After placing second in state last year, the boys volleyball team keeps their ambitions and hopes high for success in conference as well as making a deep postseason run. 

Team practices run Monday through Friday from 3:30-5:30 p.m. and anywhere between 8-10 a.m. or 9-11 a.m. depending on practice and tournament schedule, on Saturday, varsity head coach Brad Skendzel said. The team plays a total of 35 games, with about 10 home games and 25 away games. This year, the team consists of about five seniors and 10 juniors. 

“I think the season is going well,” Skendzel said. “I think from last year to this year there are a lot of changes within the lineup but that’s just the way it is when you have students graduate. The juniors that have stepped up are really doing a great job filling those roles we have lost from our last year.” 

Last year, the team kept up strong expectations with four commits to play volleyball at the collegiate level. This year, they’ve continued that strength with two seniors, Tommy Culver ‘24 and Zaccary Ruiz ‘24, committed to Augustana College to play Division III volleyball. So far, they’ve shown their skills with a strong start to the season, winning the Argo Invitational and with recent wins against York and Sandburg.

“I look for all around skills [in every player],” Skendzel said. “I look for whether or not each player knows the basic fundamentals of volleyball. Whether they’re able to pass, serve, swing, or hit. Not just be a single position player, whether they can play different positions on the court. I think it helps to have those all-around players in the program because they’re versatile and can play those different things.”

The team also spends time with each other outside of practices and games, outside hitter Luka Kostic ‘24 said. One example being their time spent at Top Golf together. 

“The team dynamic is very supportive and encouraging,” Kostic said. “Our team has very good chemistry and we love to hang out with each other during our free time.”

With the start of the new season, the team has had to adjust and make changes to the lineup after losing some of their strongest players, Skendzel said. This year, the team’s strengths include their ball control and their overall team chemistry. 

“I think the main challenge we faced was losing a lot of our really strong players from last year,” middle blocker Michael Badrov ‘24 said. “I think we just overcame that by changing around our offense and switching up what we’ve been doing and became a new team.”

The team has been able to overcome many challenges throughout the season. With the bar set high from getting second in state last year, the team hopes to beat that to receive first in state. 

“[What I like about volleyball] is there’s a moment when you’re playing when everything just comes together as a team,” Badrov said. “Like when there’s a perfect pass, to a perfect set, to a perfect hit and you can keep on doing that back and forth and it just feels like a continuous flow state of volleyball.”

The team’s next game will be at Lockport High School in the Lockport Triangular Invitational, on May 17.