The Cinnaminson girl’s volleyball program has enjoyed quite a bit of success over the past handful of seasons, including advancing to the second round of the Public, Group 1 Tournament in 2014.
The Pirates took down Roselle 2-0 in the opening round, but fell to Becton 2-0 in the second round to conclude the season.
Fifth-year head coach Sara Skvir saw four seniors graduate after the 2014 season, which ended in a 15-13 record. There are just three seniors on this year’s squad.
“I’ve already talked to our seniors. I am looking for them to be leaders on and off the court. They lead by example and whatever they do in practice and in games is going to rub off on the younger girls. They need to step up their game if they want this program to keep going. We want them to be on the court the whole time.”
As per the norm, the girl’s volleyball team will play a very tough schedule in 2015, beginning with Pennsauken Tech and Moorestown on back-to-back days.
“I like it,” Skvir said about the tough schedule. “It makes the girls play harder and practice harder. Sometimes, when we play a lesser team, we tend to play down to their ability. I think playing a tougher team is a more competitive game. It is going to make them play harder and get better.”
Coach Skvir is hoping that the team’s serving abilities will be the strong suit this year.
“Definitely serving, since we have some work to do on defense. I have a lot of returning players, so our team cohesion while on the court will also be strong.”
The Pirates play in two separate conferences, the Olympic and the West Jersey Volleyball League (WJVL), both of which are two very strong conferences with some powerhouse programs. Coach Skvir pinpointed who she thinks will be the Pirates toughest opponent from each conference this season.
“Within our division, Rancocas Valley in the WJVL and in the Olympic, we are going to battle with Camden Catholic to win the division.”
Coach Skvir enjoys the Burlington County Tournament, where all eight teams from the county take part.
“That one we usually play a lot of the teams during the season, but it’s still good to have the top competition. There is also a Burlington County winner, which is nice.”
The Pirates open their 2015 season on Thursday, September 10 at 3:45pm with a home game against Pennsauken Tech.
