Gutierrez a hope for HSMSE voleyball team

In a volleyball scrimmage against Bronx Science's "B" team on Wednesday, HSMSE won 3-0. Sophomore middle blocker, Dionys Gutierrez did not get a lot of playing time, but when he was in the game he made some positive plays. Although his two attacks never resulted in kills, Gutierrez did use his height as an advantage when he blocked a ball that resulted in a kill. He also did not commit an unforced error.

A problem that seemed to occur for Gutierrez was his aggressiveness. On one play, a pass looked intended for Gutierrez to spike but he let the ball go, and another player had to quickly react and was only able to lob the ball over the net. A possible spike was not made, but Gutierrez saw a little lack of aggression as a good thing because after the game he said, “I got out of people's way. Last year I didn't do that." 

The HSMSE volleyball team looks promising and is hoping to improve from a 5-7 record last year. Even though Gutierrez may not get a whole lot of playing time, a few key kills can be the difference in a game.

Xinghai Zhang, working to strengthen the team

HSMSE Volleyball

The boys' volleyball team for the High School for Math Science and Engineering didn’t have a good start as they lost to A. Phillip Randolph Campus High School; however, during a scrimmage game against Bronx Science High School's "B" team, they managed to show improvements the team made by getting a huge victory of winning all three sets.

One player that played well was Xinghai Zhang. Zhang is an outside hitter for the HSMSE boys’ volleyball team. He may not be a star player on the team, but he knows what to do. Although when he first entered, he made a few unforced errors hitting the net, he earned the points back with an ace, had a few digs, and even tried for a few kills. Zhang said he didn’t do his best in this game, and was also nervous for some parts. However, he managed to get encouragements from his teammates; one teammate he felt that encourages him the most is Kevin Chun. Though Zhang did well in most parts, he believes he needs to improve on helping the team cover. If he does improve on covering, his skills will help the team accomplish more than before.

Every contribution counts

HSMSE Volleyball

The volleyball game on March 21st was thrilling for the High School for Math, Science, and Engineering Dragons fans. After Bronx Science "B" team scored seven consecutive points to start the game, the HSMSE volleyball team came through and got a win in the first set. The crowd then went crazy and that gave momentum to the HSMSE team. The team would then win the next two sets. Although senior Kevin Chun would've probably won the MVP of the game if there was one, his teammates played great as well. Sophomore Spencer Sharp, playing opposite hitter, helped to contribute to his team's victory. Even though Sharp only contributed with a few good set passes with one error in the first set, he managed to do the be that he could. He stayed sharp on court and he didn't let that one error bring him down for the rest of the game.

When interviewed after the game, Sharp said, "I was worried that the team would break down because of the amount of pressure, but I thought they weren't a better team than we are." According to Sharp, the HSMSE volleyball team trains every weekday. It shows that practice helps them improve their game but also improve their determination. Sharp might not have shown his maximum potential in the game, but he still brought motivation to the team. During the time-outs, Sharp listens carefully to Coach Nicholas Diunte, showing that he is a good athlete that is willing to learn from his mistakes.

Kenneth Hungria valuabe setter for the HSMSE volleyball team

HSMSE Volleyball

Kenneth Hungria, setter for the HSMSE volleyball team, played an exceptional game against the Bronx Science "B" volleyball team. Hungria set the ball at least 30 times during the game with seven assists and only a few errors.

Hungria was the setter that was on the court longest of all the setters of the team, but he did switch out with the others regularly during the game. He said, “This is a way for us to optimize play. I don’t play front row, because I’m small.” Coach Diunte explained the reason for Hungria being substituted for a taller front row player. "Using two setters allows our team to bring in an extra blocker to compensate for our loss of height."

Hungria also contributed the team by making 11 out of 12 serves. One of those serves even scored an ace for the team. “I serve the ball in a curve. I don’t think they expected that,” he said about his serve.

One of the few errors that Hungria made, was on a ball that was spiked just above his head. He managed to jump backwards and dig the ball, but he wasn’t able to pass it to another player. “The ball just came to fast for me. My reaction let me hit the ball, but I wasn’t able to make it a pass,” he said.