Villa Maria Academy volleyball continues winning habit

Malvern >> Despite losing three all-state picks from its 2018 PIAA District 1 3A championship squad to graduation, Villa Maria Academy has remained on the volleyball victory track this fall.
The Hurricanes (11-1), who swept past Villa Joseph Marie, 3-0, Thursday, remain undefeated in the AACA and are currently ranked No. 1 in District 1 3A. The only squad they have lost to this fall is Pope John Paul II, who they defeated 3-0 in last year’s District 1 3A championship final.
Three Hurricanes who were selected to the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association (PVCA) all-state team – outside hitter Liz Ancchione, setter Kelsey Hoff and opposite hitter Kara Schiek – graduated last spring.
Fortunately, Villa Maria still has another 2018 PVCA all-state selection, senior co-captain Alivia Orvieto. Last year, Orvieto was a libero; this fall, she has been moved to setter and done a fine job, according to Villa Maria head coach Peggy Evans.
“Our girls are not afraid to try new things and [maybe] fail at them; I actually encourage it, because that’s when you learn,” said Evans. “They’re just very positive and strong, and have great chemistry and fun. It’s a great group.”
Orvieto said, “I think we’ve done a really good job this fall with communication, covering, all the little things that set us apart from other teams. We’re a little undersized – I think we have only two middles and one right side that are taller than 5-9, 5-10 – so practicing the little things like jumping, technique, really set us apart.”

Orvieto also happens to be the editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, the Village Voice, and the Hurricanes’ other senior co-captain, right side/middle hitter Katie Scaggs, is the assistant editor-in-chief. On the volleyball court, the duo complement each other’s leadership skills.
“I like to think [that] Katie’s the good cop and I’m the bad cop,” said a smiling Orvieto, who has committed to Florida Atlantic University to play beach volleyball and major in exercise science. “Katie encourages everyone, and although I do the same thing, I’m also really strict with the girls. As captains, at game time we make sure that the girls are always focused and ready to play hard.”
Villa Maria volleyball is a perennial contender for the district title, a legacy not lost on Scaggs, the other senior co-captain.

“Watching the older [Hurricanes] as I grew up and progressed through my Villa Maria volleyball career, I definitely wanted to be like them, and now I am a senior co-captain,” said Scaggs, who is headed to Elizabethtown College to play volleyball next fall, and plans to major in marketing, with minors in communications and graphic design. “And it was interesting seeing how they felt with all of the incoming freshmen. and wanting to teach them, and building our legacy that the freshmen could continue.”
Villa Maria has continued that legacy this fall, and got off to a 4-0 start, which included a hard-fought victory against Mount St. Joseph (12-3, currently ranked No. 4 in District 1 3A) Sept. 12.
“That was one of our best games this season; Mount is a very tough team, very well-coached,” said Evans.
Four days later, the Hurricanes suffered their only loss of the season to Pope John Paul II.
“The games were close, and I felt that our team learned that we could compete with a great team like that [this year],” said Evans. “We kept our composure, our players kept fighting all the way through. Hats off to PJP; they just had a better day.”
After that loss, the Hurricanes ripped off a seven-game winning streak, winning all of the contests 3-0 except for a 3-1 victory against Garnet Valley Wednesday. Currently, Garnet Valley (9-2) is ranked eighth among District 1 4A squads, and the Hurricanes posted scores of 25-18, 27-29, 25-21 and 25-21.
“We had a fast offense Wednesday against Garnet Valley, and that helped,” said Orvieto. “We were able to set the pace for the match and that put us in an optimal position to win.”
Evans said, “The biggest key was keeping our composure, Garnet Valley has a great middle in [6-foot-4 senior] Sam Mann; we were able to get some touches on that and we kept them on a system that kept the ball away from her. It was very well-executed by our players, and our girls had fun.”
Evans is pleased with how the 2019 Hurricanes have picked up the reins of leadership.
“We think we might have the right group of girls out there now, it’s always a work in progress,” said Evans. “If someone goes down, someone else is ready to step in, which is good to have.”
Several of the Hurricanes who have come forward this fall are junior right side Erin Keaveney, senior outside hitter Olivia Karkenny and junior outside hitter Alessia Giannandrea.
“They have really stepped it up and done very well,” said Evans.
Thursday’s victory against Villa Joseph Marie was the third game in three days for Villa Maria, who defeated St. Basil’s 3-0 Tuesday. Orvieto was pleased that the Hurricanes were able to keep their focus for a 3-0 sweep Thursday, posting scores of 25-7, 25-16 and 25-15.
“Villa Joe Marie is a really scrappy team, and sometimes if we’re playing three or four times in a week on top of classes, that lack of focus could be a problem for us,” said Orvieto. “Today we were on point.”
The District 1 tourney will begin later this month, and the Hurricanes would love a repeat of last year’s results.
Scaggs said, “Beating Pope John Paul II last year for the district title meant so much. The year before, we had lost to them twice in three [sets], we just couldn’t get it together, but in the district final we beat them in three. On the final point, I remember everyone erupting in the stands. My [future] college coach was actually at that game, and it was amazing to see his enthusiasm, and to see my future and my past all at the same time, it was an amazing experience.”
Orvieto smiled and said, “That final game at Districts was insane. All season long, we had said our goal was to get a new banner for our wall. In previous years, we had filled up our district [champions] banner, so we had to get another banner if we won it this time. And then coming into the gym this fall and seeing the new banner that said, ‘2018 District champions’ was really cool.”
After winning the 2018 District 1 3A title, the Hurricanes advanced to the PIAA 3A state quarterfinals.
Scaggs smiled and said, “We’re really gunning for States this year, to get one more banner for our wall, and add to [the program’s] legacy, to win for our team, our school and ourselves.”