Shannon Appel wanted this match badly. The sophomore middle hitter on the Midwood girls’ volleyball team has been out since Oct. 22 with an ankle injury, but worked hard to come back in time for the Hornets’ tiebreaker rematch with Secondary School for Law, Journalism and Research. SSLJR, a first-year varsity program, snapped Midwood’s four-year league winning streak Oct. 17.
Practice the past few days was rough for the 5-foot-10 Appel.
“I couldn’t jump,” she said.
She had her hops back Monday. Appel had 12 kills and five digs to lead Midwood to a thrilling, 25-18, 26-28, 25-16 win against Secondary in a Brooklyn 3-A tiebreaker. The victory earned the Hornets an eighth straight division title.
And they did it without senior setter Christine Stefanello, who injured her ankle last week against New Utrecht. Junior Anna Aleksandrovskay, normally a defensive specialist, filled in admirably at setter against SSLJR, compiling 29 assists. Midwood (10-1 PSAL) has certainly had its fair share of adversity this year.
“We’ve been through hell here,” longtime coach Thomasina Lenzi said. “But I never made a big thing of it. I always knew they would step up and do their job. And we did our job today against a quality, formidable team.”
Added Aleksandrovskay: “We haven’t had our luck all season.”
The Hornets aren’t sulking, though. The loss to the Spirits could have stolen their confidence, but Lenzi’s girls rebounded and now have won five straight matches since. Stefanello, who lead the division in assists this season (108), should be back in time for the PSAL Class A playoffs, which start Saturday at Hunter College.
“I think we’ve been ready all season,” said the setter, who sat on the bench in jeans Monday. “We’re mentally and physically ready to play. … As long we stay team-minded, we can definitely go far.”
Traci Mari Kent had nine kills and 19 digs, Jackie Handy had eight kills and Alison Alekperova had five kills and five digs for the Hornets. Pei Ling Chen added 11 digs.
The loss last month to Secondary School for Law, Journalism and Research (9-2) came as a shock to Midwood, even though Lenzi said the Hornets never looked past the Spirits. SSLJR coach Mike Salak is a Midwood alum and former volleyball star at LIU-Southampton and overseas. But the team was still only a year removed from the developmental league.
“They came out of nowhere,” Appel said.
Last time, the buzz following the match was an upstart, first-year program knocking off perennial Brooklyn power Midwood. The Hornets had not lost in league play before that since Oct. 15, 2004 against James Madison.
“The last thing was ‘Mighty Midwood toppled by the Spirits,’” Lenzi said with a laugh. “I’d like to see now: ‘Mighty Midwood dampens the Spirits.’
