Volleyball: Maceira Wants to Get Back In

senior Lorena Maceira can't wait to get back into the game.

The Panther volleyball co-captain and outside hitter, who sprained her ankle in a 3-1 road victory against Blind Brook in the second game of the season on Sept. 9, been out of action ever since for the 4-4 Panthers.

“I sprained my ankle bad,” Maceira said. “I went up to block and I fell on my ankle.”

It’s been hard for Maceira to wait to play again because she said she didn’t expect to be out this long. She is hoping that she will be able to play against Keio, a road game, at 6 p.m. on Oct. 11.

“It’s so frustrating not being able to play your senior year, it’s the worst,” Maceira said. “I have only been able to play in two games.”

Maceira said she does her best to support her teammates at the games.

“I sit on the bench and I cheer on the team and I try my best to encourage everyone,” Maceira said. “I go into the huddles, I try to pump them up before the game but there is only so much I can do without being able to play.”

One of the things that Maceira said she tries to do to help is watch the other team in its pre-game warm-up and give her teammates a scouting report on the opposition.

“I will tell them for example to be careful of number whoever and tell them what to look out for in that particular player,” Maceira said. “Then during the game I will try to give my teammates pointers, telling them that this person serves long.”

One thing that not being able to play has done to Maceira is that it has made her much more appreciative of being able to play the games that she has played in.

“I took for granted being able to play for so long,” Maceira said. “It will be really exciting to play again when I come back. I definitely took it for granted, which is annoying. I have played since my sophomore year and I didn’t realize how difficult it was to sit on the bench.”

Pleasantville captain, senior , said it’s tough as well to see Maceira on the bench instead of the court.

Tanner, who can play anywhere, but in excels as a defense specialist/opposite hitter, said the team really misses Maceira’s aggressiveness.

“She is a really good hitter and without that hitter, we kind of lose our offense and we really don’t play as aggressively,” Tanner said. “That’s where we get a lot of our points.”

Should Maceira return, Tanner said that it would be a big lift for the Panthers down the stretch of their season. However, with or without Maceira, the senior-laden Panthers want to go out with a bang.

“There are a lot of seniors on the team, there is like nine other seniors,” Tanner said. “Not a lot of us are playing in college, so we just want to win as much as we can before we graduate. We are practicing being more aggressive in hitting so hopefully that will help our offense. Our defense is already really good.”

PHS volleyball hosts Blind Brook High School today at 4:30 p.m.