There is a stereotype in volleyball that setters don't play defense. Roselle Catholic's Jessica Ciandella spends every match breaking that stereotype. The senior setter is ranked fifth on Jason Davila's defense-heavy squad with 76 digs and she is loving every second of it.

"Defense is probably my favorite part of the game to be honest," she said. "You want to put the people that say you can't play defense to shame because I can do it. You just want to try your best to get every ball out there and make the plays that nobody else can make because you're the setter and nobody expects that from you."

While Ciandella silences the critics with her defense, her offense makes her an extremely versatile threat from anywhere on the court. Even when playing the back line, last year's Union County Player of the Year is a force and leads her squad with 36 aces. Ciandella is involved in nearly every single play for Roselle Catholic, whether that means diving to pick up a dig or setting up Ally Mroczek and Calli Scheuermann at the net.

"You have to play like every point is the last point in the game of the last game you're going to play," she said. "There's no holding back...It matters what the setter does on the court because you have to have a good setter to get a good hit. It's all about tempo and running a fast offense."

Ciandella's game has grown throughout the years and she has been primed for this position since she started playing for her father in second grade. Her knowledge of the game is enormous and her constant planning makes her an ideal candidate to lead the Lions' offense.

"You have to be smart to be a setter," she said. "It's like the quarterback on the court for a football team. You run the offense. You are the quarterback of the team."

Ciandella's knowledge allows her to recognize when she is playing well and when she is making mistakes. Although she may be her own biggest critic, Ciandella strives to improve on her performance in every single match.

"I'm really hard on myself, I can definitely say that," she said. "I always want myself to do good and I know I can always do better. There's always more to learn. When I do good, I know, but when I play bad, I'm really hard on myself. I put a lot of heart and soul into it."

Ciandella's heart is hard to question. After breaking her nose hours before Roselle Catholic's Union County Tournament semifinal match last year, her doctor recommended that she sit out. Ciandella had different things in mind and repeated the same sentence, "I gotta play." And play she did as Ciandella led her squad past rival Union Catholic and topped Westfield for its first county title.

Roselle Catholic was bested by Westfield in a three-set heart break on Sept. 16, but Ciandella and her squad get a chance at redemption when the two Union County powers face off again on Oct. 21.

"We have that game circled on our calender," she said. "We are so excited to play Westfield again. We're going to come out there ready to play."

Ciandella was the winner of last week's "Poll: Who is the best setter?"