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09/30/2016 12:00 AMAs the youngest of four girls, Jessica Paholski has always looked up to her older sisters Michaela, Ashley, and Chelsey. Jessica remembers going with her parents to watch Michaela and Chelsey play for the volleyball team at Valley Regional and knew that she wanted to follow in her sisters’ footsteps. Jessica stepped onto the on the volleyball court in 8th grade and she’s since learned a lot about a sport she enjoys, while progressing as an outside hitter.
“My favorite part is bonding as a team and having a bunch of girls to support you and be your friends,” says Jessica, whose sister Ashley played soccer for the Warriors. “I always loved watching the hitters hit the ball. Michaela was an outside hitter, too, and she used to hit the ball really hard. I wanted to be just like her.”
Jessica made an immediate impact upon arriving at Valley as she earned a place on the varsity squad in her freshman year, when she’d enter into matches to serve in place of the setter. As a sophomore last year and once again this season, Head Coach Kathy Scott put Jessica at the outside hitter position—just like Michaela. Thus far this fall, Jessica has been the Warriors’ top outside hitter and leads the squad in kills.
“Jessica has great power and exceptional quickness. She has an amazing jump serve and is a total player, yet has humility and a great work ethic,” says Scott. “Last year, coaches were already talking about her as a sophomore.”
Now as a junior, Jessica is not only leading her team as a strong player on the court, but also as a captain. Jessica was elected one of Valley’s co-captains for this year alongside senior Emily McLaughlin.
“Becoming a captain was my goal. My sisters were captains, too, and I wanted to follow in their footsteps,” says Jessica. “I really like taking the leadership role and it’s definitely made me better with working as a team. My co-captain has really helped me, too.”
Valley’s 2015 squad put together a solid season that featured 15 victories, including one in the State Tournament. So far this year, the Warriors are 5-2 with the highlight thus far being a 3-0 victory over perennial Shoreline Conference powerhouse Morgan. The win gave the Warriors a boost toward one of Jessica’s goals for the team this season, which is to win the Shoreline Conference title.
“We’re working together as a team and really bonding and communicating on the court,” says Jessica. “We’re feeling very confident right now, especially after just beating Morgan, which we haven’t done in about 10 years. We also want to get into states and win that, too.”
In terms of her personal goals, Jessica aims to keep improving with her hitting, serving, and passing. She works on her skills throughout the year by playing in tournaments during the offseason with a club volleyball team that competes in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts. In the summer, she plays beach volleyball in Niantic.
“I like playing with different girls from the area and sometimes other girls from our team will be on the team, too,” says Jessica. “It’s really nice because you become friends and form a bond.”
Jessica also excels in school as she’s a high honor student at Valley, as well as the secretary of her class for the Steering Committee, which plans fundraisers to earn money for class activities, including the prom.
“I just love being able to participate in my class and in planning prom, especially earning the money to help our class do different things,” says Jessica. “Last year, we reserved a location for our prom, but this year is getting the real details about it and planning the fun activities, like photo booths.”
Jessica has additionally volunteered as a substitute teacher for religious education classes and at the Essex Elementary School library, where she shelved books and also helped the children check them in and out. Jessica also enjoys going to the beach and spending time with her family. She feels thankful for all the support she’s received from her parents and grandmother, who come to every match, as well as her sisters, who go when they aren’t in class. Jessica’s sisters have also had a big influence in her top college choices as she’s interested in the schools they’ve attended—Quinnipiac University, Roger Williams University, and Fairfield University—in addition to Endicott College.
Jessica would love to continue her volleyball career at the college level, too, but at the moment, she’s concentrating on her junior season with the Warriors. Jessica says she’s grateful to Coach Scott for how much she’s helped her through the years.
“I love volleyball so much,” says Jessica. “Coach Scott influences me a lot. She helps me and is very supportive and always pushing me to do my best. I’m really appreciative of that.”