John Jay Sweeps Pelham on Hall of Fame Weekend

CROSS RIVER, N.Y. - On Sept. 20, John Jay hosted Pelham before the John Jay Hall of Inductee Ceremony, and at least two Wolves made a case for future enshrinement.

“They are the definition of what hard work looks like,” said Coach Tom Rizzotti of Ilirijana Ahmetaj and Jaime Bartley-Cohen. So many spikes and dinks raining down, the three set victory wasn’t all the coach took home from the way the two big hitters affect the team and his mindset.

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“The winning is awesome, but seeing them enjoy the game, seeing when they are having fun, that’s what makes this so incredibly fun for me,” the coach admitted.

After Hannah Martisen and Haley Hoskins dinked and aced the Wolves to a 3-1 lead, Ahmetaj was freed from the conservatory. Two spikes and a dink, the righty got familiar with the end line on all three winners and extended the lead to 6-1.

Of course, volleyball jerseys don’t just go to the rafters by playing above the net. Riley Buckingham, Haley Hoskins and Olivia Casabona all went to the floor with saves, and the defenders were rewarded with the point when Pelham spiked the ball into the net.

A dink and a kill by Ahmetaj made it 9-1, and the eight-point lead was maintained on more strong defense. On an errant bump, Casabona raced from the back right for a diving save on the left, and Hellen Dollar followed with a point winning block.

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Up 11-3, Ahmetaj made no apology for a mishit kill, and the same went for another standard slam that made it 13-4.

Now, Bartley-Cohen was ready to deal a deuce, and both times Dollar dishes teed up the breakout smiles for a 16-7 lead.

In command, the Wolves got Ahmetaj back in the mix, and two kills and dink later, Dollar was not just reveling the impact on the scoreboard “They motivate me to be better because they are so good,” said the setter.

Almost on cue, Bartley-Cohen delivered from the right and returned to sender with a block. 24-10, Maria DeGaetano’s ace clinched the set, and the Wolf execution that started game two was no surprise.

Ahmetaj mastered the bump, Dollar lifted the set, and Bartley-Cohen cashed the kill. In the bank, the lead was soon three on an Ahmetaj whirlwind, and after several Pelham miscues, Ahmetaj left Pelham in the dust with another slam.

Up 6-1, Dollar and Julia Sheppard stayed there for the block, and the pair alternated kills for a 9-4 lead. Then Bartley-Cohen got pushy. Casabona made the diving bump, Dollar raced over for the set, and the hitter made the most of the play by pushing the ball deep for a 10-5 lead.

Pelham answered with a kill of their own, so John Jay went to the middle. Martinsen received in the center and knocked down another.

Still, a five-point lead, Riley Buckingham gave her team a breather whether they needed it or not. Three straight aces and the girls kept the pressure on. Martisen was first from the middle, and Ahmetaj added a kill and dink for an 18-10 lead.

A couple of John Jay hits into the net kept the Pelicans in the game, so John Jay mixed it up again. Dollar set short to Shepherd, and the middle hitter stopped the run.

Now 20-12, the lead would grow to ten on a few more Pelham miscues and Bartley-Cohen got the Wolves on point away with another slam. The Pelicans did answer with four straight to make it 24-20, and that had the girls turning to their setter.

Only Dollar took Shepard’s set, and in putting game two away, she had no complaints.

“Hitting gives me an opportunity to be versatile,” explained Dollar.

Either way, the Wolves were all business with Friday night calling. Buckingham began with a pair of aces, and the actual aces in the John Jay deck slammed their team to a 5-1 lead.

Two more Ahmetaj kills maintained the lead, and Dollar and Shepard took turns on the kill to extend to an 11-4 lead.

Then off the bench, Nalaia Nosworthy wound up on the right.  “She was not hesitant. She went up there gripping,” said Rizzotti, and down went the ball for a 12-4 lead.

Another Dollar spike made it 15-4, and way too much separation for Pelham to make up, Bartley-Cohen had the final kill and word.

“This is a great group of girls to work with,” she concluded. “It makes it easy to play my game."

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