Boys' volleyball: Dragons reach a historic height

The HSMSE boys' varsity volleyball team battled to an eight and two record to make the playoffs this year. Their success was attributed to their growth as team, especially by their seniors.

Four-year players Yussef Elbagory, Will Esseks, and Isaac Draper have been leaders and “go to” players on the court this season. Their experience helped the team focus on higher level tactics and add more variety to their gameplay because they were able to lead and coordinate the team on the court.

“Isaac, Will, and Yussef all improved in terms of consistency and confidence in games,” coach Nick Diunte said.

This improvement in confidence allowed Esseks, Elbagory, and Draper to be leaders on the court and in practice. Draper's setting led the league in assists. His ability to set up plays is critical to the team’s success and without him their road to the playoffs likely would have been much more troublesome than it was.

Many players also made significant improvements in individual skills such as passing and attacking over the offseason. Both his teammates and his coach applauded Damar Mercado-Hastings for improving his swing and approach to hitting since last year.

“Damar improved his swing and got more kills," senior Samson Lin said. "[He] improved in [his] blocks and digging.”

Developing game-like situations during practice helped the team create a positive attitude going into games and reading their opponents. Practice was an essential factor for not only their improvement on the court, but also for their mentality as a team.

“Always just creating competitive situations in practice helps with games and having a group of guys that always want to be on the floor and compete towards playing time," Diunte said. "I think having that atmosphere in practice turned over into the games.” 

Their efforts during practice shined on the court as they worked together to read and adjust to their opponents more efficiently than ever before. The team was able to communicate on both offense and defense to implement new plays and control the pace of the game. Their competitive atmosphere during practice also helped the team create stronger relationships with one another and bond during tough games and losses.

“[We] grew a lot as a team in terms of the ability to handle adversity and go forward from it together and come out ahead,” Diunte said.

The Dragons only lost two games, both to Stuyvesant, but they still came together after games, practice, and even during their free time to work on their flaws.

“Coming together after a tough loss and seeing what we need to work on after each game was a team building experience this year,” Lin said.

By: Charles Dicus and Armani Damiron

The Dragons kicking off the new season of volleyball

Spencer Sharp / Sara Louie

The 2013-2014 season is starting soon for the HSMSE boys’ volleyball team, and their success this year is going to be uncertain. This year the PSAL decided to create two divisions for boys’ varsity volleyball. The Dragons were placed in the A division this year for their exceptional play last season; however, senior players who were the leaders of the team have graduated, leaving this year’s team searching for replacements.

The roster is going through big changes and that is going to affect their game play. Seniors Ardit Piroli and Yassine Khaliqui were the leaders in kills and hitting percentage last year. With their departure, this year’s team is going to have to designate new attackers. However, coach Nick Diunte does not seem worried about the changes, but does say that there is a lot to do before their first game of the season against Stuyvesant on March 24th.

“There is going to be a lot of work on the fundamentals of hitting during practice this year so that the new players can learn to be more offensive when they play,” he said.

The new placement into the A division will bring increased competition. Last year, they finished with a 7-5 record, tying High School for Environmental Studies for third place in their division. This year’s A division will contain teams from Louis Brandeis, High School for Environmental Studies, Stuyvesant High School, Fiorello H Guardia, and West 50th Street Campus. These teams were all playoff teams last season, but it is possible that they are going through the same changes that the Dragons are facing.

The new division holds many new challenges and the returning players are getting ready to face this year’s competition. Nicholas Jorquera is a bright spot and the only returning sophomore on the team.

“Now that we are in the A division we have the responsibility to improve,” Jorquera said. “Hopefully playing against more competitive teams continue to help us develop new skills.”

Jorquera played in eight of the twelve matches last season and seeks to gain more playing time.

“I know what the games look like, and what I have to improve to be a better volleyball player,” he said

The future for the Dragons is a mystery waiting to be unraveled. All of the teams that are in the division this year with them had a great showing last year, but Diunte stated that the Dragons have played against the other teams in the division and have been competitive with them. Despite the changes, he has high expectations that the team will be able to make the playoffs for a third straight season.

“I am confident in our ability to compete,” he said.

Written by Allan Lee and Yonatan Pechter

The Dragons make the playoffs for the second year in a row

The Dragons / S. Louie

This spring the High School for Math Science and Engineering’s volleyball team made the playoffs for the second consecutive year. They finished their season with a tie for third place in their division with the  High School for Environmental Studies. Both incoming freshman and hardworking seniors carried the team to the first round of the playoffs.

The team had to overcome an 0-2 start while they were missing key seniors. “We were missing people like Jeremy [Wain Hirschberg] and Yassine [Khaliqui],” said Kofi Kordie, one of the outside hitters for the team. 

As the season progressed the team gained experience.  

“We all improved, learning to work together and becoming more comfortable with each other,” said junior setter Spencer Sharp.

The closer they got to the playoffs, the mentality of the team changed. 

“[Our attitude toward playing changed. We started to get more hype about playing,” said freshman Lemuel Burgos. 

The determination of the team netted them a 7-3 finish in their last 10 games which helped them secure a spot in the playoffs.

In the first round of the 2013 PSAL volleyball playoffs the Dragons faced Christopher Columbus High School. The Dragons went down  0-1, with the team battling hard but eventually falling in the second set. 

“The first set of the playoffs we were very nervous, the second set we were more comfortable, said Kordie. 

One of the most influential  freshman that helped the Dragons get to the playoffs was Burgos. He had to fill in for Dionys Gutierrez, the Dragon’s middle hitter, who was ineligible during the duration of the regular season. 

“Lemuel was expected to pick up Dionys’ position, he was expected to block and hit, which he delivered pretty well,” said Kordie.

Even though the Dragons were knocked out of the first round of the playoffs, they tried their hardest and hope to make it to the playoffs next year. This will mostly depend on the the development of the  underclassmen who will be taking the place of the seniors.

Contributed by Sahar Saedi and Shawn Watts

The replacements

Spencer Sharp / Sara Louie

The High School for Math, Science, and Engineering boys’ volleyball team is in a tough spot because of their top players graduating. The Dragons must now look to their current juniors to take their place next year and continue the teams’ success. Junior setter Spencer Sharp and junior outside hitter/defensive specialist Kofi Kordie are among these prospects.

Seniors Ardit Piroli and Jeremy Wain-Hirschberg led the team to a 7-5 season, taking them to the playoffs for the second straight year. This is the first time the Dragons have made the playoffs in back to back seasons in school history.

The Dragons’ hopes for a solid setter directed them toward Sharp. The accurate passes he contributed as the main setter were key to the team’s overall success.

“I think Spencer’s decision making as a setter will improve and that will come from more volleyball that he will play,” said coach Nick Diunte.

Kofi Kordie / Sara Louie

Kordie, a rookie to the team, will be a valuable asset next season. In his first game, he was thrust into a starting role due to complications with the availability of some of the starters.

“This was my first year playing and I had to learn very quickly,” said Kordie.

Improvement must not only come from these two if the Dragons want to enter the playoffs again next year. Other athletes who saw respectable playing time will have to harvest more of their abilities for their inevitable increased use.

“I think there is going to be more playing time for Austin Han as well and then we have to hope we get a few freshmen come in or maybe a sophomore that's in the school that wants to play that we can develop because we are losing four very talented and skilled seniors,” said Diunte.

These graduating seniors will create big gaps on the court for the athletes who will start next year. With prospects like Sharp and Kordie, the team has the capability to continue their playoff appearance streak; however, there still remains a need for a strong set of rookies.

Contributed by Velid Mulic and Kian Zadeh

Metamorphosis of the HSMSE volleyball team



HSMSE Volleyball

 The HSMSE volleyball team is exceeding expectations this year. With a 2-0 win on April 30th over Martin Luther King Jr. High, the team clinched a playoff spot for the first time since 2007. Under the coaching of Nick Diunte, the team went 7-5 this year.

Everyone contributed to the successful season. One of the key players is senior libero Kevin Chun, who is sixth in the city in digs. He kept many rallies alive and was a big factor in getting the team to the playoffs. Another key player is junior outside hitter Yassine Khaliqui, who is seventh in the league in digs and sixth in the league in kills. “I feel that my hard work becoming a good hitter has helped me become an effective player and allows me to contribute to the team,” said Khaliqui.

Coming into the season the HSMSE volleyball team had reason to doubt themselves. They were 5-7 last year and were 6-6 the year prior. They didn’t look like a playoff bound team.

Although they had reason to doubt themselves, the HSMSE volleyball team came into the season strong, believing that this year would be different. “I think that if we played our hardest, we can make it to a place where no HSMSE team has made it before,” said middle hitter Ben Moosher.

The HSMSE volleyball team went 7-5 this season and now they’re going to the out-of-bracket match up against Christopher Columbus High School. “It’s been five years since we made the playoffs. This is my third year on the team and in my first two years, we were close to making the playoffs. It felt amazing because all of our hard work finally paid off," said senior middle hitter Rudy Outar. Everyone was pleased with the win.

Coach Diunte when asked about the win said, "I was happy that we were able to clinch a spot on the playoffs. It was exciting to see the kids do what they needed to make the playoffs after coming close for the last two years."

No matter how far the team goes, they already have had a successful season. "We can at least win one game in the playoffs, not including the out-of-bracket match. We faced teams of different skills and talents, and we can match up against them," said outside hitter Thomas Kui.

2012 Boys' Volleyball Regular Season Statistics

Well played Dragons!

HSMSE Volleyball Team

During the volleyball match between the High School for Math, Science, and Engineering, and Bronx Science's B- team on March 21, 2012, HSMSE came out on top winning all three sets. After being down by seven points at the start of the first set, the team picked it up and never looked back from that point.

Jeremy Wain-Hirschberg, setter of HSMSE, played a vital role in the victory. His athletic and acrobatic diving saves helped the team win all three sets. "I think our team played well, we had lots of mistakes we need to improve on, but it was a good game," said Wain-Hirschberg after the game. "No play is impossible on our team."

Benjamin Moosher helps Dragons win volleyball game

HSMSE Volleyball

HSMSE's volleyball team won its scrimmage game against the Bronx High School of Science "B" team.

Benjamin Moosher, middle hitter for the team, played well. He was strong in spiking, making several attacks and a few kills. His quick reaction to the ball allowed him to attack many times, and led to more kills. His blocking was good, and he jumped many times to slow the opponent's attacks.

Moosher's serves were adequate, but they sometimes resulted in errors with the ball hitting the net. Moosher acknowledges his weaknesses, saying, "I played OK ... but I could improve on my serving and hitting." It may have been these things that kept him from excelling on the court.

There is definitely room for improvement, but, overall, Moosher had a successful game.