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

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.

HSMSE boys' volleyball outplays Bronx Science "B" team

HSMSE player getting ready for the ball

Kevin Chun is a senior libero for the High School for Math, Science and Engineering boys’ volleyball team. In their scrimmage match against the Bronx High School of Science's "B" team, Chun held off the offense to give the Dragons a win. Chun’s job as a libero is to dig and pass the ball to the setter to set up their offense.

Chun used his quick hands in order to get great digs that kept easy spikes from scoring important points. He had digs that set up the setter which led to great spikes by the outside hitters. Chun was able to keep the game going when balls went out of bounds and when the team couldn’t get to the ball in time. Chun used his communication skills to call the ball in order to limit confusion. The lack of communication was eminent in the beginning of the game until Chun started calling his passes. He was also superb in serving. He had three aces and all of his serves were inbound. His accuracy was spot on and he visibly aimed for the center of the court, Bronx Science’s weakness.

Chun should be commended for his amazing hustle. When the team lost interest in a supposedly out of bounds ball, Chun would move quickly to the back court to save the ball. He gave hope to the team as he constantly kept the ball alive and gave the team more chances to score. “[My game play] will keep the game alive and give us more chances,” said Chun when asked about how his game play will affect the season.