Spartans are state champions

It’s one thing to dream about becoming a champion in the world of high school sports. It’s a whole different story to put in the work and have the dedication necessary to actually become a champion.

The Sparta High School girls’ volleyball program did everything asked of them-and more-so now and forever, they will be State champions.

The Spartans defeated Governor Livingston, 2-0, on November 13 to earn the NJSIAA Group 2 State crown. They defeated Montville, 2-0, in the Group 2 State semifinal round.

“Our run in the State Sectional Tournament is what stands out to me the most,’’ Sparta head coach Caitlin Jozefczyk said. “We had to take on two very good, ranked teams in Old Tappan (2-0 in the Sectional semifinals on November 3), who knocked us out of States in the semifinals last season, and River Dell (2-1 in the Sectional finals on November 8), who was seeded and ranked above us and predicted to win. In those games, even when we were behind by a few points, the girls never panicked or gave up. They fought for every point and every girl did their job to contribute to the win.’’

Leadership was prevalent throughout the season for Sparta.

“I was blessed in that just about every one of my starters from last year came back this season, so that paved the way for our success,’’ Jozefczyk said. “My two captains, Brynn McCurry and Arianna Puleo were the most amazing leaders I could ever as a coach ask for, both on and off the court. They took on responsibilities they didn’t even have to and pushed the girls to always give everything they had, but also kept the mood positive and welcoming.

“All eight of my seniors were so accommodating and really set the tone for the entire program this season to push themselves to be the best, to have pride in what they put out there for the world to see, and to do it as a unit that sticks together and depends on each other.’’

A number of players on the roster were very much improved throughout this past season.

“My two sophomore middle hitters, Sylvia (Przydzial) and Tara (Keller), were the biggest surprises, because at the beginning of the season I didn’t think that I had any middles at all,’’ Jozefczyk said. “Both of them were outside hitters on JV last year and so I was worried I was going to have to scramble.

“Sylvia let me know at tryouts she was going to try out as a middle and came out swinging from the first day, and Tara made the sacrifice even though she would prefer being an outside hitter because she knew that’s what our team needed. Being the middle blocker is an extremely difficult position where you constantly feel like you are in the way, and you are expected to get your hands on every ball the hitters on the other team touch.’’

The Spartans tallied a superb overall record of 25-1 and were 10-0 as champions of the Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) American Division.

“We won the NJAC American Division for the third year in a row, were North 1 Group 2 State Sectional Champions for the second time in three years and won the Group 2 State Championship for the first time in program history,’’ Jozefczyk said.

Success breeds success, as the saying goes-and this seems to be the case for Sparta girls’ volleyball.

“I’m technically only graduating three of my starting players,’’ Jozefczyk said. “I have so much talent returning next year and rising stars from JV who are ready to add their own contributions. These girls have gotten a taste of what it’s like to be on top and have been very battle tested to earn them more experience and poise to continue to make noise in future seasons.’’