With three straight wins to open the season, including a straight-sets victory over then No. 6 ranked Livingston on Thursday, the Harrison boys volleyball team once again looks like a group capable of playing with anyone in the state.
But despite the start, which now has Harrison ranked No. 18 in the NJ.com Top 20, head coach Anthony Sabia doesn’t see a team that’s content, but rather, a group that feels it can play better than it has.
“They’re definitely not short on confidence, but I don’t think they even felt that they played that well (against Livingston),” Sabia said. “I felt that we played well in the Livingston match and I felt that Livingston also played well. But I think they felt like they could still play better.”
Despite not playing at peak ability yet, Harrison has shown that this year’s version is bigger and stronger than the last two years when the Blue Tide won the Hudson County title, but fell in the NJSIAA North, Group 1 finals.
Leading the Blue Tide’s balanced offensive attack early on is senior Alaittim DeLeon, who has emerged as one of the state’s top middles. The 6-foot-5 DeLeon leads the team in kills (23) and blocks (six).
“He’s been a force in the preseason and in the start of the regular season,” said Sabia. “He came into his own last season, but now he’s probably one of the more dynamic hitters in the state in terms of what he’s able to do with his height and his ability to hit from all different spots on the court.”
Frank Barrera was the other projected starter in the middle, but has been sidelined by injury. Fortunately for Harrison, senior Yusuf Mohamed has picked up the slack in Barrera’s absence with seven kills and five blocks.
At outside hitter is another returning starter in senior Yamil Espinoza, who has 16 kills and 13 digs. At the other outside spot is sophomore Ryan Manini, who also has 16 kills in his first season as a starter.
“When you see them, they’re not the tallest players in the gym, but both of them can get up in the air,” said Sabia. “Both of them really provide a spark when they get a kill.”
Harrison received a massive boost this offseason with the arrival of Jonathan Petrillo, a transfer from Kearny. The 6-foot-3 junior opposite has added a new dimension to the Blue Tide lineup, posting 22 kills, 12 digs and five blocks.
“He’s another imposing presence,” Sabia said. “He gets up in the air and he is another one that can hit from all three positions on the court during the preseason. He is able to hit out of the middle, he’s able to set, he does a lot. He’s also one of the hardest hitters on the team.”
Setting things up for them has been senior Jeremy Rivera, a returning starter at setter and in Sabia’s eyes, an unsung hero for this group.
“We’ve been so lucky over the last 10 years really to have setter after setter that comes in the gym and just makes us better. You almost don’t realize it’s happening because it’s almost automatic,” said Sabia about Rivera, who has 73 assists. “We’ve had a run of setters that just find ways to turn lemons into lemonade constantly. Jeremy’s just another one in the line of great setters that we’ve had over the years. He does an amazing job.”
On the backline, senior Brayan Andrade leads the team with 30 digs in his second season as the starting libero, while sophomore Jose Jacome has 10 as the defensive specialist.
Seniors Josue Samayoa Aiden Silva also see time as a defensive specialist. Senior Wagner Ribeiro and David Renderos are in the mix at opposite, junior Pedro Quezada is a reserve hitter, and senior Diego Copello is the backup at setter.
Harrison looks to continue its winning ways with NJIC National Division matchups with Secaucus on Tuesday and at North Arlington on Thursday before traveling to perennial Hudson County contender Bayonne on Friday.
Highly anticipated matchups against No. 5 Bridgewater-Raritan (May 6) and at No. 4 Fair Lawn (May 9) and No. 14 Garfield (April 24) await. In addition, Harrison will travel to Rhode Island for a tournament on April 26 and will host its own tournament on May 3.
“When we know that we have the horses, we never felt it was the right move to hide from the better competition,” Sabia said. “We might end up taking a loss or two against one of these better teams, but we’re hoping that it pays off for us in the long run.”
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)