Pearl River Volleyball: Kenna Takes over Veteran Team

Brianna Kenna asked her players if they knew what she meant by BLM toward the end of her first practice as Pearl River's head volleyball coach Aug. 20. 

It took a few guesses, but they finally came up with "Big, Loud Mouths," a reference to Kenna's focus on communication as one key to the Pirates' season.

Kenna, who coached the Pearl River junior varsity last season, expressed her confidence in Pearl River's talent at each position. She explained that working well together is one important component of getting the most out of that talent.

"The fact that they have played together already, they really are communicating and coming together to have that strength as a team, which is huge in volleyball," Kenna said. "They have to come together as that one team unit."

The experience last year's team gained before an early exit from the playoffs should make that easier. The Pirates lost only two seniors to graduation and return 11 from the 2011 varsity. That includes seniors Victoria Grix, Annette Krysiewicz, Jessica Mayernick, Marissa Verdicchio and Alyssa Villani and juniors Kayla Clohessy, Antonia Glielmi, Caroline Kardashian, Amanda McCarthy, Danielle Muchoe and Maria Stokes.

"We've developed that team mentality," said Krysiewicz, a middle hitter. "When you know who you are playing with, it helps you to play together. You know how people play. It makes the team stronger. You get that good communication. That takes time to develop. It should be better this year."

Grix also stressed the importance of the communication the players worked on last year, especially on the defensive end.

"Our defense was playing very well because we knew each other. We knew where each other was on the court," Grix said.

The Pirates will have to grow offensively, something Grix is confident that they can do.

"I think we are definitely going to improve," Grix said. "Last year, we started off as a team that wasn't able to run a lot of offensive plays. This year, a lot of players came back much stronger from the summer. I'm looking forward to maybe running a faster offense. Our defense was there last year, so hopefully we can come along on offense."

"Their quickness is what we are going to be working on, their ability to react much quicker," Kenna said.

Krysiewicz will be a key part of any offensive improvement with her size and skill in the middle.

"She is always in position where she needs to be," Kenna said. "She is ready to hit and wants to hit.  She's got a good, strong hit."

While both play leadership roles, Grix is the more vocal of the two. She is also a versatile player, who will see time as a setter as well as outside hitter.

"She's an all-around player," Kenna said. "You can put her in any position and she'll be ready to play it and play it well. She's very vocal. She's a leader."

The players expressed confidence in their new leader. Kenna moved up to replace Julie Crowe, who stepped down after last season.

"She was the JV coach last year, so all the girls know her," Krysiewicz said. "We're very excited. New start. Fresh season."

"She did play for Pearl River High School. She knows a lot about it," Grix said. "She is really interested in making the program grow, like we all are. Even as the JV coach last year, she was very present at practice. The coaching staff changed a bit, but we are really happy she is here."

Pearl River Director of Athletics Todd Santabarbara cited Kenna's experience, enthusiasm and connection to the program as reasons why she got the head-coaching job.

"I think she did a nice job at the JV level," Santabarbara said. "She worked with Julie to try to develop the program. She was great from start to finish in the past with the evaluation of players, their skills and ability levels. She put in the time, effort and commitment. The knowledge is there. The structure and practice style are evident. She brings energy, enthusiasm and knowledge. She is a good fit."

Kenna graduated from Pearl River in 2001 after leading the Pirates to the state tournament, then played club volleyball at Delaware. She was a freshman the first year of the varsity program and she played for the varsity all four years. She was happy to see 40 players come out for the team, an improvement over last season.

"It is very encouraging, just seeing the difference in the program form where it was with just a few girls coming out and now so many more girls know about volleyball and want to play it," Kenna said. "They are going to camps over the summer. We had open gyms for a couple of weeks. They love the game, which is great. I'm very passionate about the sport."

She is hoping the players can feed off of that and realize it is okay to get excited about the game. 

"A lot of girls were watching the Olympics," Kenna said. "If you see games like that, you can see how intense a match can get. We showed them videos in the past of Penn State volleyball, because we went to Penn State camp last year. They really get to see the intensity of the game."

"I feel like our program has grown so much," Grix said. "We have 40 girls trying out this year. This year, we will have cuts because more girls tried out, which is good because we have more people involved in the sport."

Players traditionally pick up the game later than other sports, something else Kenna hopes to address.

"A lot of them won't even touch it until seventh grade," Kenna said. "In some areas, they start off at six (years old). Here, it's not as big, but that's something I would love to change, the amount of girls interested in the sport and knowing about it."