Although the Paul VI High School girls volleyball team didn’t reach its ultimate goal of an undefeated state championship season, the team still achieved the status of a really special team.
“I’ve never been on a team that’s as special as this team,” senior Maggie Carcillo said. “Did we play our best game today? No. But I think every person fought deep down and took whatever was in the depths of their soul and brought it out. I don’t think anything was left unsaid or that anybody didn’t play their heart out. Everything was left on the floor.”
The Eagles brought a 26-0 record into the South Jersey Non-Public A championship game against Saint John Vianney High School on Nov. 13 and lost by the slimmest of margins in a five-set marathon match.
Cheered on by a loud crowd in the home gymnasium that included the Paul VI girls soccer team, the Eagles’ volleyball team rallied to force a decisive fifth set before suffering heartbreak in the tiebreaker frame.
Saint John Vianney took the first two frames, 25-21 and 25-21, before Paul VI survived by winning the third set 26-24.
“We really persevered,” senior Megan Evans said. “After those first two sets, we could have gone down easy. But we pushed harder.”
The Eagles won a more comfortable fourth set, 25-20, and even led 13-10 in the 15-point fifth set. The Lancers took the final five points to shock the Eagles.
“Some of the things we did all year long we’re really working today,” Paul VI coach Dan Chung said. “We just had to deal with making changes on the fly. Once it started working, I thought maybe we could close it out. But it wasn’t good enough at that time.”
Carcillo and Evans will both play in the Big East next year at Saint John’s University and the University of Connecticut, respectively. Fellow senior Kam Wertz will play volleyball and study political science at Arcadia University, while teammate Anna McGrath will study nursing at Rowan College of South Jersey.
“It’s been so special,” Evans said. “Four years go by in a blink of an eye. This whole culture and program and everything is so different from the rest. We truly are a family. Even today, we trusted each other as we went on, and not all teams can do that. They would just give up. But not us. It was a great game for them, but I’m proud of us.”
Paul VI established itself as a perennial powerhouse over recent years, highlighted by a state championship in 2021 and two more appearances in the title game the next two years. The Eagles have been a perennial 20-win team in that span. The outgoing seniors believe that trend will continue.
“I hope they beat everybody next year because they deserve the world,” Carcillo said. “They worked so hard this season, and it’s a shame it had to end like this. God has a plan for every one of us, and I guess this was His plan. They just have to pick it up next year, go on to the next level and carry on the legacy.”
Chung, who won his 200th career game earlier this season, agreed. “We expected one more game. But everything has a reason. It’s difficult right now, but I think it’s fun to see kids go through this program and do the right things.”
at the bottom and then tap “Add to Home Screen”
