After finishing the regular season tied for first place in their division with a 9-1 record, the St. Aidans fifth graders opened the CYO playoffs on Sunday, May 4 at St. Mary's High School matched against the team from St. Frances parish in Wantagh.

In the opening game Lauren Tretolo and Dana Comito both scored the maximum five straight points with their accurate serves. Combined with strong front line play by Alexa Vojvodic, Regina Lynch and Katelyn Zimmerman, this allowed St. Aidans to build an early lead. As is their usual pattern the team then hit a rough stretch when some mental errors and unlucky hits allowed St. Frances back into the game and they tied the score at 22-22. After an exchange of points, a diving return by Allison Sloper got the serve back for St. Aidans with a 24-23 lead but they failed in their first opportunity at game point. After breaking the next St. Frances serve, Kristen Flynn stepped up for the team's second chance at game point. St. Frances could not return her strong serve and St. Aidans earned a hard-fought 26-24 win.

The second game turned out to be a much easier effort for the girls. St. Aidans built an early lead behind the strong play of Caitlin Breen and Kaitlyn Hogan. Mary Henry came off the bench to score five points on her serve. This time they never let St. Frances get back in the game. With Samantha Windisch out with an injury, cheering the team on from the bench, the girls cruised to a 25-17 victory to win the match 2-0.

On Wednesday, May 7 the team traveled down to the St. Frances parish gym where they faced division rival St. Mary in the semifinal match. That team was coming off a great opening round effort where they had upset St. William, who had finished first in their division. St. Mary now hoped to reverse their two regular season losses to St. Aidans. The games turned out to be almost a replay of the first round match. In the first game St. Aidans opened up a 19-11 lead behind the powerful serves of Alexa Vojvodic, the setting of Allison Sloper and Regina Lynch and strong spikes by Mary Henry, Dana Comito and Jackie Curran. Then the team hit another stretch where some poor returns and the lack of communication on the court allowed St. Mary to come all the way back to take a 23-21 lead. Lauren Tretolo then stopped the run by St. Mary and won the ball back with a hard spike. Once again it was Kristen Flynn's turn to serve with the game on the line. This time she turned in an even stronger clutch performance, making three straight excellent serves to clinch a 25-23 win.

St. Aidans took no chances with the second game. Led by Caitlin Breen, Kaitlyn Hogan and Katelyn Zimmerman they dominated the game from the start. The disappointing first game loss appeared to take the fight out of St. Mary. They seemed to have trouble returning all of the St. Aidans serves. When they managed to get the ball back over the net the St. Aidans front line was always ready to smash the ball right back at them. Jackie Curran served the final two points as St. Aidans easily won this game 25-5 for their second straight 2-0 match win.

Holy Trinity High School was the site of the CYO championship game on Monday, May 12 as St. Aidans met Cure of Ars from Merrick. As usual St. Aidans came out strong in the first game and soon took the lead. Cure of Ars was a strong serving team but here they had met an opponent that had learned to play solid defense and return their hits. The St. Aidans back line played extremely well with Dana Comito and Regina Lynch continually keeping the ball in play. This time there was no mid-game letdown and St. Aidans won the first game 25-13.

Unlike their previous playoff opponents, this time it was Cure of Arts that came out fired up for the second game as they jumped out to a 16-8 lead. All year the strongest part of the St. Aidans game had been their consistent serving. However, that consistency was lacking in this game. This hurt the girl's confidence and you could see that affect their teamwork on the court. Jackie Curran, Katelyn Zimmerman and Kaitlyn Hogan tried to lead a comeback but there were several miss hits and some close calls that went against them. Even with some late substitutions St. Aidans was never able to sustain any run that would turn the tide. Cure of Ars ended up winning the second game 25-17, tying the match one all.

Both teams were nervous as the third and deciding game began. Neither team was able to gain an advantage until Caitlin Breen stepped up to serve with the score tied 6-6. Remaining steady with a lot of pressure on her, she scattered her five serves all around the opposing zone and Cure of Ars had problems handling each of them. Kristen Flynn then added two more points and St. Aidans had opened up a 13-6 lead. Now both teams seemed to overcome their nervousness and started to show their talent. There were several exciting back and forth volleys. Cure of Ars played well and tried their best to stay in the game. They sent hard line drives over the net but could not get it through the defense of Alexa Vojvodic and Allison Sloper who were now positioned in the back line. They made several diving saves and returns and these plays kept the momentum going for St. Aidans. Lauren Tretolo added four more points on her serve and Cure of Ars could not come back. Mary Henry had the honor of serving the championship point as St. Aidans won the deciding game 25-14.

Coaches Rich Sloper and Tom Flynn wish to congratulate all the girls for their effort and dedication in achieving such an outstanding season. They also thank all the parents and siblings who volunteered their services as scorers and line judges throughout the year. The entire fifth-grade team also wishes to congratulate the St. Aidans seventh grade team for reaching their CYO championship game.