After sophomore Micah Goldrich jumps in the air to spike the ball and win the point against the Melvin J. Berman Cougars, his teammates cheer him on and take turns giving him high fives. This season is Goldrich’s first time playing on a volleyball team, and his plays on the court showcase his improvement. Goldrich said he felt proud to finally win against the Cougars, after many losses to Berman during his time on the varsity basketball team.
On March 26, the boys varsity volleyball team played the Cougars at home and won three consecutive sets to maintain their perfect record this season. Their current season record is 4-0, and they hope to continue the winning streak for the rest of the season.
The game started off close, with captain and junior Boaz Dauber hitting five serves, including three aces, to put the Lions up 8-3. Captain and sophomore Grady Goldstein, sophomore Micah Goldrich and senior Todd Lazoff helped lead the team to victory with multiple unreturnable bump, set and hit sequences during the game.
“I think our game sense has gotten a lot better,” Dauber said. “I think at the beginning of the season…we [had] a lot of players getting lost when they were playing and I think we’re getting a lot better at that.”
There are six players on the volleyball team this year that have never played before. Playing in these games gives them a chance to strengthen their skills and learn the flow of the game.
“I came into the season not knowing anything,” Goldrich said. “I didn’t know how to play volleyball or anything. So just being able to play and being able to know what to do, that’s how far I’ve come honestly.”
There were several long rallies in the first set. Goldstein, as libero, was able to bump the ball, allowing his teammates to set it and hit it with enough force to make it hard for Cougars to return it. The Lions closed out the first set 25-14, after Goldstein’s three subsequent serves.
To start off the second set, Lazoff hit seven straight serves before the Cougars managed to get the ball back. The Lions started this set 7-0, however Berman put up a fight in this set, and the Lions fought long rallies to stay on top.
During one of these rallies, senior Todd Lazoff came in clutch for his team with a kicking save, getting the ball back over the net. From there, the Lions dominated the rest of the set, ending on top 25-17.
As the Lions headed confidently into the third set, the Cougars did not give up. The set began with the Cougars up by one point with a score of 4-3. However, soon after the Lions took back the lead as a result of a series of spikes by Goldrich and Lazoff.
“I’ve been practicing [spiking] a lot and it’s pretty much my main job on the team,” Goldrich said. “It’s very fulfilling to be able to do that after lots of practice.”
Throughout the set, the Cougars could not stop the Lions from getting ahead. JDS soon gained momentum, and as they were up 20-12, the coaches subbed in multiple freshmen who are new to the game, giving them the opportunity to get playing time. The set ended with junior Netanel Bitton, Lazoff and junior Ari Kittrie’s successful bump-set-hit play.
Assistant coach Aaron Weiss was extremely proud of his team’s performance in the game. He thought that they put in their best effort as well as applied skills they have learned throughout the season.
“I feel great about how the game went,” Weiss said. “The boys stayed focused, tried their hardest communicating with each other and had a good time.”
Weiss has had a lot of fun coaching the team and watching them grow as players and as a team. He has enjoyed introducing the new players to this sport and coaching them as they improve. The team has seven more games left in the regular season, with the next one on April 1 against the Rochambeau French International School.
“I think that these kids have grown closer to each other which I love to see,” Weiss said. “…I’m excited to see how much further they can go and how much further we all can go together.”
