By Kyle Kondor
Until this year, Hopewell Valley Central High School had never had a boys volleyball program since the school was first established in 1907.
Little did they know, that club would turn into an inaugural boys volleyball season at HVCHS, and one that would also lead to a chance at winning the New Jersey state tournament.
Although the team fell short in states, losing a home match to Piscataway 2-0 on May 20, the season still has to be considered a rousing success for the fledgling program.
Last summer, David Howell, father of brothers Pat and Darin Howell, had an idea to start a weekly volleyball club that would also work as a clinic for students at HVCHS whom were interested in the sport.
“At first, we just expected the club to be an opportunity for us to work on our skills,” said Pat Howell, a junior. “We had no idea we were actually going to field a team.”
David Howell was a volleyball player at Syracuse during the 1980’s, and his sons had participated in several volleyball clubs and played for multiple teams since they were 10 years old.
This volleyball-enthused family faced the issue of recruiting at least 10 members to join their club at HVCHS, which is the minimum number of students that was required for them to start the club.
In the midst of a state championship football season at the school that also flourishes in sports such as soccer and basketball, volleyball appeared to be the last sport on the minds of the HVCHS student-athletes. But with the help of fliers and HVCHS athletic director Tripp Becker, who had previously worked at other schools with varsity volleyball programs, the club saw a turnout of about 14 students early on in the school year.
At that point, the boys volleyball club was a coach away from becoming an official athletic program. Becker had his sights set on Joe Schweitzer to fill the coaching vacancy.
Schweitzer has more than 30 years of experience within the game. At the time he was coaching at a recreational volleyball club in West Windsor. But Schweitzer had undergone a shoulder surgery in October and told Tripp Becker he could not make the commitment.
“I thought it would be best for them to find a coach who was actually capable of hitting a ball and so forth,” Schweitzer said. “But I promised Tripp that I would not let the program fail, and that if worse came to worse I’d do it.”
Ultimately, Schweitzer accepted the job just weeks before the season that was set to begin on April 2. In the meantime, the Howell brothers had continued to recruit new players.
Since height is a key component at any level in volleyball, they went after some of the school’s tallest athletes, including two who had played for the Bulldogs’ basketball team in the winter: 6-foot-1 Ben Matheney and 6-foot-7 Ollie Oshman.
The HVCHS boys volleyball program would eventually be made up of 18 student-athletes, enough for both a varsity and junior varsity team. Pat and Darin Howell were the only players on the team with any volleyball experience prior to the club they started.
The Bulldogs would lose their first game to a Ridge High School program that finished just 6-13 in 2013.
“Volleyball is one of the hardest games to pick up and learn,” coach Joe Schweitzer said. “We had the size and athleticism, but we had to overcome a steep learning curve.”
The Bulldogs seemed to be naturals, though, and went on to win six of their next seven games, earning them a spot in The Star-Ledger top 20 teams in the state. They defeated programs that had been around for years, such as Hillsborough, Woodbridge and Watchung Hills.
“After that first loss, Coach told us to focus on our strengths,” Pat Howell said. “We learned to just have fun on the court and stop worrying about our inexperience.”
Pat Howell was the setter on the team and the only underclassmen in the Bulldogs’ starting line-up. He was joined by his brother Darin, Kieran Ahluwalia, Daniel Kling, Jared Scott, Andrew Hunt, Eli May, Miguel Moledo, Matheney and Oshman.
There was very little experience between the six of them, but their size and passion was enough to earn the team a spot in the state tournament with a 9-8 final regular season record.
“The boys played really well and beat teams that didn’t realize how good we were,” Schweitzer said.
Alas, the HVCHS boys volleyball postseason would be short-lived, as they were defeated by Piscataway High School in the first round of the state tournament on May 20. Despite the fact that the season ended abruptly for a Bulldogs team that was full of seniors, it is believed that players such as Darin Howell and Oshman will try to continue playing volleyball at the college level.
Pat Howell may be the only starter returning to the HVCHS boys volleyball team next year, but the junior led the team in assists, aces, service points and blocks, and is confident that the program will continue to flourish.
“I think after heavy recruiting next year we can still be successful,” Howell said. “I want to be able to come back after I graduate and see my old team winning state championships.”
Hopewell Valley’s Ben Matheney looks to score a point at home against Piscataway High May 20, 2014 in a state tournament game. HoVal lost the match, 2-0 (28-26 and 25-23). (Staff photo by Joe Emanski.),
