Athlete Spotlight: Maza reflects on leadership and North Salem's historic season

NORTH SALEM, N.Y. - As North Salem's volleyball team continues their campaign for another section title, we caught up with senior captain Ally Maza who reflected on last year's historic season and her leadership role with the Tigers.

How did it feel to be a part of the team that brought the section championship back to North Salem?

It felt surreal being a part of last year's team. After falling short the year before, actually winning it for the second time at the County Center was just an amazing experience, especially since it had been 30 years since the last time we had won. Getting to do it with all of my best friends made it even better.

What are your goals for the team this season?

My goals for the team this season are to make it back to the County Center and hopefully win again. Since we lost half of our team to graduation, we're looking to build trust with each other and have the younger players fill some pretty big roles, which they've been doing really well in.

As a captain, how much do you value your position of leadership?

As a captain, I really value my leadership position. I've been on the team for the last four years, so I've experienced many different leaders. As a leader, I've just been trying to be positive and supportive of everybody on the team while also making sure we hold each other accountable.

How have you been adjusting to your new role as the team’s outside hitter?

It's been going pretty well, I'd say. For most of my time on the team, I was always in serve receive, so that part of the game hasn't really changed for me. It's more about adjusting to hitting higher balls and out-of-system sets. I like the switch because I get to play defense now, which is one of my favorite parts of the game. I also get the ball a lot more from the outside pin compared to the middle.

What’s next after graduation?

After graduation, I'm not planning to continue my volleyball career. I'm not too sure where I want to go to college yet, but I probably will end up playing club wherever I go.