Set, spike, champions!
Brooklyn Tech’s girls volleyball team engineered yet another divisional title on Oct. 28, cruising to a 2–0 victory over Millennium and securing the Brooklyn A North–East championship. It’s yet another notch in the Engineers’ impressive volleyball-belt as the reigning Public Schools Athletic League champs improved to 10–0 on the season with the win. The squad hasn’t lost a regular-season match in more than a decade.
“We work on a lot of communication drills. I tell the girls ‘C-squared’ — concentrate and communicate,” Brooklyn Tech coach Rosanne D’Augusta said. “We wanted to keep the ball away from their libero — she’s excellent, and we knew they had some very good attacks — so we worked on keeping the ball away from her, placing it, and just calling the ball on time.”
The Engineers grabbed a 25–28 victory in the first game of the day and stormed out to a 10–1 lead in the second, but Millennium wasn’t willing to simply give up the fight. The Phoenix rallied back to knot the match at 18-all and forced Brooklyn Tech to take a step back and regroup.
Outside hitter Alexandra Kusio led the late charge as Brooklyn Tech picked up the 25–23 victory. The sophomore racked up four aces, seven service points, seven digs, and 10 kills, but she was more impressed with the way her teammates rallied down the stretch.
“I am so proud of our team, because in this rebuilding year, we weren’t expected to get to this point, and to be undefeated at this time of the year is an amazing accomplishment for us,” she said.
Senior setter Anais Mewha finished the game with 10 assists, five digs, and one kill, and was setting her teammates up with scoring opportunities all night long. Now in her fourth and final year with the Engineers, Mewha credits coaching with the team’s perennial success.
“I love Coach [D’Augusta],” Mewha said. “She’s amazing, and we are coming off a year that we won the city championship. And to be headed to the playoffs again is an amazing feeling.”
Senior mid-hitter Halyna Krylyuk also chipped in her own impressive stat line — finishing the match with one ace, seven service points, and one dig.
The Engineers have accomplished the first goal on the squad’s list for this season — wrapping up the league title without much resistance. Brooklyn Tech lost just one game in the first 10 games of the season. Now, the squad is turning its collective attention towards the postseason and a title defense the Engineers know won’t be easy.
That’s where the C-squared philosophy comes into play, but Brooklyn Tech may add another point in the playoffs — chemistry. Teammates play off each other well, and the Engineers know chemistry is going to be the key.
“We are always learning more about each other’s abilities and tendencies, which helps us step up in every game,” Krylyuk said. “Our team has bonded so well that we really are all just one support system for each other. Whether it be school-related pressure or anything else, we are always there for our teammates.”
