Clarence’s two volleyball teams have had good starts to the season thus far, with the boys varsity team looking electric on the court. The JV team is currently 3-6 but has shown that they can withstand some of the stronger teams, coming back from an 11-point deficit in their first match away at Grand Island High School. They sadly lost in that set 26-24. Despite this loss, they have been showing adversity on and off the court and are looking strong. 

The connection between JV players Jack Hickey and Jacob Torrico has been outstanding, with Torrico’s strong, powerful hitting skills and Jack’s impressive setting. Their team is looking strong and has a good chance of getting close to their amazing 22-1 season from last year. The two 8th graders on the team, Landon Coleman and Cole Crahen, have been really good during this season, with Landon’s heavy top-spin and Cole’s outstanding defense. They are looking good and are likely to be stars on varsity once they reach that level.

Their first win came from their home opener against Williamsville North High School. They had a tough battle but came out on top, winning 3-0. A surprising factor of this match was the second-string team, which played against Will North’s first-string team and came out on top, 25-18, in that set. For the first-string, they played amazingly and showed that they can compete.

On the Varsity side, they are 12-3, beating some very strong teams. Their game against Frontier was a tough battle, going to 10:00 pm. They won 3-2 that game with an incredible score of 17-15 in the final set. They will still face many other strong teams, such as Penfield, in October. Fortunately, the team has a favorable schedule and could make another run this season. Noah Hanes is on NYSSPHA’s watchlist this season and has proved why he deserves to be there.  He has been outstanding on the court with Connor Dzierba as his setter. They are a powerful team, and so are many others, such as Cole Mack. He has been digging the ball left and right, setting up amazing plays for Connor and Noah. Maxx Hartling was leading every chance from the bench and was amazing during practice.

I interviewed Coach Hill and Connor Dzierba at the practice after their Frontier game. Coach Hill gave his thoughts on the game: “It was a hard-fought battle going to that match. We knew that it was gonna be a fight. You have two of the best teams in Western New York going at it. So it was everything I thought it was going to be last night.” Connor Dzierba also said that he is proud of the victory, “I thought the team and I played pretty well. I thought we definitely have room to improve blocking. But taking down the number two team in Western New York and keeping our one seed feels good, and I think we've got a lot, a lot to go. A lot of work to do.”

Their first loss came from Lancaster, losing 3-1, but they fought hard until the end. A notable player who showed up during that match was Cole Mack. He was diving everywhere on the floor and had some amazing serves. Another player was Maxx Hartling, who stepped up in the fourth set and had an amazing block.

Overall, the boys' volleyball teams have been working hard and putting in the effort on the court. The next varsity game is this week in the Clarence High School gym. Show up and cheer on the Red Devils!!