The Hicksville boys volleyball team improved to 3-3 on the season by topping Sewanhaka in three sets by the scores of 25-14, 25-20 and 25-13.
“We lost the first few matches this year but bounced back to win the last three,” said Hicksville’s second year Head Coach Kevin Bunting. “We have a young team—we lost three starters last year. We have no seniors on this team, but we have three juniors,” he added. Bunting noted that it will bode well for next year’s team when they have even more experience to build on.
For the Comets, Abdullah Khalid used his 6’3” height to his advantage, registering eight blocks. Harrison Chan recorded 12 service points and 18 digs. Billy Sullivan added 16 assists to lead the Comets in the Conference A-II match.
The team brought some serious energy to the court and responded well anytime they had a brief lapse of focus. They have been able to turn their season around after an 0-3 start when it may have been easy to make excuses and fall apart.
Bunting stated that the team always “believed in themselves” and even the guys on the bench support one another. He was able to rotate all the players on the roster so that 11 players saw action.
Sewanhaka drops to 0-6 on the season. They hung tough in each match, but ultimately fell short in each match. In the second game, they had their best opportunity for victory when they rallied to take a 17-15 lead, but after Hicksville called a timeout to regroup, the momentum shifted completely and the Comets scored eight of the next nine points to win.
Despite the loss, Ahmed Farooq and Mario Orologio performed well and will look to get Sewankaha in the win column when they take on Valley Stream Central next week.
First year Head Coach Mike Indovino noted that he has a very inexperienced team.
“Last year’s team graduated everybody—or just about everybody,” he said. “We have a lot of seniors, but they’re playing for the first time.”
Indovino stated that the team needs to improve their chemistry, “but that comes with maturity with the sport.” Certainly a difficult task to expect from first-year players.
For a young team they did maintain their composure well and did not appear overmatched. There were some unforced mistakes, however, such as carries that can be easily eliminated as the season progresses.
