By Ted Waddell
LOCH SHELDRAKE — November 19, 2002 – Consistency is the name of the game in the Sullivan County Community College (SCCC) women’s volleyball program.
Over the past two seasons, the teams compiled identical 4-16 records.
“I was optimistic at the start of the year,” said Coach Bryan Bury. “I thought they would do a little better than they did.”
Bury also serves as the local community college’s coordinator of athletic operations and intramurals.
He said that last year’s squad got along a little better at the beginning of the season than the squad of 2002.
“But this year we had a better team with more individual talent,” Bury explained. “This year, we took a little longer to come together. I felt they should have beaten a couple of teams early in the season, but they hadn’t really jelled yet as a cohesive unit.”
According to Bury, the best game of the season was a loss at Manhattan Community College in the Big Apple.
The SCCC 2002 volleyball team boasted one player from a local high school, a player Bury said was the squad’s standout: Jocelyn Hernandez, a 2002 Fallsburg Central School graduate.
“Jocelyn was great,” said Bury. “She was definitely my best all-around player . . . a very powerful serve, and a very tough player.”
The 2002 SCCC women’s volleyball team: Hernandez (*), Nancy Patricio (*), Jarisel Santiago (*), Erika Hernandez (*), Marielle Saunders (*), Wendy Diaz (*), Kelly Pattison and Ebennie Johannes. (A * denotes a player who was a starter on a consistent basis.)
Stats based on match averages/best 3 out of 5 games): Hernandez (18 points, 4 aces, 6 digs, 7 kills); Nancy Patricio (13 pts., 2 aces, 7 digs, 4 kills, 4 blocks); Jarisel Santiago (9 pts., 2 aces, 8 digs, 3 kills).
Two SCCC players, Hernandez and Nancy Patricio, were named to the Mid-Hudson All-Conference Volleyball Second Team.
“Next year, if we can add a couple of hitters on offense, we’ll improve a lot,” Bury said.