Rebels are fast learners on the volleyball court
Marlboro continued its progress
BY TIM MORRIS
Staff Writer

The true test of the season for the Howell boys volleyball team was what happened when they stopped catching teams by surprise.

The Rebels, making their varsity debut this spring, got off to a fast start catching unexpected teams off-guard. Things would surely be different the second time around, when they were more prepared. But they weren't. The Rebels kept on winning, finishing the regular season 10-6 and qualifying for the state tournament.

"It was exciting, it was nice to be successful in our first year," said coach Jim Huebner. "Not much was expected from us, we were untested."

Untested, but talented, beginning with 6-foot-4 senior Mike Walsh, who provided the first-year program with a dominating force on the front line.

"He's athletic and our top spiker," said Huebner.

By season's end, junior Steve Sylvester, also 6-4, became a force of his own when he moved from middle to outside hitter.

Freshman Adam Feehan was the team's best all-around player and he improved with every match.

Seniors John Bunnicont and Joe Rattacasa played big roles this year - Bunnicont as the setter and Rattacasa as another finisher on the front line.

Junior Kevin Wilson was the team's defensive force.

What pleased Huebner the most was the way the team's underclassmen improved. They went from being led to making their own impact.

"Our senior leadership carried us through early on to wins, but as the season progressed our younger kids really developed," he pointed out. "We were getting more well-rounded as a team. I'm

excited about next year already."

If there one thing that Huebner would change about the season, it would be the team's loss in the first round of the NJSIAA Central-South sectional to Clearview. The Rebels won the fist game, 25-21, dropped the second 25-15 and lost a see-saw third game, 25-22.

"I'd like to have those last three points [of the third game]," he said. "It would have been nice to win a state playoff game."

Huebner knows that his Rebels can't stop working hard if they are to improve on this year's 11-8 record. He noted that many of his players will be going to camps and clinics over the summer.

"We need to continue to get better," he said. "We have to keep improving our skills and get better at passing. We'll need a dominant hitter because we're losing Walsh."

Marlboro returns to playoffs

Marlboro coach Margie McNamara had a hunch that two first-year seniors, Jordan Rappaport and Mike Borkin, could make a difference for the Marlboro boys volleyball team.

"They had raw talent," she said. "They had never played organized volleyball before."

The Mustangs, who went to the state playoffs in their first-ever varsity season, were in need of middle hitters, the players who can block from both sides as well being good setters.

Marlboro had graduated its middle hitters, but was strong everywhere else. What was missing was playmaking, the good sets that allow the front-line hitters to be offensive with their spikes, and not defensive.

The Mustangs struggled early in the season missing that play-making, but McNamara's hunch paid off. Overnight, it seemed, Rappaport and Borkin started to click, and the Mustangs suddenly had it all going for them.

They put the early season woes behind them and were able to become a better team that last year. The turnaround led to a return trip to the state playoffs. Something that was very big for them.

"I'm really proud of them," she said. "I'm so excited for them. We didn't play an easy schedule. It's baby steps when you are building a program, and getting to the states is important for a new program."

Veterans Matty Weinberg, a middle hitter, versatile Mike Kantor and setter Zach Sherman, all seniors, have been the Mustangs' leaders throughout the season.

The Mustangs fell to Washington Township, in two games, in their Central-South sectional match.