Lady Blue Jays Serve It Up!
By Jill Marateck
It is late in the volleyball match between Manor College and Atlantic Cape Community College on October 4, 2010. Manor’s gymnasium is packed with fans cheering for their Lady Blue Jays. After closely losing the first two sets, the Lady Blue Jays battled back to win the third. The score is 24-24 in the fourth set. If the Lady Blue Jays win the set, it will take them to their first five set match and even closer to their first victory.
The Lady Blue Jays win the next point, bringing the score to 25-24. The crowd erupts and the ecstatic Lady Blue Jay fans rush the court thinking Manor has won! “I could not get out there to tell them you have to win by two” Coach Debra Pave said. Despite eventually losing the match, the Manor coaches and fans could not have been prouder of their team. That match truly expresses the strength, determination, and enthusiasm the Women’s volleyball team brought to Manor’s newest sports program.
Bringing new sports to Manor College had been discussed during Strategic Enrollment Management Plan meetings. “Why not volleyball?” Athletic Director Robert Reeves asked. Volleyball had been a sport at Manor fifteen years ago and Reeves believed that by 2010 it was time to reinstate the program. Despite being told that there was not enough space or time for volleyball at the school, former Director of Student Activities Patti McEnery encouraged Reeves to keep trying. “Rob, we will make everyone move to make [volleyball] work,” she said. And once they began moving, there was no stopping. Reeves gained approval for the sport in summer 2010, and needed to hustle to ready the program for the upcoming Fall 2010 season.
After advertising the coaching position, Reeves hired Debra Pave to coach the new team. Although Pave had no formal coaching experience, she was a very accomplished volleyball player having played the sport for twenty-five years including recruited collegiate play at Drexel University. “She [Pave] had the passion I was looking for, so I took a chance on her,” said Reeves. Pave explained that as a part-time gym teacher, she “caught the coaching bug.” “I have all this knowledge and need to pass it on,” said Pave. Allison Juska, who has played volleyball with Pave for eighteen years, joined the team as assistant coach.
“A lot of work goes into starting a first year program,” said Pave. Before Pave and Juska could begin recruiting, they needed to buy all new equipment including training balls, referee stands, and uniforms, and paint new lines on the court. Once accomplished, it was time to build the team. Because Pave was hired after the high school season ended, she was unable to conduct formal high school recruiting. Therefore, the roster was dependent upon pure interest in the sport. After the first week of practice the team consisted of only five players. The roster grew to fifteen after Pave distributed info sheets in the dorms and Reeves donated several members of his women’s basketball team. 
Of the fifteen women, sophomore Cathleen Curran, who had played volleyball since seventh grade, was the only player who had played volleyball in an organized setting. Many of the other women had only played recreationally and were unfamiliar with the specific rules, positions, and strategies. Faced with a rookie team, Pave said, “At first I thought it would be no problem, but then you get into it and you forget that these girls never played before.” So the coaches went back to the basics and spent hours explaining positioning and the fundamentals of the game. After that, the women began to pick up the skills. “Cathleen [Curran] was quick on the skills,” said Pave and she was instrumental in teaching her teammates the moves. “I was excited to help them learn,” said Curran, “and the coaches were very helpful.” “Their natural athletic talent helped,” added Pave. Within a couple months, Pave was proud to report that the Lady Blue Jays had “become a very competitive team.”
By the first home match on September 20, volleyball fever had hit Manor’s campus. “Games were a lot of fun [with] lots of cheering,” Reeves said. He was thrilled to “see all the kids out there and their excitement.” Pave agreed, saying that Manor had a “great fan base” and thanked the students for helping make the games run smoothly.
The Lady Blue Jays become stronger and more competitive with each match. Curran said that during the games “we thought about what we needed to do as a team to pull together. We helped each other on the court and [developed] very good teamwork.” Despite losing the matches, the set scores were always very close. “It was difficult because we would win sets but not the whole game,” Curran said. “[But] it helped us learn.” The girls did not give in to their frustrations, however, and morale remained strong within the team. “As a leader, I would try to pick their heads up,” said Curran. Similarly, Pave would praise the girls about their improvement after every game.
The season ended October 20 and the Lady Blue Jays were 0-10. Do not let the record fool you though! By the end of the season, the Lady Blue Jays were truly a fighting force. “We were way better than people expected,” Reeves said. “They left surprised. We weren’t pushovers [and the] other teams started to panic.” McEnery agrees, “I was blown away! It was so much fun to watch. They were incredible and competitive.”
According to Pave, the first season showed Manor that “Yes you can have fun [with volleyball] but it’s also sport.” Pave is busy preparing for next fall’s season. Along with high school recruitment, she is holding spring practices to keep the team in shape and recruit new players on campus, specifically the “girls that came up [to me] later and said they wished they would have come out.” Half of the current players will be returning next year. Curran will graduate in the spring and has been recruited to play volleyball at Bryn Athyn College. However, she definitely plans to return for the games and visit her teammates. Curran said she “loved the interaction between the girls and the coaches,” and the “bond between the girls” was the greatest outcome of the season. “We really came together as a team.” And with that said, we can expect even greater things from the Manor Women’s Volleyball team in the upcoming season.