The Cornwall volleyball team has won 19 straight Section 9 championships.

However, they’ve lost eight players from a team that posted a 17-2 record and finished third in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class A tournament.

Despite losing Julia Santefemia, Lily Byrnes, Lily Hessari, Ailish McGrail, Ninalyn Montero, Kristina Garcia, Samantha Miller and Zakara Masibo-Ballard, 25th year coach Jeff Moulton believes the 2024 Dragons could be strong enough to pull off a historic 20th consecutive Section 9 Class A championship.

The Dragons will be looking from contributions from returning athletes Victoria Hinchcliff, Lillian DeFelice, Jean Lawrence, Toni Negon, Cecelia Cruz and Lily Reynolds. New to the team this year will be Tianna Perez, Patricia King, Rylie Pikarsky, Aaliyah Missere, Ana Sonko, Jingwa Fonkem, Olivia Lewis, Grace Otto, Lyla Otto and Kayleigh Wolfe.

The team may be young, but Moulton believes the future is bright, and he believes the Dragons are strong enough to compete for another Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association Division III championship. Moulton could also win his 400th match this season.

The Dragons are scheduled to open the season on Friday with a non-league home match against the Kingston Tigers. After a quick turnaround, they will head to the Hendrick Hudson Tournament on Saturday.

They’ll open their league schedule on Monday when they host the Port Jervis Raiders.
Moulton said he expects the season to be exciting.

“I think with focus and a lot of hard work, this group has the potential to be special,” Moulton said. “I think a lot of teams might think we might be too young and inexperienced to continue to compete at the same level as last season. I think this team is very competitive and have what it takes to surprise everyone.”