Seniors Olivia Nace (left) and Maggie Fitzpatrick are this season's Mount volleyball captains. (Photo by Tom Utescher)

by Tom Utescher

Mount St. Joseph Academy lost a good deal of talent from its 2018 volleyball squad, but there are still a number of varsity players returning for the 2019 Magic.

Last fall, Mount finished second within the Athletic Association of Catholic Academies, behind perennial power Villa Maria. The Mounties ended their season in the semifinal round of the PIAA District I Class AAA tournament.

The Magic graduated six players from their 2018 team, and this season there will once again be six seniors on the roster. Two of them have been named co-captains for the 2019 campaign, libero Maggie Fitzpatrick and outside hitter Olivia Nace.

Their classmates on the squad are Isabella Goebel, Shannon Reilly, Kelly Rothenberg and Katie Tausz.

Junior Vivianna Carrasco is a returning varsity athlete, and moving up to join her as full-time varsity players are fellow 11th graders Allie McKnight and Ainsley Muhl.

The two sophomores on the squad are Olivia Esposito and M.K. Feilke, who is the daughter of the Mount's assistant athletic director, Melissa Feilke. One of last year's seniors, Summer Adamson, has left a legacy in her younger sister, Ava; she and Daphne Mond are the two freshmen to make the varsity team for 2019.

The spike squad's familiar coaching staff returns intact this season.

Former longtime Haverford College coach Amy Bergin is heading into her third campaign as head coach of the Magic. Former Mount parent and longtime assistant Jerry Abdalla is back with the sideline staff, as is 2010 MSJ graduate Mary Kate Steinmetz, who is also a member of the faculty at the school.