Kacy Kelly, the coach of the South Brunswick High School girls’ volleyball team, was somewhat confident when her squad assembled to start practice this summer.
Then that confidence began to swell.
“At first, my expectations were to just work hard as a team and have fun,” Kelly said. “But we just started scrimmages last week, and once scrimmages started, they’ve blown me away. We have a lot of talent. I’m really excited to see where it goes this year.”
Kelly was a bit reserved on her team after South Brunswick posted a 14-10 record and advanced to the second round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Central Jersey, Group 4 tournament last season.
“I wouldn’t say I was disappointed in the team last year,” Kelly said. “I just feel like we didn’t play up to what we were capable of. That’s why going into this year, I didn’t want to put too much on them at first.”
Kelly will guide a mix of returning upperclassmen and young talented freshmen and sophomores — each capable of playing multiple positions.
“I have a ton of options this year,” Kelly said. “We have a lot of girls who are versatile, which is great because there’s going to be times where I need to play someone out of position. If I need a middle blocker, I have a few girls that I feel comfortable plugging in, even though that’s not their primary position. In volleyball, being versatile is so important.”
Kelly believes her defense will be a factor as well.
“Our defense should be very good,” Kelly said. “I’m excited to see how good we can be on defense.”
As good as their defense can be, there is one area that Kelly is anxious to see the Vikings improve upon: blocking.
“That’s the one thing we haven’t been good in so far,” Kelly said. “Our defense on the front line, blocking is something we definitely need to get better at if we’re going to be great. We have a lot of tall girls, but I need to get them to learn to read coverages and track the ball better. It’s still early; we have time to work on it.”
Kelly will lean on the leadership and skills of seniors Kelly Matuszewski (outside hitter), Olivia Violante (defensive specialist) and Sariyah Muschette (outside hitter and opposite hitter) and junior Brianna Newson, an opposite hitter this year. Matuszewski, Violante and Muschette are team captains.
“Matuszewski is such a dynamite player,” Kelly said. “She’s so smart. I can count on her at all times. She plays the outside, but she’s an all-around player. Violante is such a big part of our defense. She knows the game so well and is very savvy.
“Newson will be a big part of our offense this year. She’s the most versatile player on our team. She’s able to see where spots are open and just gets the ball there. She’s incredible. Muschette is another captain on our team and is another interchangeable player. She can play both opposite and outside. I call her our spirit animal. When things don’t go right and the team wants to put their heads down, she always gets the girls back into it. That’s so important to have that. All of these girls are great leaders and composed players.”
The Vikings will start their season on Sept. 14 at Colonia High School at 5:15 p.m.
