By Christopher Tremblay, Staff Sports Writer

Last fall the Holliston volleyball team was able to put together a 14-4 regular season record earning themselves a five seed in the Division 3 State Tournament. 

Once there the Panthers took out Chicopee and Greater New Bedford each by a decisive 3-0 win. Unfortunately, in the next round, Holliston would go the distance and fell 3-2 to Amherst-Pelham in the Quarter Finals ending their season. 

Having lost five seniors to last year’s squad, Coach Bob Scumaci will once again be going back to this year’s seniors to carry the team. Over the past few years, the Holliston coach has looked to his seniors to carry the bulk of the work on the court and this year is no different; all eight upper classmen will be relied on to take this team deep into the post-season.

Tri-captains Ashley Rokus (outside hitter), Shea Aldredge (libero) and Isabelle Glenn-Smith (middle hitter) will be at the top of the senior chain guiding the Panthers this season. Veronica “Ronni” Stasevich will be the floor captain or the manager on the court. She will interact with the referees and run the Panthers defense on the court.

Seniors Michaela McGovern (middle hitter) and Alia Montvila (right side) round out the senior starters for this year’s team.

Stasevich, the floor captain, will be looked upon to continue playing her typical fantastic volleyball. According to the Coach, she does it all – pass, serve and hit. She is also a very quick individual and Scumaci noted he would love to have 10-12 Stasevich’s on his team.

“Ronni is a very coachable individual who listens to everything you tell her,” the Coach said. “She is a very quiet person, but when she does talk, the rest of the team listens. Her volleyball IQ is tops and she plays club volleyball for Slam and is part of their National team.”

Glenn-Smith is what the Coach calls an unassuming player; she is not your typical big normal middle hitter but being a basketball player, she can jump and does hit hard.

“The opposition looks at her and thinks that she is too thin to hit hard, but she has technique and hitting is her hidden power,” Scumaci said. “Teams don’t think that they need to double block her, but they soon find out that by not doing so is a big, big mistake and she makes them pay.”

Aldredge is the team’s number one defensive player and as the libero she knows where she needs to get the ball. She is a very smart player that can move short distances at lightning speed and if she can not get to that destination she is more than willing to sacrifice her body and slide on the court to do so. She gives everything that she has and plays all out all of the time.

Montvila is a lefty that plays on the right side feeding into her skill set. She is another unassuming young lady who according to the Coach has the best vertical leap on the team.

“Alia can not only jump, but she can hit the ball with the best of them,” said the Coach. “She is just amazing to watch on the court and this is her year. Last year she didn’t get a lot of balls sent her way, but I’m expecting great things from her this year.”

Rokus is your typical volleyball player – tall, thin, smart and knows where and when to be when hitting the ball. Over the years Scumaci has seen her go from a timid individual to the powerhouse she is today. The Coach noted that when she is right, there is no one that can defend her hits.

McGovern is a great volleyball player in the middle; she knows exactly what needs to be done and where to do it. When she is not on the court, Scumaci considers her the team cheerleader where she is cheering and clapping for her teammates. She has an incredible presence and knows how to play the game.

Junior Grace Whitten will be the Panther’s setter or as Scumaci calls her, the team’s offensive conductor. Everything that happens on the Holliston side of the court goes through the junior. Her volleyball play is phenomenal, while her vertical leap is fantastic – she is another player that Scumaci says he would love to have a bunch of playing for him. The coach also believes that come next fall she is going to blow people away with her play as well as her knowledge of the game.

Although at the time of this writing the season was still in the early stages of the season, the Coach has liked what the team has shown him and believes that if they continue this way they should be able to accomplish their goals. 

Holliston stepped on the court for the first time this year with the thought of capturing the ever-so-tough Tri-Valley Legue Championship. Once that is accomplished, their next goal is to go further in the playoffs than they did last fall and eclipse the Quarter Finals.

“In my opinion I want them to go out and have fun without getting hurt,” Scumaci said. “However, the girls want to win and you can see that they did work hard in the off-season and are ready to make that a reality. If they continue to practice and keep care of themselves the way that they should there is absolutely no doubt that they can do anything they set their minds to.”

The Holliston Coach went on to say that his philosophy is that everything they do in the gym is the most important part of a successful season.

 “As a Coach, that’s where I come in – I can help them get ready in the gym but that is all that I can do,” he said. “What happens after that is all up to them; they’re the ones, all of them, on the court playing the game.”

With all the work that the team put in prior to the season getting underway there is no reason that the Panthers cannot accomplish what they set out to do this fall; that is if they stay healthy and play their game on the court.