The Montclair Mounties Boys Volleyball team is looking to improve on a 11-7 overall record and make a deeper run in the post season tournaments. The team finished in third place behind division winner West Caldwell Tech and East Orange Campus High School. With the two-year reorganizing of teams, West Caldwell Tech has moved to the top-level American Division and Payne Tech has moved down to Liberty. East Orange Campus, Payne Tech and West Orange match up well with Montclair and should prove to be formidable opponents. All are well coached and have a combination of great athletes and skilled Volleyball players. The race for the Liberty Division Title should be a close one.
This year's team is unique in that the Junior Varsity and Varsity almost meld together as one unit. With only three sophomores returning and a small crop of freshman, many juniors will have to pull double duty on both teams. A few freshmen may be asked to move up to provide manpower at the JV level.
The Varsity group returns starters at the Outside Hitter (2), Middle Blocker (2) and Setter (1) positions along with a host of other players who saw considerable Varsity court time. Team MVP, Sam Korenbaum, will anchor the Outside Hitters with Ben Welsh chipping in a wealth of talent and experience. Both are solid servers and will be counted on to create a defensive advantage. Junior Patrick Reesch, has shown tremendous improvement after spending the off-season playing club volleyball at the national level. Reesch spent the majority of last year at the Right-Side Hitter position but this year he will be the key factor at Middle Blocker. Second Middle Nnamdi Emehelu, was a dominant force last season and is expected to create even more problems for opponents once he has refreshed his volleyball skill set.
Senior setter Christophen Borden will be the guy with his hands on most second contacts in the first three rotations and is working hard to be the ultimate distributor for a variety of offensive threats. A two-year starter, Chris brings great energy and positivity that is much needed in a game of such grand momentum swings. New to the Setter position is Brendan Gibbons who is a converted Libero/Defensive Specialist. Gibbons set for his club team and has been running the second three rotations. "We hope that he will settle in quickly and develop continuity with the hitters", said Coach Reilly. Upstart Sophomore Ryan Yi will likely see some action at setter and Right Side, a position Reilly is looking to fill. Junior Miles Solomon was the likely candidate until he was sidelined on the second day of practice with a thumb injury. Solomon was primarily a Middle Blocker last season but is eager to learn and contribute at the new position. Seniors Clifford Miller-Maxwell and Ruben Porrata will contribute at RS and Libero/DS respectively.
The loss of Junior Libero, Logan Martinez was thought to be a cause for concern but newcomer Aleksander "Sasha" Hube (Sophomore) has stepped in and performed admirably. He is gaining confidence along with the trust of his teammates. Nathaniel Sena, Junior Libero/Defensive Specialist will be counted on to provide experience at both positions. Juniors Evan Melanson and Zachary Singer, also new to Varsity. Both are swing players who are expected to provide additional balance to their attack.
After a busy scrimmage schedule the Mounties open up on the road against American Division opponent Belleville High School on April 1.
