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CHAPPAQUA, N.Y. Horace Greeley first-year volleyball coach Lisa Rudner had a big smile on her face as she was receiving handshakes and laughter from the Croton girls at the post-game handshake Wednesday.
Rudner knew it was all in good fun, for she coached many of the Croton girls in club volleyball. When it came time to greet the coaches, Rudner hugged Croton coach Robin Cooke and junior varsity coach Chris Rudner, who is also her mom, and the trio shared a post-match laugh.
Even though Croton swept Horace Greeley, 25-16, 25-17, 25-16, in a Section 1 volleyball match, Rudner came away with a smile.
Robin and my mom were the first ones to walk in and I said, Oh no. Its them, said the Greeley first-year volleyball coach. I was joking around with the Croton players before the match because I consider them family and thats what a family does.
About 95 percent of the senior class I coached in club and Ive watched these kids grow up.
Cooke knows about this. She has known Rudner since she was 4 years old and was coming to Croton volleyball practices. Rudner, whose mother has been the junior varsity coach for 22 years, played club volleyball for Cooke before going on to an excellent career at Hen Hud.
Its really nice to have seen Lisa grow up, Cooke said. Lisa is doing a great job with her team.
Cooke said that she and Rudner were laughing prior to the match about the possibility of starting a fake fight.
After we thought about it we thought that the refs would think it was real, said Cooke, with a laugh.
When the teams met in the first match of the season, Cooke missed it because she was not feeling well. In that match, Rudner had to coach against her mom, who ran Croton that day. Rudner was quite happy to see Cooke arrive for this match, despite joking around with her when she walked in.
Meghan Clarry, a senior and captain for Croton, shared a laugh with Rudner after the match. Clarry said when she first began playing volleyball in seventh grade, Rudner was her club coach.
Lisa and I were just joking around, said Clarry, with a big smile. We have so much fun when we know we are playing Lisa.
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