Good Luck to everyone!
PRESEASON TOP 10
1. East Brunswick. The Bears, the returning state champions, will probably field their tallest team ever and will have a powerful offense.
2. St. Josephs. The Falcons will play an ambitious schedule that might include six meetings with East Brunswick.
3. Southern. The Rams lost a lot from last year's 40-1 team (their only loss came in the North/South final to East Brunswick) but have a cohesive group that worked hard, together, in the off-season, and have setter Steve Vaughan back. Middle Ken Connelly is one of the state's most improved hitters.
4. St. Peters. Last year's North champs have starters Al Yesneski and Miles McCann ready to lead another strong team.
5. Bayonne. The Bees, led by returning seniors Coco Ostorga, Krys Bogdan, and Danny Kochanski, should be a top contender in the North again.
6. Old Bridge. Setter Matt Guzzo and middle Davis Obi return to pace the Knights, who have become one of the state's top programs.
7. Don Bosco. Bosco has a tall, mostly junior lineup (setter Doug Battersby is 6-5) and may be a year away.
8. CBA. Another team with a very strong junior class, with Rob Dykeman the top senior starter.
9. Wayne Hills. Andrew Gross and Tyler DeBrody lead a team that was 14-8 last year and has five returning starters.
10. Moorestown. Skyler Heyman is one of the best setters in the state and the Quakers also have seniors Joe Aaron and Will Cosden back.
Teams to watch: (in no particular order - any of these teams, along with several others, may work their way into the top 10 as the season goes on.) Eastern, Fair Lawn, Livingston, South Brunswick, West Windsor South, Hillsborough, Clifton, Passaic Valley, Lakeland, Vernon, Wayne Valley, Bloomfield, Clearview.
PRESEASON ANALYSIS
The 2008 boys volleyball season in New Jersey starts this way: we have East Brunswick and St. Josephs at the top. It's likely one or the other is likely to finish the season as state champs. Right now, it seems unlikely either will be beaten by any team besides the other (and they may meet as many as SIX! times including on April 1, opening day, at East Brunswick).
But waiting to prove the two elite teams are beatable is a group of as many as 20 or more teams that are legitimate, top 10-quality teams. Right now, all are probably a level or two below the two Middlesex County giants, but any of them could improve and find a way to beat the Bears or Falcons.
And don't forget, many of those teams will have a chance to play in the state final, thanks to the North/South split of the state tournament. If East Brunswick and St. Joes are the top 2, they'd still meet in the South/Central final, with only one advancing to meet the North winner.
What makes East Brunswick and St. Joes so good?
Let's start with the defending state champion Bears. The Bears have three big-time weapons, seniors Christian Portera (left side) Alex Rigley (middle) and Mike Kvidahl (right side). And the rest of the hitters - Brian Murphy (left side), Greg Zegarek (left side or middle) and Rohan Patel (middle) are all solid. East Brunswick also has a tall (for them) setter, Andy Balint, who's 6-1 and has probably worked harder than any other setter in the state over the last year. Is there a weakness? A trademark for last year's state championship team (and East Brunswick over the years) has been passing on serve receive. Even with solid libero/back row specialists Ayan Ray and Ben Fan, this year's team doesn't pass nearly as well as last year's. Balint will probably be able to mask some of that, as will the big hitters. But the Bears might have some trouble against tough serves.
St. Joes, on the other hand, has Eddie Rossiter, who is probably the best passer in the state, and other players - Kyle Ditmars, Marcin Midura, defensive specialist Bryan Gilmartin - who are very solid passing. The Falcons will be similar to East Brunswick of last year in that department. And Midura, who moved to the US from Poland three years ago, seems ready to dominate. Last year, he struggled as he tried to fit in, both at school and on the team. That won't be the situation this year. The Falcons also have a top middle in Paul Konopacki, and two very good setters, Matt Furey and Steve Brandenburg, who both have experience.
So who'll win between the two teams on opening day and throughout the season? Don't expect either team to win every matchup. But with all that firepower, East Brunswick starts at the top. Ironically, the Bears might also be the team more likely to get tripped up by a different opponent during the season. Their hitting style is also more prone to errors, and the Bears might also have a problem on any given day because of their serve-receive. Meanwhile, the Falcons' strong passing will make them more consistant and less prone to a possible upset. And Midura could dominate a lot of teams.
SOME NOTES
THE RIGHT STUFF: The position with the most quality players in the state this year is probably right side hitter. In addition to Midura and Kvidahl, there's Jake Blicarz at St. Peters, Coco Ostorga at Bayonne, Matt Agnew at Fair Lawn, and Alister Matthews at Colts Neck.
FUTURE SHOCK: This year could be setting up something big for Don Bosco, who's starting lineup is almost all juniors. The junior class is very strong throughout the state, with many of the best teams represented. There's Balint and Kvidahl at East Brunswick, Mike Kucza at Bayonne, Steve Vahalla at Bloomfield, Kevin Froelich and Matt Fernandez at Lakeland, and Neal Slattery at CBA.
REBUILDING: Agnew is the only returning starter at Fair Lawn, a perennial state power (they lost a nail-biter to Bayonne in the North semis last year). The Cutters also have a strong junior class that will probably put them a year away from true contention in the North. Cherry Hill West is always in the hunt in South Jersey, but they also lost a lot to graduation.
WHO?: Glen DeMagalhaes is one of the state's best players, but may not get much recognition because his team, Newark Eastside, is unlikely to contend for any titles.
COUNTY RIVALRIES: Two of the state's county tournaments could provide competition as good as the state tournament. In Middlesex, East Brunswick and St. Josephs will likely meet somewhere, and Old Bridge, South Brunswick, and JP Stevens spice up the competition and will be looking to spring upsets. In Hudson County, St. Peters and Bayonne have quite a good rivalry going and will probably meet for the title, which could again be a preview of the state's North tournament final.
