Williamstown’s Four Big Returners

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Williamstown High School girls volleyball finished last season 30-3 overall: only losing to Union Catholic in an out-of-conference match, North Hunterdon whom they defeated later in the final round of the NJSIAA tournament, and Mendham who went on to take on IHA in the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions one round later. Key athletes like pin hitter </span><b>Lilyanna Martucci</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, setter </span><b>Isabella Tamburrino</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, libero </span><b>Summer Wroniuk</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and outside hitter </span><b>Nina Alcaro</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> were instrumental in their success. Now that they’ve graduated, the program will rely on the returning underclassmen and juniors to continue the legacy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One returner I’m most excited to see is </span><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99809" first="Raina" last="Hughes"]</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This right-side hitter will be entering her senior season off of a respectable 181 kills, 36 blocks, and 9 digs from 2019. Having a strong hitter on the right who can block as well as she can is always a great asset to a squad’s defense. Also a blocking prodigy returning this season is Junior </span><b>Jasmine Rolle</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. She finished last year with only 63 kills, but lead the team with 44 blocks. These two coupled with returning senior </span><b>Jaylah Rolle</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> with her 78 kills and 27 blocks will create an impenetrable block.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another heavy hitter returning to the program is senior outside/defensive specialist, </span><b>McKenzie Melvin</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. She finished the 2019 season with 116 kills, 123 digs, and 28 aces. There is space in the starting lineup for more hitting options after Martucci graduated, but her defensive skills also put her in a great position to vie for the libero spot Wroniuk left open. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The rest of the hitting and defense personnel will be determined by how the returning sophomores and juniors step up to fill in the gaps. Many of them went without much playing time last season, but they’ve definitely had time to train. I’m excited to see how the sophomores </span><b>Julia Schwab</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><b>Mia Owens</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and </span><b>Joanna Andrews,</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and the juniors </span><b>Rileigh Leighton</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, </span><b>Alexandra Verchio</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and </span><b>Brigid Ward</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> show up alongside the returning starters to continue the Williamstown legacy.</span></p>