Published: November 10, 2009 10:58 pm      

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL: Paganos lead NCCC to nationals

SANBORN — If, as they say, twins truly have ESP, that certainly doesn’t deter Niagara County Community College volleyball teammates and sisters Margo and Taylor Pagano from using their verbal talents to communicate on the court.

Sometimes, in fact, the sophomores admit the dialogue can get a little spicy.

“I try not to yell, but it happens,” Margo said. “We yell at each other and that’s about it.”

“Margo’s very competitive,” Taylor added. “She’s really in-your-face competitive. She’s more fierce about it. I just kind of lay back. It works for us as sisters. She’s a great captain — she likes to scream, but we look to her for that.”

And the Trailblazers, seeded fourth in this week’s National Junior College Athletic Association Division III volleyball tournament, need more than just good old-fashioned rabble-rousing from Margo. In last weekend’s Region III tourney at Corning Community College, she was named the most valuable player, finishing with 11 kills and 19 digs in a big semifinal victory over Monroe.

Despite being perhaps the smallest middle at the tournament — both twins stand about 5-foot-4 — Margo consistently outplays her opponents.

“It’s pretty funny to watch. She’s undersized every week by about six inches,” NCCC coach Joe Daigler said. “And still, because she’s so athletic, and we move the ball faster than other teams, her speed’s an advantage. Straight up and down against bigger middles, it’s difficult. But when we start moving the ball around, that’s when her advantage comes through.”

Meanwhile, Taylor might not have gotten the accolades as her sister, but she’s a vital part of an NCCC team that puts its 25-4 record on the line against a fifth-seeded Central Lakes College (Minn.) squad that comes in 18-10.

“Taylor’s leading the team in kills. And attempts. She swings at everything,” Daigler said. “And it’s never a bad thing, she’s really aggressive. A ball that another girl might just try to get over, she’ll take a swing at it. It’s kind of like a fake punt, when it works, it looks great, when it doesn’t you think, ‘What was that?’ More times than not, though, she makes the right play.”

As for their off-the-court relationship, both admit they have different interests.

“We’re completely different people. We have different friends and different lifestyles,” Taylor said. “We don’t hang out too much, except for at home.”

“Their personalities are more separate this year than last,” Daigler added. “I think they’ve really come into their own. Taylor’s quieted down and Margo’s, um, found it.”

Sharing a national tournament run could be an experience of a lifetime. The Cheektowaga products both have no plans to continue playing after this season — they’re enrolled in two-year programs for radiology — but could wrap up their careers with an NJCAA Championship.

“I’m nervous because we’re a really short team. We’ve heard that there are a lot of girls out there that are 6-2,” Margo said. “We’ve just got to bring our game. We might not be expecting to win, but I’d like to think we will.”

“I put the date for nationals in my phone,” Taylor added. “At the beginning of the season, we knew we wanted to be a team that could come out of the region, but I don’t know if we all really knew it could happen. It did.”