Team Profile:
Eastern's Ladies Volleyball Team Has Ambitious Goal

By Bob Grimmie
SJSports Staff Writer

The girls of the Eastern High School volleyball team have decided to keep their goals for the season simple and attainable yet at the same time ambitious. "We'd just like to improve from last year," said senior captain Joy Conover.

Last season Eastern finished 21-2 in the Olympic conference and were 15-10 overall in the state. Their post-season lasted one round into the state tournament when they were eliminated by Fairlawn.

Missing from last year's team are six seniors, four of them were starters and one of them is All-State and All-South Jersey performer Hillary Tucker. That's not to say that this year's group is devoid of star talent. As a junior Conover earned a place on the All-South Jersey team, was her team's MVP and was named to the Olympic Conference American Division first team, an honor she also captured as a sophomore. Head coach Tom Armour feels that his team is among the elite in the state when it comes to serving, blocking and attacking the ball.

As of October 7 the girls were 5-0 and were coming off a big win against rival West Windsor, a win that Armour feels puts them in a good position to win the conference. The team's next big match will be on Oct. 14, against Cherry Hill East. East is consistently a top team in the conference. This year is no exception. They also have a victory versus West Windsor under their belt, thus setting the tone for an important early season match with Eastern. The winner will certainly have the inside track on the conference title, although the three teams all meet again later in the regular season.

"I'm confident that we'll win but I think it will be a challenge," said Coach Armour of the Cherry Hill East match. "They serve with power and have really good placement," said Conover. "We're gonna have to pass well from receiving their serve to help us get into our offense. We need to make sure we're all where we're supposed to be and serving well." The Cherry Hill East match is just one step toward improving on last season's success and reaching this year's goal. "I think that if we won a couple games in the playoffs or advanced at all that would be good for us," said Conover.