Out from the shadow, Old Rochester senior hitter takes on bigger role

NEW BEDFORD — In the past, Cami Van Ness has been a complementary piece to the Old Rochester girls volleyball team's offensive attack.

In her third year on varsity, the senior outside hitter has taken on a bigger role as one of the Bulldogs’ go-to hitters at the net.

“It’s been nice to be able to step up,” she said. “I’m finally a senior and I’ve been able to take charge and lead the offense along with (senior setter) Aubrie (Letourneau).

“Just having a larger role on the team is nice and getting to be a leader for my teammates.”

Van Ness teamed up with junior Ava Vander Pol, another three-year varsity player, on Monday night as Old Rochester rallied back after losing the first set to beat GNB Voc-Tech 3-1 in a key South Coast Conference matchup.

“The first set was hard to lose like that,” Van Ness said. “We didn’t play our best, but we picked it up and played the way we should be playing.”

Van Ness and Vander Pol both recorded a game-high 13 kills as the Bulldogs stayed perfect in conference play and handed the Bears their second loss of the season.

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“They’ve both been varsity players for three years so they’re in that year where they’re striving,” said Old Rochester head coach Jimmy Oliveira. “Today they were the kids that said, ‘Follow us, we've got this.’”

Even though Van Ness and Vander Pol stood out against Voc-Tech, the Bulldogs feature several offensive weapons this season.

“It’s definitely an awesome feeling knowing our setter can set to anyone on the team and they’re going to swing the ball hard,” Van Ness said. “I’m confident in all of my teammates that they’re going to put the ball in and get the kill. Not many teams have that where every single one of their hitters is capable of doing that.”

Against the Bears, Jocelyn Pires added five kills and three blocks while Hannah Thorell had three kills.

“It’s really fun to be able to have our setter spread the ball,” Vander Pol said. “We have faith in our hitters and we’re always able to rely on them to do what they can with the ball.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Bears broke open a close first set with a string of nine straight serves from Isabella Guedes to go ahead 13-4 en route to a 25-12 win.

Old Rochester jumped out to a 14-3 lead in the second set to cruise to a 25-13 victory. Vander Pol and Van Ness both had four kills apiece in the set.

“We have experience with that. We come out slow a lot,” Oliveira said. “That’s nothing to take away from Voke. They put the pressure on us with their serves and their attacks. They’ve got some good players on that team, but I think it was more so of being in that situation in the past, they knew we could play a little bit better so they brought it in the second set. I was happy with the way they played in that second set.”

The third set was close throughout with seven ties before Old Rochester pulled out a 25-22 win on a double block by Pires and Molly Franco.

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The Bears kept it close again in the fourth set with the score tied at 18 before the Bulldogs scored seven out of the final eight points to win 25-19.

“It’s good for us to be challenged at the beginning of the year,” said GNB Voc-Tech head coach Erika Kosta. “It gives us something to work toward for the end of the season and tournament time.”

WHAT IT MEANS

With the win, Old Rochester improved to 7-2 overall and 6-0 in the SCC. The loss dropped GNB Voc-Tech to 7-2 and 4-2 in the SCC.

NOTEWORTHY STATS

GNB Voc-Tech senior outside hitter Morgan Teves hit .242 with a team-high 10 kills. She also had 13 digs and 13 service points, including three aces. “She’s been around volleyball for a long time so it’s all coming together for her,” Kosta said. … Voc-Tech senior setter Elle McCormack had 22 assists and two service aces. … For Old Rochester, senior setter Aubrie Letourneau had seven aces while Carly Mello added five.

This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: Out from the shadow, Old Rochester senior hitter takes on bigger role