The match was a little more than a minute old when Ariella Levine bolted out of the gym and raced down the hallway toward the girls locker room. The Archbishop Molloy outside hitter has asthma and there were no inhalers in sight – none on the bench and none with her mother in the stands.
Levine found one in the locker room and soon returned to the court. She definitely needed the inhaler, too. The junior had 16 kills to help lead Molloy to a marathon, 16-25, 25-16, 25-19, 17-25, 25-19, home victory against rival St. John’s Prep on Thursday in CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens girls volleyball.
The asthma, Levine said, didn’t have any effect, despite the close, two-hour long match. She’s had asthma attacks before, but hates to leave the court.
“I try to push through,” Levine said. “I don’t want to sit down ever.”
That certainly fits her personality. Levine is regularly the most active girl on the court. She leads every post-point cheer and, during points, she’s usually diving on the floor and going all out. Not bad for an asthmatic.
“She’s our team leader,” Stanners coach Steve Leoutsakos said. “She gets everyone going. That’s why she’s a captain.”
Her energy is something Molloy (1-1 Brooklyn/Queens) needs this season. The Stanners are young and inexperienced – especially compared to their championship teams of the past. Levine, herself, played JV last year. They have just four girls who saw regular time on varsity in 2008.
One of those youngsters is freshman Jenna Hoffman – the first ninth grader to start at setter since Leoutsakos founded the program in 2000. She had 36 assists against St. John’s Prep (1-3). Despite being just a shade under 5-foot, Hoffman is a “rock,” according to the coach. Her mechanics, Leoutsakos said, are excellent. She just needs more experience.
“She’s amazing,” Levine said. “She’s quick. She’s young, but she’s catching on to everything so quickly.”
That and a few of the other young players – like freshman defensive specialist Anna Pastina (11 digs) and sophomore middle hitter Marina Thottam (seven blocks) – have Leoutsakos very excited for the future. But Levine isn’t willing to forsake the present either.
“I think we’re a competitive team,” she said. “I think we can do it this year. I have faith in us.”
Senior middle Christina Perez also had 16 kills for the Stanners, who fell to defending league champion St. Francis Prep in their opener last week. Molloy is still working out some kinks, but Leoutsakos thinks his squad will get better as the season goes on.
Especially if Levine can keep up her level of excitement and keep her inhaler close by.
“I try to get everyone going,” she said. “I feel like we play better as a team if we’re happy and energized.”