Semi-Finals, Here We Come!

 by Talia Herbst, SSLI '25

Last Thursday night, Girls Varsity Volleyball won 3-0 against Maayanot, an all-girls Yeshiva High School. This win advances them to the semi-finals, which will be held at Salanter Akiba Riverdale (SAR) after the February break.

The girls were excited about their win and can not wait for their next game. (Schechter Instagram)

Setter and junior Addison Pravato shared that it felt “awesome [to win]. We worked so hard for this with the help of our coach Josh Jurysta, and I am so proud that we made it this far.” Middle hitter and junior Hannah Fineman agreed, stating that when they won, it felt very “surreal because everything we worked so hard for finally came to fruition."

The upcoming game against SAR is an important game because it could potentially be the team's last game of the season. As such, there are many emotions in the air. Fineman shared that she is feeling sad because she “loves the sport and the girls on the team.” Addison Pravato agreed and expressed feeling sad because she will only have one year left playing her “favorite sport at Schechter.”

The team will be going into the game feeling ready and confident; however, there is a bit of nervousness that they feel as well. Although Fineman is feeling nervous, she said, “I don’t think we should be scared at all.... As long as we play “our” volleyball, I’m sure we will be fine.”

Many Students came to support the girls during their big game. (Schechter Instagram)

Coach Josh Jurysta’s advice to the girls is to always take it one game at a time and only worry about the team ahead of them. The team has been working really hard this past week to fix and improve on the little things in order to defeat SAR in two weeks. Coach Josh Jurysta hopes that the girls “continue to push themselves to improve their skills and really just to enjoy this experience of playing in the playoffs.” 

Fineman concluded, “We usually play our best when we are having fun. So, if it is our last game, I want us to go out with a smile on our faces.”

Talia Herbst is a writer for Paw Print Now and has been published on the site since December 2021. Talia is currently a junior at the Schechter School of Long Island and can be reached at the following email address: therbst25@schechterli.org.