English Girls Volleyball Creates "Dynasty"

The accolades just keep on accumulating for the girls volleyball team.

Having just completed their third consecutive undefeated regular season, the Blue and Blue are on the precipice of yet another Boston City League championship after defeating Madison Park, 3-1, in the semi-finals Monday.

“It’s good company,” English coach Hardy Mondesir said of the program’s success. “The girls kind of grew up with each other. They’ve been playing club volleyball as well in the off-season. It’s good to see them mature together and create that dynasty.”

If the Blue and Blue beat O’Bryant today at 4 p.m., they will notch what will be their fourth consecutive city championship. But the road to the final was not easy as Madison Park stole the first set 25-22. The game is being played at Burke High School.

“I saw some things I haven’t seen,” said Mondesir. “They (Madison Park) definitely have some athletic girls. My girls were definitely nervous, so it was just a matter of sitting back and not being on our heels.”

English did just that settling down and sweeping the next three games with the scores 25-23, 25-12, and 25-17. Instrumental in the victory was Yabriela Perez, who smashed a game-high 22 kills.  

“It’s good be able to have somebody you can rely on around the whole court,” Mondesir said of Perez. “Back court she’s a presence, front row she’s a presence. I moved her over to the middle where she will be getting a lot more touches as the tournament goes on.”

Perez, along with Tracy Lynn Pagan and Johanly Garcia-Amaros, build the core of the Blue and Blue squad that was able to obtain perfection this season through serving and depth. Asked if the team was ever in danger of losing, Mondesir chuckled and said no.

“It’s really tough to compete with these girls,” he noted. “They are really able to move [the serving] around quite a bit.”

[Editor's note: The original post incorrectly noted the number of consecutive championships the program was going for.]