By Rob Potter
FALLSBURG — October 11, 2002 – When asked what was the key to Wednesday’s OCIAA Division II volleyball win over visiting Port Jervis, Fallsburg Lady Comet co-captains Rachel Feller and Jenna Hartman had one simple answer.
“Communication,” the two said simultaneously.
“Communication was the difference,” said Hartman, a senior.
“We had good passing and communication,” added Feller, a sophomore. “We’re all working together as a team.”
That teamwork led Fallsburg (5-5, 5-5 OCIAA) to a 18-25, 25-13, 25-22, 25-22 victory over Port Jervis (3-11, 3-10 OCIAA).
After dropping the first set, the Lady Comets stormed back to win the next three. Hartman had four kills to help Fallsburg grab a 21-10 lead in the second set.
In the third set, Feller served three aces as the Lady Comets broke a 5-5 tie and moved out to a 13-5 lead. Port Jervis rallied back to cut the Fallsburg lead to 22-21, but kills by Feller and Hartman along with a service ace by Sammie Anderman gave the Lady Comets a 25-22 win.
Port Jervis took brief leads of 17-15 and 18-16 in the fourth set, but Fallsburg rallied to tie the score at 19-19 and 20-20. The Lady Comets then recorded a 25-22 set win to earn the match victory.
Feller finished with 25 digs, 6 kills and 4 aces, while Hartman added 13 kills, 10 digs and 2 aces. Denise Calvello had 12 digs and 10 assists, while Anderman had 18 digs and 2 aces.
Fallsburg Coach Elisa Baum noted that junior Rebecca Haber played “absolutely fabulous.” Haber had 21 digs and 7 assists.
“The whole team really did well tonight,” Baum said. “We’re just communicating better and working together more.”
Port Jervis was paced by Samantha Johnston, who had 12 kills and 2 aces in the match.
“We have a young team this year,” Port Coach Mike Simmons said. “Stacie Ayers is our only senior and we have two juniors. The other eight players are sophomores. We’re trying to maintain composure and work together.”