Category Archives: High School Player

Maite Mendizabal

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Maite started every match for Bunnell High School for four years, 2003-2006. In that time the Lady-Bulldogs amassed a 95-5 record with three State Championships and three Southwest Conference Championships. After hitting middle her first two years, Maite was all-state stand out on the left side in her junior year and then was effective as a right side hitter in her senior year. Her career totals include 1074 kills, 122 aces, and 460 digs and 175 blocks.

In her sophomore year, Maite earned First Team All-SWC with her team winning the Class LL State Championship, defeating Cheshire High School in the finals. As a junior and senior, Maite was named First Team All-State, First Team All-SWC, and the CT Post, New Haven Register and Hartford Courant All-Area Team. Maite helped lead Bunnell to two #1 rankings in the state in 2004 and 2006.

In her senior year, Bunnell finished with a 25-0 record winning every match 3-0, never allowing a team to reach 20 points. Bunnell defeated Shelton in the Class “LL” State Championship for the second year in a row. Her play earned her the 2006 SWC tournament MVP by the attending coaches.

While playing high school volleyball, Maite was also part of the 2005 and 2006 New England Regional Champions. The 18- I Connecticut Juniors travel team consisted of elite players in the state. During her senior year, they were named 2007 #1 ranked team in the region. Maite graduated from Central Connecticut State University where she played volleyball on scholarship. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Physical Education and Health Promotion from CCSU. Maite went on to become the assistant volleyball coach at the University of New Haven while pursuing a Master’s Degree in Sports Management. While at UNH, the team won two Northeast-IO Tournament Championships, earned a trip to the 2013 NCAA Division Il Sweet 16, and in 2012 played in the NCAA Division Il Elite 8 .

Currently, Maite is teaching Physical Education in Derby, CT. She is in her fifth season as head volleyball coach at her alma mater, Bunnell High School.

Kyley Reed

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Kyley graduated from Rocky Hill High School in 2012. She was a member of the volleyball team for all four years. As a freshman, she was awarded Offensive Player of the Year. Her team qualified for the state tournament and advanced to the 2nd round. By her sophomore year, she earned Most Valuable Player on her team, qualifying again for the state tournament. Kyley was named to the All State First Team by area coaches. Her junior year she was again the team’s Most Valuable Player, as Rocky Hill advanced to the second round of the state tournament. Kyley was again First-Team All-State and in addition was ranked number two in the nation in hitting percentage. In her senior year, Kyley was recognized as one of the top players in the nation.

Rocky Hill was the Class M State champions. Each of their matches in the State Championship was a five set victory. In the finals, Rocky Hill defeated Joel Barlow three games to two. Kyley was again Most Valuable Player, First-Team All-State and number two in the nation in hitting percentage. In addition, she was ranked number seven in the nation for kills per set, was named the to the American Volleyball Coaches Association First-Team All-America, and was awarded The Connecticut Gatorade Player of the Year.

In her career, Kyley’s statistics included 1,517 kills, a final hitting percentage of over .500, 127 blocks, almost 1100 digs, and 362 service aces. She was a six-time American Volleyball Coaches Association National Player of the Week. Kyley also played softball in her sophomore year and participated in indoor and outdoor track her sophomore and junior years at Rocky Hill High School.

Kylee attended and graduated from Rice University in Houston, Texas where she played volleyball on a full scholarship. She is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Liberal Arts at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.

Erica Webster Kearney

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Erica played at Cheshire High School from 1996 to 1999. She was a three year starter.

In 1996, her team won the SCC – Southern Connecticut Conference title. In 1997, she was a defensive specialist amassing 149 digs and 42 serving aces. Her team won the Housatonic Conference Championship and the Class L State Championship.

In 1998, playing both offense and defense, Erica had 240 kills, 160 digs, and 50 aces. Her team again won the SCC Conference title and their 2nd Class L State Championship. In addition, Erica was named to the All-Housatonic Team, the All-State 2nd Team, and the New Haven Register named her to their All-Area Team.

In 1999, her senior year, Erica finished her outstanding career with 239 kills, 149 digs and 27 aces. Her team again won their conference title in which Erica was named the Most Valuable Player. They were Class L State Run-ners Up and she was named to the All-Housatonic Team. That year, Erica was named not only First Team All-State but the Senior All-Star Team as well. The New Haven Register named her to their All-Area Team and the Hartford Courant named her Connecticut Player of the Year.

In all, Erica’s career record at Cheshire was 93 and 6. Her teams won four Housatonic titles, three Southern Connecticut Conference titles, one Class L State Runner-Up title and two Class L State Championships. She was also named to two All-Housatonic Teams, two All-State Teams, two All-Area Teams and a Senior All-Star Team.

After her distinguished career, Erica played for Springfield College and was captain in her senior year.

Madison McCaffery

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Madison McCaffery played at Ludlowe in Fairfield from 2007-2010. She also played basketball and lacrosse but decided in her junior year to play on a travel volleyball team and concentrate on volleyball. Concentrating on volleyball cer-tainly paid off as Madison became the captain of her team. In both her junior and senior year, Ludlowe was the runner up in not only their FCIAC Confer-ence – but also in Class LL state tournament as well.

Madison had an outstanding high school career. She finished her career with 107 career aces, 92 career blocks, 471 career digs, and 603 career kills – a Lud-lowe school record. She was recognized many times for her hard work and ac-complishments. In 2010, she was named the “Blue Streak” Player of the week and the month in her conference. She was also awarded the Most Valuable Player for the Ludlowe team and was named to the First Team All-Conference squad. Also in her senior year, she played in one of her most memorable matches. It was the semi-finals of the state tournament. Ludlowe was playing Mercy High School. It was a tight match throughout and Ludlowe was up 2 sets to 1. Madison remembers a few bad passes late in the third set which could have led them to fall apart mentally, but they stuck together as a team and were able to fight through and eventually win 3 to 2. Ludlowe finished runner up that year but Madison was named the 2010 Most Valuable Player in the State Tour-nament and was named to the Class LL First Team All-State.

In addition, Madison was named to the Senior All-Star Game by the Connecti-cut High School Coaches Association and was the 2010 Gatorade Volleyball Player of the Year for Connecticut.

Madison continued playing club volleyball at the University of Delaware. In her junior and senior year, she was president of the club.

http://www.gatorade.com/poy/assets/writable/12266/2010-11_VB_MMccaffery.pdf

Dorothy Franco-Reed

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Dorothy’s distinguished career began in 1972 when she entered Milford High School.  At that time, athletic seasons were not as rigidly defined, so as a freshman, Dorothy was able to play four sports: volleyball, swimming/diving, basketball and softball.  It was that year that she first walked into the gym to try out for volleyball, a sport she had never played, and she was nervous. She overcame her anxiety, and with determination and hard work she made the team.  Just two weeks into the season, to her surprise, her coach, Edna Fraser moved her up to the varsity.  Although there were no all-star teams for volleyball in the early 70’s, Dorothy was a standout for her team.  She was an aggressive hitter, tenacious on defense and a powerful server.  While at Milford, Dorothy earned 13 varsity letters.  She was captain of the volleyball team her senior year, the tennis team her junior and senior years and the basketball team her sophomore, junior and senior seasons.  She competed in state tournaments in five sports: volleyball, basketball, swimming/diving, and tennis.

Dorothy received one of the first NCAA scholarships for women.  She attended the University of Alabama on a volleyball and basketball scholarship.  She was a four-year varsity volleyball player earning letters each year.  She appeared in three AIAW National Championship tournaments.

In 1980, Dorothy started teaching in Milford, but left in ’81 to train for the Olympic Games (Team Handball). She made the team and represent the US in the ’84 Games.  The team finished fourth, missing a medal by a goal.

After the Olympics, Dorothy began a 13 year college coaching career which took her at the University of Minnesota, Tulane University and the University of Alabama.  After marriage and two children, Dorothy decided to discontinue her Division I coaching career and she returned to Milford to resume her teaching career.

Dorothy has been the Athletic Coordinator at Newington High School since 2001. She has been a sports commentator and color analyst for ESPN in 1997, broadcasting NCAA and international volleyball events. She lives in Rocky Hill with her husband Tom and children Ty and Kyley.

 

Kate Whalen

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Kate Whalen - Scholastic Player

Kate Whalen attended Cheshire High School where for all four years; she was a three sport athlete. She played volleyball, basketball and softball. While she was recognized in all three sports for her accomplishments, it was in volleyball that she truly excelled.

In 1981 Kate was named the Most Improved Player. In 1982, she was named team Captain and later, her Team’s Most Valuable Player. In her career, she received both league and state honors. She was named to the 1st Team All Housatonic League, and the All State Class L 2nd Team.

Kate attended the University of New Haven on a volleyball/softball scholarship. In her senior year, she credits her coach Debbie Chin with influencing her career, resulting in her current position as the Senior Associate Director of Athletics at Adelphi University.

Marina Rose

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Marina Rose

Marina Rose attended Coventry High School where she earned three varsity letters in track and field and four varsity letters in basketball and volleyball.

Marina’s greatest accomplishments were earned playing volleyball. She was named captain of the volleyball team in both her junior and senior year. During her four years on the team, Coventry won four consecutive Class S State Championships. In those championships, she was named the Most Valuable Player in three of the four state championship matches.

In 2013, Marina was named the Gatorade Connecticut Player of the Year, as well as the MaxPreps Small Schools High School Volleyball Player of the Year. Marina now attends Providence College and is a junior. She plays on the volleyball team and this year she earned the title of captain.

Marina studies Health Policy and Management at Providence College and wants to pursue medicine after her years at Providence to become an Obstetrician. Her younger sister, Emma is currently playing volleyball at Iona College and is a freshman. Marina loves to play beach volleyball doubles with Emma and enjoys coaching when she can.

Tessa Smolinski

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Tessa Smolinski played scholastically at RHAM High School, where she was the school’s Scholar Athlete-of-the-Year as a senior. She became the program’s first Gatorade Connecticut Volleyball Player-of-the-Year when she led the Sachems to an undefeated season and a third straight Class “M” state championship. Smolinski was a two-time Most Valuable Player of the state title match and a two-time first-team Class “M” All-Stater.

After high school, Tessa attended Springfield College where she participated in four NCAA Division III tournaments and won two New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) post-season tournaments. She had a career 1556 kills and 1355 digs while at Springfield. As a senior, she was chosen as the NEWMAC Player-of-the-Year, and repeated as a second-team AVCA All-American. She is also the recipient of the NCAA Elite 89 Award, which is presented to the player at the national championships with the highest GPA, as she graduated with a 3.99 GPA.

Smolinski is an experienced clinician at various volleyball camps and clinics. She is now an assistant coach under Megan Silver-Droesch at the University of Connecticut, while pursuing a Doctorate in Audiology at the University.

Becky Corb Thomas

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Becky Corb played volleyball at Bunnell High School from 1998-2001 under head Coach Dave Jockle, another inductee this evening. During her career, Becky’s teams won three Conference Champion-ships. In her senior year, her team won the State Championship and Becky was named to the First Team All-Conference, and the First Team All-State. In addition, she was named to the New Haven Register’s All-Area Team and to the Hartford Courant’s All-Courant Team. Also in her senior year, she was named the New Haven Register’s Player of the Year.

Becky played collegiately at Loyola College from 2002-2006. In her junior year, she led her team and was 2nd in the Conference with 434 kills. She also had 210 digs, 8 solo blocks, 35 total blocks, 10 assists, and led the team in service aces with 31.

In Becky’s senior year, she was named to both the Patriot Invitational All-Tournament Team with 47 kills and the Spring Hill Suites Classic All-Tournament Team with 69 kills and 39 digs, and was named Loyola College’s Volleyball Most Valuable Player.

Becky became only the second player in Loyola’s history with 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. When she graduated, she held the school’s career kill record with 1,629.

Heather Washburn

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Heather Washburn played high school volleyball at Morgan High School from 1994 through 1997. When she played, her team won! In her high school career, their team record was 85 and 3. They not only won their league title all four years, they also won the state championship all four years.

Heather averaged 20 kills and 8 digs per match and her serving percentage was 90%. She was named 1st Team All-Conference, 1st Team All-State, and the New Haven Register’s All-Area Athlete.

Heather went on to attend Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York where she played volleyball and softball and earned her Bachelor of Science degree in biology with a minor in chemistry and in 2007, earned an advanced degree in veterinary medicine from Ross University.