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Aug 04, 2023

Previewing boys HS volleyball fall seasons in New York, Virginia, Wisconsin

Summer has come to an end and everyone is gearing up for boys club season. Well, not in New York, Virginia, and Wisconsin. These states start high school season in the fall. After season is completed

Summer has come to an end and everyone is gearing up for boys club season.

Well, not in New York, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

These states start high school season in the fall. After season is completed in November the athletes will go play club from December to July.

As long as five years ago it was rare to see an athlete from New York (there were some, of course, including USA star Matt Anderson from Buffalo), Virginia or Wisconsin land on a top-level NCAA team, but that is changing.

New York runs high school volleyball like no other state. There is a group of schools that play in the fall and some programs play in the spring. The fall season should be competitive.

On the western side of the state Orchard Park, East Aurora, St. Joeseph’s, and Frontier are the contenders.

In the east the top teams are Shenendehowa, Bethlehem, and Columbia. In Division 2, Burnt Hills has been dominating for years and is favored.

Western New York top teams1. Orchard Park2. East Aurora3. St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute4. Frontier High School5. Clarence High School6. West Seneca West High School7. Canisius High School8. Grand Island High School9. Eden High School10. Hamburg High School

2022 WNY final standings1. East Aurora2. Orchard Park3. Lancaster4. Grand Island5. Canisius6. St. Joseph’s7. Frontier8. West Seneca East9. Eden10. Williamsville East

Top players in Western New York1. Evan Hernadez, S/OPP, Orchard Park2. Mikey Bleech, OH, Frontier3. Drew Bowman, S, Orchard Park4. Brady Bowman, OH, Orchard Park5. Ben Walczak, OPP, Clarence6. Matt Anzalone, OH, St. Joseph’s 7. Jonas Drum, MB, Hamburg8. Ethan Skalski, OH, West Seneca East9. Nate Roorbach, S, East Aurora 10. Joe Veal, MB, Sweet Home 11. Josh Rauch, L/OH, Orchard Park

Western New York analysis

Orchard Park is the three-time defending ECIC and Class A Sectional champs. After losing Matt Zion (all WNY/All State player), the Quakers will turn to a large group of experienced seniors to keep their championship streak alive.

Keep a close eye on East Aurora. Coming off a Section VI Class B championship, they will look to continue their hold on the top WNY ranking.

Frontier is coached by Nick Penberthy and his Falcons will be led by senior outside hitter Mikey Bleech, who is surrounded by a core of young talented players.

Clarence is expected to contend with Frontier and Orchard Park for both the ECIC Division title; as well as the Class A sectional title. They have an excellent young squad, led by senior Ben Walczak.

Coach Mark Anzalone’s squad at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute has been close to taking the parochial school championship (Monsignor Martin League) for the past few years, trying to overtake Canisius High School. This may be the year when the Marauders finally beat their crosstown Catholic school rival. The team will be led by the son of the coach, Matt Anzalone, who is their primary passer and attacker.

Eastern New York top teams 1. Shenendehowa2. Bethlehem3. Burnt Hills4. Columbia5. Shaker6. Saratoga

2022 ENY finishes

Division I (large school)1. Shenendehowa (state champions)2. Bethlehem (lost in 5 in Section II finals)3. Columbia (lost in 4 to Bethlehem in semis)4. Saratoga Springs (swept by Shenendehowa in semis)5. Niskayuna6. Shaker7. Guilderland8. Colonie

Division II (small school)1. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake2. Christian Brothers AcademyDue to size qualifications, these two teams always meet in Division II finals; Burt Hills has been crowned champion every year. CBA has boys’ volleyball since the 2019 season.

Top high school players in Eastern NY1. Cade Allen, OH, Bethlehem2. Nick Bocketti, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake3. Evan Devine, MB, Shenendehowa4. Jackson Gray, MB/OPP, Bethlehem5. Cody Gladding, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake6. Anthony Guetti, OPP/S, Shenendehowa7. Peter Krackeler, OH, Saratoga8. Brendan Kurimsky, OH, Columbia9. Adrian Lopez, L, Bethlehem10. Anthony McLaighlin, OPP/MB, Columbia11. Braeden Mochrie, S, Shenendehowa12. Joe Monserrat, S, Bethlehem13. Luke Saubier, MB, Bethlehem14. Ben Sorrentino, S, Bethlehem15. Ethan Solomon, Guilderland16. Ryan Spain, Niskayuna17. Johnny Uzzilia, S, Guilderland18. Bennett Wilson, OH, Shenendehowa

New York boys volleyball historyBoys volleyball in the Rochester area had its birth in the 1970s with a “Metro League” started by Penfield, Spencerport, McQuaid, and a few other area high schools. Section V Championships began in the late 1970s, followed by Monroe County starting its own league in 1984 as a winter sport, but moved to the fall by the end of that decade.

New York State began championships between four sections (Long Island, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo) in the 1980s. In 2010, New York State formalized an official state tournament date inviting winners from four regional sites to compete in a round-robin and elimination tournament.

Two state championships are up for grabs.

There will be more than 40 teams in Classes 5 and 6 that will be chasing a Class 6 state title. There are 26 programs from the Eastern part of the state competing for a Class 4 championship.

The majority of the 2022 first- or second-team All-Tidewater recipients have graduated, so there will be many opportunities for new individuals and teams.

Kellam, which has no seniors, and Ocean Lakes are two of the top teams competing for a state title.

Kellam is led by juniors Bennett Barco, Joel Eanes, Kyle Duong, Austin Makovec and Conor Sledge. Eanes has been invited to some NTDP camps and is recognized as one of the top players in the state.

“Our state has a ton of committed athletes that have a strong desire to grow the game. Every year more guys are playing,” Eanes said. “The 2023 season should be exciting with a good amount of teams competing for a state title.”

Ocean Lakes, 21-3 last year, is led by setter Donovan Velazquez, opposite Vicent Yi and outside Barrett Scharfe. Indian River, Granby and First Colonial could all be in the mix.

Many of the high school athletes play club.

“With a ton of graduating talent in 2022, particularly in Class 5A, the path to a VHSL state championship appears to be as wide open as it has been in a long time,” said Coastal boys club director David Arnette, who has a keen interest in the high school season. “There will be a lot of great battles this season as new impact players break onto the scene and teams full of new starters learn to work together.

“It will be fun to see which of the top 10-15 teams separate themselves from the pack and make the State tournament.”

There are 70 boys teams in Virgina, but only from schools around Hampton Roads and Richmond. The western part of the state does not sanction it, nor does northern Virginia, although that area has supporters (https://www.novaboysvb.org/case).

Top teams in Virginia1. Kellam2. Ocean Lakes3. Indian River4. Granby5. First Colonial6. Cape Henry7. Norview8. Warwick9. Western Branch10. Great Bridge11. Maury12. Princess Anne13. Norfolk Christian14. Denbig15. Hickory

2022 All-State ReturnersJoel Eanes (Kellam, Hampton Roads, 2nd Team 5A)Ajaye Davis (King’s Fork, Hampton Roads, 2nd Team 4A)Duke Flanagan (Patrick Henry, Richmond, 1st Team 4A)Ci Gading (Churchland, Hampton Roads, 2nd Team 4A)Wesley Graves (Thomas Dale, Richmond, 1st Team 5A)Davian Hugh (Great Bridge, Hampton Roads, 1st Team 4A)Jason Matthews (Patrick Henry, Richmond, 1st Team 4A)Stephen Matthews (Patrick Henry, Richmond, 1st Team 4A)Robbie Seifert (Hanover, Richmond, 2nd Team 4A)

Other top playersAJ Angeles, S, GranbyKeegan Anuar, OH, MauryNathan Amos, OH, HickoryCJ Coleman, OH, Norfolk ChristianCharlie Cooper, S, Great BridgeNate Duff, L, First ColonialJoel Eanes, OPP, KellamZach Hamilton, OH, CoxJuelz Knight, OH, Norfolk ChristianMaciej Majcherczyk, OH, Princess AnneZach Mendoza, L, MauryRyan Pecora, M, KempsvilleHolden Pentecost, OH, First ColonialDaniel Smith, OH, GranbyBrady Spicer, OPP, CoxOwen Summers, OH, First ColonialAJ Todl, OPP, Cape Henry.Donovan Velazquez, S, Ocean Lakes.Elijah Woods, OH, Hickory.

2022 ResultsClass 5A State TournamentChampion, Glen AllenRunner-up, James RiverSemifinalist, Deep RunSemifinalist, Thomas DaleQuarterfinalist, Indian RiverQuarterfinalist, First ColonialQuarterfinalist, GranbyQuarterfinalist, Norview

Class 4A State TournamentChampion, Patrick HenryRunner-up, Maggie WalkerSemifinalist, MatoacaSemifinalist, MonacanQuarterfinalist, Great BridgeQuarterfinalist, WarwickQuarterfinalist, DenbighQuarterfinalist, King’s Fork

Wisconsin club volleyball programs have had a lot of success at recent national tournaments. That includes Milwaukee Sting and Milwaukee Volleyball Club, who have won medals at the national level and done a good job of preparing players for their high school seasons.

At the USA All-Star tournament, the Badger Region Boys won the 2022 gold medal. The 2023 Boys U19 team finished in fourth place and finished with the most sets played out of any team in the tournament. The boys’ U17 team finished in sixth place and was one set win away from making it to the four-team gold bracket. The Badger Region athletes play for eight different high school teams, so the talent is spread out.

JW Kieckhefer of Carthage College also coaches at Milwaukee Volleyball Club.

“Boys volleyball is one of the fastest growing sports in the country and that is also the case here in Wisconsin,” Kieckhefer said. “We have some exciting talent throughout the state and across all classes from freshmen to seniors. The depth of talent and drive of our student-athletes will create competitive matches every night.

“I am excited to continue to watch the progress of these young men and proud of the strides Wisconsin has made in our sport.”

Wisconsin boasts 65 programs at the varsity level this season and 12 are a “co-op” between multiple high schools, which means that there are 77 high schools represented among all programs in the state.

The field has a couple of returning perennial powerhouses in Catholic Memorial (2022 state champion), Marquette, Arrowhead, Middleton, and Appleton North. The top rosters have lots of depth. Not just four or five guys who can carry a high school team, but nine or 10 athletes who can help allow teams to make a deep run-in weekend tournaments and state tournament playoffs. Sectional No. 4 in the state tournament is going to be competitive. It includes Arrowhead, Sussex Hamilton, Germantown, Cedarburg, and Pewaukee.

Why play in the fall?The boys’ season is played in the fall for two primary reasons: The weather and gym space. You cannot trust a Wisconsin spring. There is snow on the ground in late April and early May. Spring sports need gym space in the spring because they can’t go outside. Many schools only have one gym. It works out best to have the boys and girls share the gym in the fall when no other indoor sports are going on at that time.

When did the sport get sanctioned?The sport was sanctioned dating back to 1947 in Wisconsin. In the 1980s, due to the rise of football and balance with female sports, boys’ volleyball was cut. It was still played under the umbrella of a different governing body known as WISAA (Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association). It wasn’t until the fall of 2000 that the WIAA sanctioned volleyball again. Because of that 20-year gap, many of the schools that once offered volleyball didn’t return, especially the smaller schools in the state.

Preseason Top 101. Catholic Memorial2. Marquette3. Arrowhead4. Hamilton5. Middleton6. Appleton North7. Franklin8. Germantown9. Wauwatosa East10. Kettle Moraine

Top Players for the 2023 SeasonMax Bayer (Sussex Hamilton), 2024Jade Breckheimer (Kaukauna), 2024Vinny Coello (Catholic Memorial), 2024 (player of the year, committed to Pepperdine)Hudson Dresen (Union Grove), 2024Ambrose Engling (Middleton), 2024 (committed to Princeton)Jack Fitterer (Marquette), 2024Ethan Jetzer (South Milwaukee), 2024Brady Koester (Kimberly), 2024Logan Mainka (Pewaukee), 2025Will Mathison (Kettle Moraine), 2024Matteo Morgano (Sussex Hamilton), 2024Nate Olson (Franklin), 2024Dane Turner (Wilmot), 2024Miles Von Rueden (Marquette), 2024

2022 Final Standings1. Catholic Memorial2. Arrowhead3. Marquette3. Appleton North5. Union Grove5. Wauwatosa East5. Middleton5. Franklin

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