After a run to the Section VI Class B-2 championship match last season, the Maryvale High School boys volleyball team had visions of similar success this season as well.
So far, so good.
The Flyers are flying high again this season and have hopes of improving on last year’s second-place finishes in both the division and section.
“We’re doing great,” said coach Jon Bednasz, who begins his second stint as the head man on the Flyers bench. “I think right now we’re meeting the expectations we set at the start of the year. The first goal is to win the division and basically we’re trying to get better and push towards a div title and sectionals.”
Maryvale moved to 10-1 overall and 6-1 in ECIC III with Monday’s sweep of Williamsville South in non-league action. The win was the eighth straight in dual match action for the Flyers, who also won the Cheektowaga Tournament on Sept. 16.
“We’re doing pretty well,” senior Jordan Nosal said. “Better than I expected after we lost some good teammates from last year’s team. Our offensive is really our main strength. Our defense is getting better but our offense has been really good.”
The offense revolves around Nosal, a fourth-year varsity player and co-captain. The outside hitter has excelled in all facets for Maryvale.
“He’s our best player,” Bednasz said. “There are matches where he just dominates and just takes over the match. Offensively, defensively, at the service line, at the net, he just does everything.”
Nosal serves as a co-captain along with classmate Nate Zawadzki, a first-team ECIC III all-star a year ago. Junior outside hitter Zach Amato was also a first-team ECIC I selection last season and senior middle blocker Zach Amato, a second-team division all-star in 2016. All have been a key part of the Flyers success.
As well as the Cheektowaga tourney title, which came with a championship match win over the rival Warriors, avenging its only loss of the season, Maryvale also had a respectable ninth-place finish in the prestigous 23-team Eden Tournament.
Bednasz, a 1993 Maryvale graduate and a member of the school’s Athletic Wall of Fame, has done well to start his second stint as the Flyers head coach. A year ago, the Flyers posted a 10-2 league record and second-place finish. Maryvale was swept by perennial powerhouse Eden in the sectional title match a year ago and would love another chance this season.
“We’re hoping to win in the sectional finals,” Nosal said. “It’ll be tough but we’ve been playing well.”
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