Men’s Volleyball had their senior night last Monday to celebrate the players who will soon be graduating in the class of 2025: Zach Boczar, middle and defensive specialist; Jerry Dinan, libero and defensive specialist; and Ethan Seilback, middle hitter. The team had an exciting game taking on the Belair Bobcats in the den, bringing home an amazing win.
During the ceremony, each senior got their own personal moment in the spotlight escorted by their families. The cheerleaders were lined up along the sides showing support for the seniors as they walked out, and even performed their cheers on the sideline during the game. School mascot, Gar the Cougar, even made a special appearance, pepping up the crowd.
Ethan Seilback started the game with an ace, scoring 4 points off his serve which gave the Cougars the initial lead. By the end of the first set, the Cougars were up 25-20, giving them the momentum to persevere through the remainder of the match.
Towards the end of the second set, the score was 24-23 Fallston. The last time-out of the set was called; it was the Bobcats’ serve, which meant it was up to the Cougars to have a strong defense. With an assist from Junior Luke Price, Sophomore Jackson DeNichilo was able to spike the ball over, and fortunately for us, the Bobcats were not able to return the ball in three hits, advancing to the third – and what turned out to be final – set of the game.
In the third set, Jerry Dinan served a powerful ace that led to scoring the team 3 points. Later in the set, the scores were tied (23-23). Junior Alex Kegan served the ball, and after some rallying back and forth, Zach Boczar secured the 24th point for the team. Subsequently, Kegan ended the match on his game-winning serve.
As their final season slowly approaches the end, the seniors’ time on the team has not been wasted. According to Seilback, “The thing that I’ll miss the most is the chill atmosphere. Everyone is always joking around with each other, especially Coach Stew.” To Dinan, the most important part about being on the team, was “all the team chemistry we had and all the memories we made.”
From the start of their high school volleyball career, Coach Stewart has watched the players develop not only in skill, but also character. “My favorite part about watching these guys over the years is seeing these things all come together,” Coach Stew explains.
Whether you plan to try out for a high school team, or hope to play volleyball in the future, as stated by Boczar, the “the best advice I can give is try and get the basic skills down, and don’t be a jerk.” Which has proven to be true, by the sense of community the players have for one another witnessed at the game. Lastly for the seniors, Coach Stew offers some heartfelt advice to “set the bar high, you have already proved how far you can come in your 4 years of high school.”
