Dukes 7-3 through first 10 matches.
By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
It’s been all systems go thus far for the York boys volleyball team.
The Dukes were off to a 7-3 overall start and won the Thornton-Fractional North tournament.
“We’re much more balanced this year and due to numerous injuries, we’ve had several reserve players step in and contribute well,” said York coach Ken Dowdy.
Dowdy has especially taken notice of the team’s defensive play. “Our defense has been an improvement from last year at this point of the season,” he said. “We’ve been able to dig some balls that I thought we had no chance to get a touch on, which always has the ability to change a match. It’s a really scrappy group with Sam Jordan-Wood, Zach Hughart, Jack Crowley and RJ Lesus leading the way on defense.
“Our defense has been really good so far and our serve-receive is farther along than I would have thought at this point in the season. We still are learning to overcome some of the more aggressive servers from other teams and fighting to overcome their service runs. At this point, I feel it’s more mental than anything else when we have struggled, and as a coaching staff we’ve emphasized focusing on the next ball. We’re definitely making strides in that regard and I’m positive our consistency will improve. We emphasize serve-receive is the most important contributor to the success on the court and therefore we spend a lot of time in practice on it and will continue to do so. We have struggled with blocking and have committed as a team to spending more time in practice breaking it down. We certainly have the potential to be a good blocking team, but a lack of a lot of varsity experience, especially at the pins, has contributed to some struggles in that area. While a work in progress, the guys understand we can go from being a good team to an even better team if we focus and shore up that area of our defense.”
Serving also has been a bright spot. “Likewise our serving has been really consistent and aggressive and we’ve been able to go on some service runs that have helped us close out matches when the offense has struggled,” said Dowdy, who lauded Rio Diaz and Matthew Howlett for their serving-line efforts.
Dowdy said the squad’s front line has been hampered by injury. “In seven years I’ve never had this many injuries in a season, let alone the first month,” he said. “We’ve had six guys out at various times with injuries, so we’re still trying to get in a rhythm offensively.”
Right-side hitter Dylan Kalchik missed the season-opener, but is playing well since. “Dylan is starting to heat up and that’s a great sign,” said Dowdy. “He has an aggressive, hard swing.”
Outside hitter Evan Haug also missed a recent stretch due to injury. “He’s another senior pin hitter that we’ll rely on heavily once he gets healthy,” the coach said. “He also brings the best back-row attack we have on the team.”
Senior John Goehl is able to play either pin position for the Dukes. He had 17 kills in a recent quad the Dukes competed in. “John is a converted setter who has a high ceiling,” said Dowdy. “He played very well in our quad. The sky is the limit for him. He can jump out of the gym.”
Middles Michael Pennel and John Nosek also are big factors up front. “Michael and Kohn really are the key to our offense when our serve-receive is on point,” Dowdy explained. “They have the ability to hit a variety of quick-tempo shots when we are in system.”
Howlett, Michael Dirmish and John Sopko add strong depth to the pins. “They have contributed when called upon this season,” said Dowdy.
Michael Deaton also was cited for his early-season contributions. “He filled in for John Nosek at the middle position when John missed the first four matches,” said Dowdy. “He’s one of our defensive specialists and he provided stability and enthusiasm in John’s absence and is really such an unselfish teammate. ‘Deats’ is definitely one of the players I’m most appreciative and proud of so far this season.”
Diaz, the team’s setter, is in his third year on the varsity. “Rio continues to improve,” said Dowdy. “He has made a great effort in getting better defensively and with blocking. He’s made his greatest strides in regards to being more vocal and leading this team. I really couldn’t ask for more in that regard. We graduated nine seniors last year so the underclassmen really didn’t need to be vocal, but he’s stepped up more than I expected. He will only get better as he gets in sync with our hitters, especially the first-year varsity players from last year’s JV squad.”
Junior Ryan Schaner provides strong depth at the setting position. “Ryan is having a good spring after suffering an early injury,” said Dowdy. “He’s a real competitive player and continues to improve.”
Dowdy also likes the team’s resolve thus far. “We’re a little ahead of last year’s team in regard to fighting through adversity—not only fighting through the numerous injuries we’ve suffered, but also fighting through momentum-changing rallies and service runs from our opponents,” he said. “We’ve been able to win some three-set matches that we may have lost last year against good teams.”
Dowdy noted the team’s three losses have come against teams with a combined 29-0 record through late last week.
“Our schedule definitely is front-loaded with some of the best teams in the state,” he said. “We know where we need to improve as well as knowing where we stand against some of the better teams in the state. Considering all our injuries and the mixed-up lineups, I’m very encouraged by the start to this season. It’s a great and spirited group of guys who are keenly aware of what we need to do to get better. I told them on the first day of practice that the theme this year is to forget our record and just focus on whether we are getting better. To their credit, we’ve gotten better but we also realize we have a long way to go. If the players continue to commit to the improvement, I have no doubt we can win a regional championship and go far in the playoffs, which has become the standard goal of our program.
