Sports

Veteran Wagner determined to take next step, claim PSAL crown

The Susan Wagner girls volleyball team wants to be one game better this season.

“Fortunately for us, one game better has got to be the championship,” Falcons coach Marco Altieri said.

A year after losing in the final to Cardozo, Wagner made an unexpected run to the semis with a roster made up mostly of new players in new roles. This season they return a club that lost just two players and has expectations of possibly being the PSAL’s best team with clear championship aspirations.

“[Last year] was more working to build a good team,” said senior Kristine Ciurcina, one of the city’s best setters. “Now that we already have that, now we can move to the next level.”

She will have a bevy of experienced hitters to choose from in outsides Julia Bogdan and Karolina Gajda and second-year middles Anetta Nowak and Alanna Caffrey, a junior who Altieri saw blossom late last season. He expects her to feed off that. The middles play with contrasting styles. Bogdan is more of a big-armed hitter while Gajda is a finesse player.

“I told them we’ll will be as successful as our middles play,” Altieri said. “They have to be big for us this year. They set the tone for the offense we want to run.”

Karley Sarcone, sister of graduated softball star Taylor Sarcone, should see playing time in the back row at libero. Workmanlike senior Vanessa Reyes is also in the mix for the libero job in place of graduated standout Jia Sha.

Altieri knows a thing or two about handling a team with high expectations. He led a veteran group to the PSAL Class A softball championship game in the spring. Altieri will even suspend his Twitter account to show the team that he is focused on the season and wants them to what they can to avoid distractions.

While he knows this team has plenty of talent, Altieri wants to see it gain an identity and style of play once the season starts, and develop a swagger as well. His players feel that mindset will be driven by how close they came a year ago.

“It’s always good to go a step further,” Ciurcina said. “Last year pushed us. Losing in the semis is always tough. … It just makes us want it more.”

jstaszewski@nypost.com