Sparta HS girls volleyball team wins first state championship
SPARTA, N.J. — There are 14 girls standing tall at Sparta High School after going down in history for girls鈥� volleyball with most wins and first state championship in program history!
The volleyball season this past year for the SHS girls鈥� team was simply smashing and record breaking and the sky is surely not the peak for this program moving forward. From August through November, players were focused, determined and ready to take their skills to the highest level, winning 25 games and losing just one match, with their final prize as state champs.
The SHS Girls鈥� Volleyball team had won the Group 2 State title on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, at Franklin High School in Franklin, defeating Governor Livingston.
鈥淚t has been an absolute dream,鈥� says Caitlin Jozefczyk, SHS Volleyball Girls鈥� and Boys鈥� Volleyball coach. 鈥淭he girls played in some awesome matches, and really showed their mental toughness.鈥�
Jozefczyk, who also teaches social studies at the high school, compares the past four seasons since she鈥檚 been in the district.
鈥淭he only game we lost this season was our County Final game against North Hunterdon in three sets,鈥� she says.
The SHS Girls鈥� Volleyball record was 21-4 In 2021; 16-1 in 2020; and 25-7 in 2019. It won the NJAC Conference American Division previously but North 1 Group 2 State Sectional Title Group Championships had been canceled because of Covid, until this past season.
A seven-year resident of Sparta, Jozefczyk started out as a volunteer volleyball coach at SHS, and has been head coach for the past two years.
She is no stranger to coaching nor playing the sport.
She was the volleyball coach at Mary Help of Christians Academy in North Haledon from 2010-2013; at West Essex High School in North Caldwell from 2014-2018; and has been playing the game since fourth grade.
鈥淚 was a setter in high school,鈥� she says, at DePaul Catholic in Wayne, and was a libero on the club volleyball team at The College of New Jersey.
Tryouts for volleyball were held August 27, 2022, with 14 girls on Varsity, 13 on the JV team and 14 on the freshman team.
This year was exceptional.
鈥淎ll of the girls were locked in for the final game,鈥� says Jozefczyk. 鈥淧ayton Simpson earned 16 service points to really build us a lead in both sets. Our hitters were really smart with their ball placement, alternating between hard swings and short tips which really threw off their defense鈥� especially Brynn McCurry, who racked up 14 kills. This game earned three of the players big milestones as well. It took Brynn McCurry over the 500-kill mark in her career as a hitter. Arianna Puleo also became the setter with the most assists in program history at 838. Finally, Haley Maher hit the 600-dig mark, as a junior!鈥�
Jozefczyk says she was optimistic this season as all of her starting players were returning.
鈥淭he team picked up on the momentum we had last year, and with the amazing leadership of my two captains, and all eight of the seniors on my team who kept everything light and positive and really fostered a great bond between the girls, this season just felt special for everyone. It was the perfect combination of amazing, experienced, battle-tested athletes and positive energy to propel us to the state championship this season.鈥�
She pinpoints her teams鈥� finest qualities: Their experience and athleticism— 鈥淭hese girls are dedicated to this sport and are so, so talented at the game. It is a coaches’ dream to have such athletic girls with a great knowledge of the game, who you can give directions to, and they can execute the game plan. I didn’t just have one star player on my team, I had an entire squad of girls to call on. If one player was having an off day or was going up against the other team’s monster player/blocker, we could call on our other five hitters to get the job done.鈥�
Second, is their resilience, grit and mental toughness— 鈥淭hey battled in a lot of these games. We had a lot of weird things happen this season with personal issues in players’ lives, broken down buses, injuries and things that could throw them off their game, but they refused to let that get into their heads. We also played a lot of really talented, ranked teams, particularly in our state section. They had to battle for every point they earned.鈥�
With every sport, adversity can attack.
鈥淥ur biggest challenge this year has been our mentality,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he one game we lost was because we beat ourselves with our mistakes and gave the other team too many points. To be able to rally from a low point of coming so close to winning the county tournament but then giving it away was really a rallying point for the team and gave them the fire to ensure they didn’t let that happen again when they got to the even more important stage of the state tournament.鈥�
Throughout the season, the team was projected to lose a lot of games, the coach says.
鈥淲e used other’s doubts as a rallying point for us,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e had pride in what we could do, and a drive and desire to get the banners for our squad this year.鈥�
Team chemistry was surely a game changer.
鈥淭his group of girls is a family,鈥� says Jozefczyk. 鈥淭hey are there for each other and play together. Everyone shares responsibility in the games to get the job done: We don’t have one star, we have eight who all did their job on a daily basis to achieve the ultimate goal that we all shared, and now they can enjoy the results of their hard work.鈥�
There鈥檚 no blocking Jozefczyk鈥檚 passion for coaching.
鈥淲e have so much fun together and feeling like I get to be a little part of helping to shape them into the amazing young adults I’m watching them turn into, is such a privilege and an honor that makes me feel fulfilled and look forward to coming to work every day,鈥� she says as she looks forward to next season.
Her goal: 鈥淭o prove we aren’t a one-hit wonder and that our program is just strong overall. We want to continue on this trajectory and really become a respected powerhouse program in the state.鈥�
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