Player of the year: Julie Monroy of Union Catholic has been playing volleyball since she was an 8-year-old and always wanted to be like her older sisters, Jennifer and Jackie.

Monroy watched her sisters play at Union Catholic and made it a goal to go there and be a successful player.

"They were always the best volleyball players I knew and they were my role models," said Monroy, a junior and the 2010 Union County Player of the Year. "They always played the game the right way and that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to go to Union Catholic and be a good volleyball player."

Not only has she become a good player, she’s become the go-to player for a Union Catholic team that went 22-5 and made it to the finals of the NJSIAA Non-Public tournament, where it was defeated by Immaculate Heart, 2-0.

In the Union County Tournament final, Monroy had 22 kills, five digs and three aces to lead second-seeded Union Catholic to a 2-1 victory over top-seeded Cranford.

"Obviously, it was upsetting not to win the state championship, but we still won the counties," she said. "This has been my favorite and best season. We had such a good team from the beginning and we accomplished a lot."

Monroy, a three-year starter, had big shoes to fill as Union Catholic needed to replace the 2009 Union County Player of the Year, Emily Wilman, who graduated from the Scotch Plains school.

She finished the year with 271 digs, which was fifth-best in the state, 76 service points, 68 digs and 34 aces.

"She was probably our biggest offensive weapon," Union Catholic coach Nancy Staggio said. "Whenever we were in a bind, we knew to set the ball to Julie. Whenever she got the ball, she went in for the kill. She did it all, and, as good as she is, you wouldn’t know it from talking to her.

"She’s humble and downplays all of her achievements."

Both of Monroy’s sisters continued their volleyball careers in college. Jennifer went on to get a full scholarship to play for the University of Hartford and Jackie played at Bloomfield College.