By Jim Hague
Observer Sports Writer
Kearny High School boys’ volleyball coach Bill Mullins summed it up perfectly.
“I think Kearny and Harrison should play in every sport,” said Mullins, who was the longtime boys’ basketball coach at the school. “It should be the favorite game of the year for the kids.”
It’s tough for the two neighboring schools to agree on a lot of things, but the coaches of the respective volleyball teams decided to schedule a game with each other.
The match took place last Saturday at Kearny, with the Kardinals emerging victorious by two set scores of 25-10 and 25-21.
It was a momentous victory for the home team.
“It was the first time we ever beat Harrison,” said Mullins, who has been the volleyball coach the last four years. Kearny has only had a boys’ team for the last seven years. “Harrison has been the premier program in the area. I told the kids that if they wanted to be good, then they have to beat Harrison. We were fortunate to beat them. We may get to play them again. This was just our day. Harrison has a solid team. They’re always tough.”
In fact, it marked the first time that both the Kardinals and Blue Tide had almost matching stellar records. The Kardinals, enjoying the best season in the brief history of the program, now own a 14-2 mark. The Blue Tide now owns an impressive 12-5 record.
“I have a good relationship with Nick (Landy, the Harrison head coach) and Anthony (Sabia, the assistant and junior varsity coach),” Mullins said. “I told our guys to go in and play their best and see what happens. I think it’s good to have a local rivalry like this. It’s a great rivalry.”
“It’s really good to play Kearny,” Landy said. “Billy and I go way back together. We’re trying to push this as a rivalry. It’s a friendly rivalry because the kids all know each other. We go to clinics together. We work together. Maybe someday, we’ll get the rivalry to the extreme that the soccer one is.”
The Blue Tide had been breezing through the season, getting some good wins, especially defeating perennial Hudson County powerhouse Bayonne for the very first time.
“We lost a lot of the offense we had last year,” said Landy, whose team won 17 matches last year and advanced two rounds in the NJSIAA state tournament. “I was a little bit nervous in the beginning of the season. We tried to concentrate on the offense, but it was tough to do. We did have two setters back with experience, but it was still hard.”
Sophomore Piotr Namiotko is the Blue Tide’s top returning player. The 6-foot-4 Namiotko had a sensational year as a freshman and has been moved to outside hitter this season.
Seniors Piero Martinez and Vinny Yoshimoto are the team’s two returning setters. Frank Contreras is a sophomore libero, but he injured his back and has been out of action.
Junior David Penaherrera was moved from libero to outside hitter.
“He’s really been like our utility guy,” Landy said. “He can play anywhere.”
Senior Ramon Madeira is the team’s opposite hitter. He was a mainstay in the Blue Tide’s rotation a year ago.
Senior Pedro Carvalho is the team’s new libero.
“He’s adapted pretty well to the role,” Landy said. “He’s a hard worker. We also move him around.”
Senior Anthony Williams is one of the team’s new middle hitters.
“He’s been a huge help,” Landy said. “He never played volleyball before and picked it up pretty well.”
Senior Rafael Diaz is another middle hitter. At 6-foot-5, Diaz has some good size at the net.
“He’s a big kid,” Landy said. “When he wants to hit it, he hits it pretty hard. It helps having size at the net, especially when there’s a double block. If you don’t have size, you can’t compete with the big teams.”
Sophomore Gerson Pachas is another opposite hitter.
“He’s improved greatly,” Landy said. “He’s surprised us.”
The Blue Tide will have to do some work to reach the finals of the Hudson County Tournament like they did a year ago.
“We should be seeded among the top four,” Landy said.
The Blue Tide remains in first place in the North Jersey Volleyball League-White Division.
“We still have a lot to play for,” Landy said. “We didn’t think we’d be this successful this year, but here we are.” Mullins has been graced by the play of senior middle hitter Doug Chemin.
“He’s very strong and one of the more powerful hitters,” Mullins said.
Junior Brian Rodriguez has been “one of the nicest surprises,” according to Mullins.
The Kearny volleyball team was flying high over the net during their match Saturday against Harrison.
“He has a lot of natural instincts,” Mullins said.
Joel Vivas, the basketball standout, is a mainstay on the volleyball court.
“He’s just a good athlete who can play both sports,” Mullins said. “I think he’s pretty equal between the two sports.”
Senior Matheus DeCastro is a “powerful player for us,” Mullins said.
“He’s solidly built and powerful,” Mullins added.
Senior Brian Fonseca is a strong setter and junior Gustavo Chemin, Doug’s brother, is an opposite hitter.
The libero is senior Matheus Oliveira, with senior Kevin Serrano seeing time at both libero and opposite hitter.
The win against Harrison has catapulted the Kardinals.
“We knew we had a pretty good team,” Mullins said. “But this win helps. It’s nice to see us gain a little confidence. Harrison is a very good win for us. We are getting much better each day. We’re trying to play smart and aggressively. I’m just hoping that they can keep trying to play that way.”
It’s good to have both local schools have success in one sport – and that those successful teams could face each other. It goes a long way to establish a sense of togetherness and camaraderie between the two schools and towns.
