St. Joseph Chargers

AT A GLANCE
Conference East Suburban Catholic
Home Court St. Joseph High School, 10900 W. Cermak Rd., Westchester
Last year’s record 9-15 (0-10, ESCC)
Coach Charly Carr

Top returners
Michelle Zarbock sr. S
Ashley Talley sr. OH
Adrianna Chavarin sr. RS
Sam Zaverdas jr. L
Shanika Bryant jr. MB
Vanessa Hollingshed jr. MB

Key newcomers
Octavia Brown so. OH
Britnee Dobbs so. OH

KEY MATCHES
Sept. 13 at Proviso West Tournament The Chargers traditionally play well here, including having won the championship.
Sept. 16 vs. Providence This game marks the Chargers conference opener, where they went 0-10 last year.
Oct. 14 vs. Nazareth This crosstown rivalry game always brings out the best in both squads, dating back to the IHM days.

WHAT TO WATCH
The Chargers have a lot to be optimistic about this year as they return all but one player. However, that one player was a big one in leading hitter Dina Beamon. However, with their setter, back row players and middle hitters all back, the Chargers should be in good shape. However, they are under the tutelege of a new coach, as Charly Carr takes over for Faith Rodriguez. The players should be familiar with Carr, though, as she was the underlevel coach last year and has coached many of the players on the team.
The Chargers finished below the .500 mark last year, but played better than their record indicated. One place they would like to improve on, though, is their record in the ESCC, where they were shut out in 10 contests. That is one area that Carr wants to improve, saying “we weren’t able to win any conference games last year. I’d like to get at least one, if not a couple this year.”

COACH SPEAK
Charly Carr
What is your outlook for this year? We lost our best player in Dena Beamon, but I’m confident in the girls we have coming back. They know what I expect from them and most of them played together last year, so I think we can accomplish a lot this year.
Do you see any problems as the team transitions into getting used to a new coach? I think it should be an easy transition. These kids know me and I know them and we’ve had a lot of practices already, so we should be all right.
Are you happy to have so many returning players? We pretty much have five our six starters back, so that’s a nice starting block for us. We’re now just waiting for girls to step up and emerge as leaders. Ashley Talley has stepped up as has Michelle Zarbock. These kids play well with each other and are starting to pull together.