School of the Holy Child Volleyball
Young Team Shows Fighting Spirit

Holy Child’s young and mostly inexperienced volleyball team showed promise at home in a close match against King & Low-Heywood Thomas September 17. The Gryphons jumped out to a 19-12 lead before King rallied to win 25-20. Their perseverance in the face of two lopsided losses  — Holy Child lost their first two games by a combined score of 50-21 — was exactly the trait first-year head coaches Vanessa Dierking and Samantha Mosca hoped to see in the team.
“With a game as quickly paced as volleyball, teams need to be able to make mistakes and bounce back immediately,” said Mosca. “Having high spirits is something both innate and expected of them as Holy Child varsity athletes.”
Much of the Gryphons’ on-court unity trickles down from co-captain Kasey LaMothe,  one of only two seniors on the team. Her penchant for setting up teammates perfectly from any body angle or location on the court is uncanny, as proven by her team-leading 193 assists in 2007. She has piled up 45 so far this year. Senior captain Tracy Bratt is another important cog for the Gryphons. Her service game sparked Holy Child to an early 8-2 lead in the competitive third game against King.
While Mosca praised the whole team for working hard, she singled out freshman Danielle Riverso for pushing beyond what she thought herself capable of. Riverso has proven to be an asset at the libero position. Junior Chidera Amilio and sophomore Stephanie Taylor are a pair of taller players the coaches expect to get better and better as the season progresses.
A problem that kept coming up against King – one not uncommon for young teams – was Holy Child’s inability to get to short balls and tips. Instead of the crushing spike, the opposition was often able to delicately place the ball in a spot the Gryphons had vacated.
“Coach Dierking and I are working hard to give the team as much exposure to volleyball knowledge as we are playing time,” said Mosca. “It’s been a challenge, but we are confident in the progress they have made so far. We’re looking forward to seeing how far they will come throughout the season.”
Holy Child’s record stands at 1-3. Their next match is September 26, at Fieldston.