Sports

High school volleyball

By Van Rose vrose@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter

WILKES-BARRE – After enduring two straight winless seasons, the GAR girls volleyball team refused to get discouraged. Instead of feeling sorry for themselves, they became more determined than ever to turn things around.

On Monday, their hard work finally paid off.

With sophomore Kellie Yekel leading the way with her outstanding service play, the Grenadiers got off the snide with an impressive 3-0 victory over city rival Meyers. The scores were 25-5, 25-14, 25-14.

GAR not only dominated the rebuilding Mohawks in every phase of the match, the Grenadiers looked like a good team. They kept Meyers on the run with a great combination of hitting and serving, and their passing resembled that of a veteran team.

“I really think these girls deserve it,” said GAR coach Ebon Cour, who took over the program in 2005. “They really worked hard. They practiced all summer long in the sun and rain.”

Yekel, who had 13 aces, 13 service points and dished out 14 assists, said Cour deserves most of the credit for getting the GAR volleyball program back to respectability.

“We practiced hard and the coach believes in us. We almost beat MMI in our last match, so we felt confident going in today’s match.”

Truth is, the Grenadiers (1-5) played with the poise and skill of a team on a mission. They got superb efforts from hitters Kassy Brojakowski and Julie Zafia, who each had eight kills. Brojakowski had three service aces.

Brojakowski and Zafia seemed to be at the right place at the right time throughout the match, and had great timing.

Yekel definitely was the star of the match. She made serving look easy. In Game 2, she had four straight service points that gave GAR a 20-8 lead. Yekel was even more impressive in Game 3 – posting five straight service points to put the Grenadiers ahead, 15-8.

Zafia put the game out of reach at 22-13 on a nifty kill that fell between a pair of Meyers defenders.

“It felt good, but we wanted to keep our heads straight,” said Yekel. “We stayed focused.”

According to GAR senior Lydia Naperkowski, the win also was special because it came against a city rival. “It was exciting to see our coach pumped up. We’ve become much closer as a team.”

Meyers, meanwhile, is still taking baby steps. The Mohawks (0-4) dropped the program last year, and are starting anew under the guidance of coach Tonya Martin Kirkutus.

“It’s only our fourth game,” Kirkutus said. “We’re very inexperienced. Most our girls have never played before. By not having a program (last year), we’re re-building. We have 13 freshmen on our roster, and we’re having fun.”

The Mohawks were led by Maddie Lavery with 10 assists, three aces and two blocks. Nathali Mejia pitched in with eight assists and three digs.

Cour said it’s impossible to measure what Monday’s victory means to the GAR program. “This is a big step in the right direction. I think it’s going to change everything. No matter who we play, we’re going to have a better attitude.”