Hills Boys Volleyball Makes Quick Work of 0-12 Connetquot, moves to 12-0

Records: HHH (12-0 overall), Connetquot (0-12 overall)

The Heroes: Today, the everyday heroes middle Chris Kaimis and middle Mike DeGrazia didn't disappoint. The two combined for a total of 33 kills; Kaimis with 18 and DeGrazia with 15. They both also had 5 blocks each.

In this four-game match, however, the real hero today was the starting setter Remy Janco. Janco helped Hills to go on a pivotal run in the 4th game, eventually leading to a Hills victory. Remy had a grand total of 46 assists, on a day Janco said he was “feeling it.” The 46 assists was a game high and a fantastic individual stat for the Hills setter.

Another key component to the Hills victory today came from the Libero on the team, Cody Lao. Lao provided an amazing 12 digs on the day, a personal high for him.

The Turning Point: In this mostly one-sided contest, Hills dominated pretty much the entire match. Hills won the first game by 9 points, 25-16, won the second game by 14, 25-11, but then lost the third game 21-25. In the third game, Hills underestimated Connetquot's skill, and played lazier than usual, resulting in the loss.

This was a wake-up call for Hills, “...to never slack off during the game, play the game we are good at, and we will win,” as Luke Birnbaum put it.

Hills woke up in the last game,  going on an 11-0 run to start. Then Connetquot called a timeout, and seemed very enthusiastic about getting back out onto the court, and they wanted to prove a point on the next play.

After an extended rally with great play from both sides, Connetquot bumped, set, and spiked the ball right in front of the Hills superstar Chris Kaimis. With Connetquot all fired up, looking like they were ready to win the game, Kaimis was filled with rage and in the following play, spiked the ball down with extreme velocity, shocking the opposing team. Kaimis screamed and threw his hands up, staring down the Connetquot players. Hills went on to completely dominate game four, winning 25-5. 

Key Stat: Lao provided an amazing 12 digs, his personal high. A dig is where the opposing team strikes a powerful spike straight down, and a player from the other team dives and bumps to save the rocketed ball. Lao’s 12 digs took away the excitement and momentum from Connetquot’s players by saving a very hard hit ball, actually giving the confidence to Hills, rather than to Connetquot.

The Quote: Jordan Flerx, a right side hitter on Hills had this to say about the rest of the season and playoff time: "At this point, we honestly cannot look ahead. The season isn’t over and we have to focus on finishing the remaining games strong, and proving a point to our competitors. But when the time does come for playoffs, Hills will be ready, don’t worry about that.”

It sounds like a very confident team heading toward the end of the regular season.

The Bottom Line: The bottom line is that with only two games left before playoffs begin, Hills has to maintain what they’ve been doing for the past 12 games: play smart, play good team volleyball, and get the win. As Luke Birnbaum put it, “Every practice we give 110%. We work almost everyday to improve our games. We’ve been getting better every game and it certainly shows with our record now.” If Hills can maintain that work ethic, expect the team to go to the County Finals for the second straight year, and perhaps make it to States.

Who’s Next?  Hills will be traveling away to Lindenhurst, currently in second place in League I behind Hills. The game is on Friday, October 29th, at 5:45 PM. Expect a good match folks. 

Box Score: 

Hills (W)            25                25              21                25

Connetquot       16                 11              25                  5