LINWOOD — The Mustang girls volleyball team has won only three games so far this season, but that’s already more than it won last year. That young team managed only two wins after losing most of its starters to graduation the prior spring.
This year, there’s a little more experience and head coach Torie Rich sees improvements with each match.
Mainland Regional High School’s girls are 3-7 less than halfway into the season and they pushed the 9-3 Caper Tigers hard on Thursday, Sept. 24. The Mustangs had two set points in the close match before falling 27-25, 25-21.
“I think if we had cut back on the amount of errors we made, it would have been a whole different game,” Rich said, “but Lower Cape May is a really good team and I think we’re just happy to hang in there with them today.”
“The unique thing about this team is that we’re playing girls from every different grade in this starting lineup, so right now we’re still trying to get used to each other,” Rich said. “We’re only still in the first third of this season and we’re getting better every single set, every single match.
“And that’s all we keep telling them. We just have to get a little bit better every game,” she added.
“I think we gave Lower a really good run for their money tonight, to hang with a good team like that with the amount of different classmen.”
The team welcomed sophomore Giu Giu DeRichie back into the lineup. “She just got done with cancer treatments a month ago,” the coach said.
DeRichie leads the team in kills with 31 and is tied with freshman Leah DeFeo for aces with 17. Eight of DeRichie’s kills came against the Caper Tigers.
Bridget Friel, a junior “is a strong outside hitter” who came from Washington Township High School last year.
The three senior starters are libero Ella Barsotti, Rowena Shevlin and setter Gia Miraglia, who had 90 assists and 42 digs so far this season. Miraglia, the coach said, “is working her butt off.” The fourth senior is Emily Garrels.
The team has a solid bench, which is coming into play.
“When people have bad days, we have a sub right there ready for them and we trust when they go in that they’re going to do just a well,” Rich said. “Bench depth is really important.”
The coach has set modest goals for this team.
“Last year was a really big rebuilding year after losing six seniors the year before. We had a 2-19 record last year,” Rich said. “We’re already above that with three wins. I think a goal for us would to just be .500 at this point.”
The Mustang volleyball team will be visiting Middle Township for a 5:15 p.m. game Thursday, Oct. 1, then will host Wildwood at 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, Hammonton at 5:15 p.m. Oct. 6 and Egg Harbor Township at 5:15 p.m. Oct. 6.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Cape May Star and Wave and Sentinel staff
