Despite the early 0-4 start to the Port Washington boys volleyball team’s campaign, there’s still plenty of time to turn things around. The team’s most recent defeat came at the hands of their rivals Massapequa on Sept. 21. Although the boys were swept against a tough Massapequa team, their 27th-year Head Coach Maria Giamanco was impressed with how the boys played in their latest outing.
“We had a little bit of a disappointing start, but we really have made some significant improvements,” said Giamanco. “It was probably the best we’ve played all season and I’m really looking forward to our next contest because of the improvements we made.”
This year’s team features seven returning players from last season. The rest of the 15-man roster will feature players moving up from the junior varsity team. With more than half the roster stepping on to the court at the varsity level for the first time, it will be a transitional year for the Vikings. Giamanco believes the team is much more balanced out this year compared to last season’s edition. However, it’s going to take some time for the boys to gel together as a unit.
“The transition from last year to this year is that we had a couple of really strong attackers last year and this year it’s much more evened and spread out,” said Giamanco. “I think it’s taking a little bit of an adjustment to understand that concept as opposed to just one or two guys.”
While there are no standouts in this group, the nucleus of this Vikings team features senior captains Andrew Kerr, Kevin Hazan and Zach Jimenez. In addition to that trio are senior Nico Di Lucia, junior Connor MacPhail and sophomore Daniel Dash.
Some important matches to keep an eye out for this season include two matches with East Meadow and rematches with rivals Plainview and Massapequa. The boys will visit East Meadow Thursday, Oct. 1, as Giamanco expects another good game against them. They will look to even the score against their two rivals as they dropped their last meetings with Plainview and Massapequa on Sept. 10 and Sept. 21, respectively.
One key element from this team so far is the hard work the boys have been putting in for Giamanco and Assistant Coach Kristina Wood. Also, the boys have been participating in a 12-team tournament to help them prepare for league matches and improve on their overall play. Although they didn’t win against Massapequa, they got better thanks to their previous tournament appearance at Sachem North on Sept. 19. They hosted their own tourney Sept. 26 to continue to improve their skills and get ready for their upcoming matches.
With 11 more games left to play, Giamanco is confident in the boy’s continued improvements and expects them to work hard and play hard in each and every game. She believes her squad will continue to remain competitive, be able to string together some wins and possibly be a postseason sleeper.
“They are very responsible, committed, dedicated and hard-working boys,” said Giamanco. “ I have a tremendous amount of respect for their work ethic and willingness to continue to strive for excellence.”
