This fall, the boys volleyball team has been off to a pretty good start that they look to ride into the playoffs. This has come as a surprise to some because the Vikings have a lot of new names on the team this year, as many former stars have graduated from Schreiber. This includes All Conference players Zachary Tessler and Addison Chromy.
However, Port has some returning stars as well, like senior outside hitter Alex Milner and senior libero Griffin Marvin. Last season, Milner earned All Conference honors for his efforts, while Marvin was awarded All County for his season. Other stars like senior outside hitter Jacob Aponte have led the Vikings throughout this season while earning a spot on the Newsday Top 50. Players like senior Izaias Clemmons and junior Charlie Byers have also become integral parts of this year’s team.
“On the team, we weren’t assigned specific team captains. However, this environment kind of makes everyone a captain, as we all have the responsibility to push each other to the limit at every game and practice. I believe that this really brings us together as a team because it is a great form of team bonding,” said sophomore and member of the team Demir Yavuzyilmaz.
The Vikings are coming off a disappointing season last year, as they finished last in their conference. The Vikings ended up falling to third placed Jericho in the quarter finals, ending their season early. However, Port was ready for the new season and out for revenge, as they dominated Jericho in their season opener, easily sweeping them to take the 3-0 victory and starting their season at 1-0.
“To us this game was important because they eliminated us last year, but we went in with the mindset of it being a normal game, and I think that is what helped us achieve the win,” said senior Izaias Clemmons.
Unfortunately, Port began to lose some steam after the win, as they dropped their next four matches. This slide started with a loss at Great Neck South, as the Vikings suffered a 3-1 defeat, followed by a 3-0 sweep at the hands of Massapequa. The Vikings then traveled to Syosset, where they lost 3-1 before a sweep at home against Plainview-Old Bethpage.
The Vikings sat at a disappointing 1-4 after this slide, but they finally seemed like they were starting to right the ship after sweeping Jericho 3-0 in another playoff rematch. However, two more consecutive losses to Great Neck South and Massapequa curbed their momentum, as the Vikings fell to 2-6. Port secured their third victory of the season after dominating and sweeping Syosset 3-0 before dropping a close one to Plainview-Old Bethpage by a score of 3-2.
Port currently sits at 3-7, a decent record. The Vikings will continue their season when they take on Jericho at home, before traveling to Great Neck South. Port will follow that up with another away game, at Massapequa. The Vikings will then close out their season against Syosset and Plainview-Old Bethpage at home. Right now, the boys sit at fifth in their conference, comfortably three games above sixth place Jericho, but still two games behind Syosset.
“Our last few regular season games are coming up, and we’re aiming to keep improving our playoff seeding. Over our last few practices, we have been focusing on things that have been costing us games all season. I think if we all come together and push hard, we can have a lot of momentum and a good matchup going into the playoffs,” said Yavuzyilmaz.
This puts the Vikings in a position where they will have to play very well for the rest of the season to improve their playoff seeding, but if they are able to pick up some momentum towards the end of their regular season, they might be able to pull off a huge run in the playoffs that could lead to a county title.