a team that revolves around one person - everyone contributes just as much as everyone else on the court. It’s a really great attribute to have. If you don’t have defense you don’t have offense. Everything ties in.”
The defense was superb, and it was a good thing as Bergenfield was pounding the ball in both sets.
“Maddy Romero is a big anchor on defense - she covers a lot of the court,” Mac Iver said. “She talks to the blockers - asking, are we taking cross or line - so she knows what she’s going to eat up in the back row. She’s very fast so it’s great.”
“Honestly, I just read the [opposing] players,” said Romero. “If we have a good block, I read and I go off the block. I help people, tell them where to go and I think that’s a really big part of defense and being the leader of the back row. That’s a huge part of the game - you need to talk to each other, have each other’s backs and trust each other.”
Romero finished with 10 digs, to go along with her 3 assists and 2 kills. The serving was good too, as the Panthers had only two errant serves in each set.
“We do a lot of serving every single day,” Mac Iver said. “Serving and passing is such an important part of the game. If we can’t serve and we can’t pass, all of those hits mean nothing.”
Hirsch in the first set and Romero in the second set each scored 8 consecutive service winners.
“This is such a great season for Pascack Valley,” Romero said. “Our team just bonds so well together. On and off the court we really click with each other and have good connection, which is really good for volleyball. Our communication on the court is incredible this year. It really helps us to win these big games. Against Ramapo we beat them in three. We just kept going and it was incredible.”
“Volleyball in general is fun and this team is super fun to be around,’ added Hirsch. “Our key is to keep the energy up, be consistent throughout all the sets and lean on each other when we make mistakes. It’s really a team sport so we try to remember that.”
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