By Warren Rappleyea
With a 19-4 mark thus far, Red Bank Catholic (RBC) High School’s girls’ volleyball team appears to be firing on all cylinders as it prepares for the Shore Conference and NJSIAA Non-Public tournaments.
The Caseys have won four straight matches following a three-set loss to St. John Vianney High School Oct. 6. RBC won the opening set 25-18, but the Lancers recovered to take the next two sets, 25-19, 25-22.
“We closed the gap significantly from when we played Vianney the first time this season,” Caseys coach Pete Bogdan said. “That’s very important because we’re continuing to get better, and we may very well see Vianney again in one or both of the tournaments.”
RBC’s two losses to the Lancers are its only blemishes in Shore Conference B North Division play. The Caseys’ other defeats came at the hands of Immaculate Heart Academy and Hudson Catholic Regional High School — the team that knocked RBC out in the semifinals of the Non-Public tournament a year ago.
The Caseys have been sound otherwise, downing non-divisional foes such as Absegami High School and Pleasantville High School, Wall High School and coming back after a first-set loss to defeat Barnegat High School behind a 19-kill effort by Ava Zockoll.
Now in her third varsity season, Zockoll is a force to be reckoned with. The middle hitter leads the Caseys with 195 kills and has also accumulated 93 digs. The senior is RBC’s career leader with 548 kills and single-season record holder with 272 kills, which she recorded last year. Alexis Whalen had held both records with 176 kills in a season and 289 kills for her career. Zockoll is dangerous from just about any spot on the floor.
Outside hitter Maggie Oldakowski is second on the team with 51 kills to go with 79 digs and 48 service aces, while opposite Catherine Curtin, a junior, has 49 kills, 48 aces, 13 blocks and 20 digs.
“This is a very versatile team, and we have quality servers at every position,” said Bogdan, whose team has piled up 266 aces to date — just 11 shy of last year’s season total. “That’s a huge plus. We’re able to serve tough in just about any rotation. I really like our depth. Everyone contributes.”
The Caseys excel defensively as well, and the stats back up Bogdan. Libero Amanda Murphy has 138 digs — 23 of them coming against Barnegat — and 20 aces. Earlier this season, Murphy, who has 373 career digs, broke Tara Rempel’s team record of 318 digs. Murphy’s 234 digs last fall is the Caseys’ single-season mark, which was previously held by Christine Ryan (204).
Klaire Wall has 49 digs to her credit and 42 aces. Junior Julia Blair, a middle hitter, has a team-leading 31 blocks, along with 37 kills, 48 aces and 20 digs. Sophomore middle hitter Carolyn Hazard is continuing to improve as the coach gives her more playing time.
A key to RBC’s success has been the emergence of Amanda Dobrowolski as a top-flight setter. The junior moved from outside hitter to the setup position following the graduation of Sara Benjamin. Dobrowolski quickly settled in and showed she could do the job. She has 301 assists, 59 digs and 51 aces.
Seeding for the Shore Conference Tournament was scheduled for Oct. 17. Bogdan said he expected that St. John Vianney would earn the top spot and was hoping RBC would earn a seed in the top four.
“Overall, the girls have been playing very well and are able to score points, so now it’s just a matter of staying focused about the things we want to accomplish,” the coach said. “That means discipline to block at the point of attack as well as what we’re doing behind the block.”
