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Kennedy steals set but not match from number-one seed, Knights’ volleyball playoff run ends with quarterfinal loss
By Jason Eisenberg
May 18, 2011 -- The John F. Kennedy boys’ volleyball team had its work cut out for them when they stepped onto the court at York College for last Saturday’s quarterfinal playoff match against William C. Bryant. As New York City’s top-seeded team, Bryant went undefeated in league play, did not lose a single set along the way and only two opponents managed to even reach 20 points in a set against them during the season.
However, the ninth-seeded Knights have been nearly as impressive in their own right, also finishing the regular season without a loss, eliminating defending city champion Cardozo in the previous round of the playoffs and giving Bryant all it could handle on two separate occasions during non-league tournaments earlier in the year.
This time around, with a berth in the final four on the line, JFK did what no other team could do during league play -- steal a set against Bryant. Unfortunately, the local team was unable to repeat this feat again in the match, as the Knights followed up an impressive opening set victory by dropping the next two, and as a result were eliminated from title contention.
“My team did everything I said in the first set, we played good defense and blocked their best hitter. But then they stopped listening, as teenagers tend to do, and they could not mentally carry it through,” said JFK head coach Iris Bromfield. “It was still a very good season overall though. Everybody thought it would be Cardozo here in this spot instead of us, but I still would have really liked to win this one today.”
Kennedy actually struggled early in the first set and was down 10-3, prompting Coach Bromfield to take a timeout, but when the Knights came back out on the court, they looked like a completely different team. Led by strong blocking at the net from junior Michael Drame and senior Aboubacar Kaba, as well as multiple kills from senior Leudy Veras, JFK stormed back to claim eight of the next nine points and evened the score.
From there, the two sides alternated the next 10 points, with Bryant going ahead and Kennedy responding to tie it every time. Finally, the Knights went on top by a count of 17-16 -- their first lead of the match -- when Kaba made two straight blocks to earn the crucial point. JFK increased its advantage when senior Hansel Collado recovered a Bryant block with an impressive sliding dig and set up a kill by Veras that gave the Knights a 21-19 advantage. The local team went on to take four of the next five points and clinched a 25-20 first set win that fittingly ended with a block by Drame at the net.
The celebration would not last for long. After taking the opening point of the second set, JFK would give away 11 of the next 15 and allowed Bryant to take a commanding lead. While the Knights would temporarily get back within three points, Bryant proceeded to pull away shortly after and coasted to a 25-15 win that set up a decisive third set.
The winner-takes-all set would prove to be a back-and-forth affair with several shifts in momentum. JFK and Bryant split the first eight points, then the number-one seed went on top by four, but the Knights would quickly fight back to within one. Bryant again surged ahead, this time by five points, but Kennedy rallied to narrow the deficit to two. Unfortunately, 12-10 was the closest JFK would get the rest of the way. Admirable efforts from Drame, Veras and Collado, in particular, allowed the Knights to stay within striking distance right until the very end, but it would not be enough to avoid elimination, as Bryant survived the scare with a 25-19 third set victory.
“I would not really say it is disappointment I am feeling because we just wanted to play our game, do the best that we can, and that is what we did,” said Hansel Collado. “I think if we played them again, we could win, because they were beatable. We stopped communicating in the second and third set, and that is what killed us.”
Veras led the way with team-highs in kills (16) and digs (15), while Drame and Kaba both finished with five blocks. Libero Edmond Badu paced the squad with eight service points to go along with 10 digs, and Collado picked up 21 assists on the day. Angel Acosta had six service points, six digs as well as four kills, and Jeffry Feliz tallied three service points, three assists and four digs.
Six of these seven players that saw significant time in the match -- Veras, Kaba, Collado, Acosta, Badu and Feliz -- will be graduating, so Kennedy will have a vastly different look next season. Drame is the only starter from this year’s squad that will be returning, but he will be joined by several other current roster members -- like freshman Lamar Henry, sophomore Bryan Lantigua and junior Ulysses Hernandez -- that have already shown potential in supporting roles.
“This group of seniors has progressed, worked hard and accomplished a lot here the past few seasons. It is tough, I am losing almost everybody, but I feel like we will still come back strong next year,” said Coach Bromfield. “We are going to be very young, but I think many players are ready to step up and fill in the leadership holes, so I am very confident that we will be a good team again.”
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Senior setter Hansel Collado on missing time with appendicitis and ending his high school volleyball career:
“It was difficult to be out for the early part of my last season, but the team was still playing great ball and many guys stepped up, especially the freshmen. I had to take it slow when I got back in the lineup and now I feel like 100-percent just as the season is over, but it has been an awesome time the past few years on this team. Coach Bromfield really pushes us and she can be tough, but it has definitely made all of us better players.”
