Boys Volleyball Preview: Players Set to Spike Their Way to Success in Upcoming Season

Sydney Wright and Amelia Kolbik

March 27, 2024

Last year’s Boys Volleyball team (pictured) enjoyed an impressive 24-5 season record. For this year’s team, winning the NJAC Championships for the third year in a row is a goal as well as making it to state finals for the first time. The season opener is on Monday, April 1, against Morristown.

Following last year’s 24-5 record, the Randolph Boys Volleyball team hopes to three-peat as NJAC champions and have a successful year. The team is looking to new and old faces to bring potential and talent to this year’s roster.

“Winning the NJAC Championships for the third year in a row is a goal, as well as making it to state finals, which this program has not yet done,” Head Coach Eric Novack said of the team’s goals for the season. The players are also hoping to gain more popularity as a volleyball team and get Randolph noticed as a top contender in the program.

Returning senior Hunter Kasper plans to use his leadership role to build a winning culture for the team. Last season, Kasper earned 103 kills and 137 serving points along with an All-Conference Honorable Mention.

“[My goal is to] hold players accountable for their effort on and off the court and being effective and intentional with all our practices throughout the season,” Kasper explained.

The team lost a large chunk of talented players to last year’s graduation, including Jonas Covalesky, Joshua Barrett, Chris Lagomarsino and Dan Piatek.

“We have already been preparing by going to the weight room and having the kids play at local clubs when they can,” Novack commented.

Junior captain Kevin Tinio said he plans to prepare for the upcoming season by “going to the court as much as I can and practicing with my teammates to build the chemistry early.”

Returning seniors are Kasper, Marko Aksentijevic and Ramon Fernandez. Junior players are Tinio, Thomas LaDieu and Jayden DeCarvalho.

New to the varsity team are senior Michael Barrera, juniors Daehan Jo, Nicholas Hart and Cole Cantada. Gabriel Sherwood, Ben Barninger and Aeden Perez complete the sophomore roster. Jan Rostek is the only freshman to make the varsity cut.

“It’s all about having certain kids step up and rise to the occasion. I am excited to see who that will be this year,” Novack said.

The captains for this season are Tinio, DeCarvalho and Kasper.

The boys open their season against Morristown High School at 3:00 p.m. on Monday, April 1.

About the Contributors

Sydney Wright, Sports Editor

Junior Sydney Wright is so excited to be working as a Sports Editor in her second year on staff for Rampage. She is also enrolled in Mrs. Finnell's Journalism 2 class this year. Sydney is a member of the Girls Swim team for Randolph and swims on a club team as well.

Amelia Kolbik, Sports Editor

Junior Amelia Kolbik is excited to be a Sports Editor and third-year staff member for Rampage. Not only does she write and edit for Rampage, but she is also enrolled in Mrs. Finnell's Journalism 2 class. In school, Amelia is part of Key Club, Future Educators and Team Harmony. She also participates in Girls Soccer, Ice Hockey and Lacrosse for Randolph.

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