Slowly but Surely for Finley Girls’ Volleyball
Sometimes it takes a while for young athletes to learn the skills and finer details of a sport. Such was the case with the J. Taylor Finley Middle School 7th grade girls’ volleyball team this winter. The Falcons finished with a 3-9 mark under head coach Eric Mininni.
Captained by Claire Beach, Natalia Chaney, Stephanie Rafuse and Alexis Thomson, Finley was led by Katie Healy, Raynisha Witherspoon, Jacqueline Contino and Samantha Greenidge.
“Katie is a natural athlete who plays the game as if she has played forever,” Mininni said about the player who compiled 20 aces, 15 kills, four blocks and serving and passing percentages of 78 and 82, respectively.
Mininni said that Witherspoon, who led Finley with 25 aces and 27 kills, has “raw ability who with every passing game improved in all aspects of the sport.” The coach heaped praise on Contino, too. “She is a hard worker who improved over the season,” he said. “She’s a real presence in the front row.”
Greenidge put together a nice season with solid numbers in all statistical categories. “Samantha is one of the more teachable student-athletes I have had,” Mininni said. “She has great ability and will become a great volleyball player.”
The 20-player team learned as it went along, gradually increasing its confidence. Mininni hopes the players on this year’s team continue with the sport and build off of the experience they gained this winter.
“The best accomplishment was a loss, but it’s when I thought the girls turned it around and really started playing volleyball,” Mininni said. “We had just come off a 5-0 loss to Lindenhurst where I thought that morale was at an all-time low. But, to the girls’ credit, they came out and gave Candlewood all they could handle and it was our best game as a team. Then, the next game, we went on to defeat Copiague.”
As for the future, Mininni believes “this team has plenty of potential with great athletic ability. They just need to build up confidence in their ability and that started to come as the season ended.” Wait ‘til next year.
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