Josh Goldenberg and Noah Shelton Sports Reporters
United We Win
Continuing a recent trend, the South boys volleyball team is experiencing another successful season. This season, however, could prove to be the most dominant in the program’s illustrious history. As of May 11, the Lions are ranked #1 in Massachusetts, while participating in one of the most competitive conferences in the state. The team is sporting a 150 record in matches and has a set record of 441. No opponent has been able to take the Lions to a full five sets so far this season. Like many of the teams at South, the Volleyball team strives for success and does many team building activities. Captain Jared Chin explains that the gatherings are simple. “We had nights where we would go to someone’s house for dinner and watch some volleyball”. Sophomore Eli Braginsky believes that the camaraderie of the team comes more naturally than one might think. “We’ve done stuff like go out to lunch as a team and have team dinners, but I think we just have great team chemistry,” Braginsky said. Junior Tomer Keren says that one of the most effective ways to get better has been to watch hours of film. “We have a lot of team meetings and team dinners. We watch college volleyball games and videos of ourselves playing, so we can see what mistakes we made,” Keren said. One asset of the team coach Todd Elwell has been most impressed with has been the health of the program overall, both boys and girls included. “ The girls will volunteer to help with the boys' program,” Elwell said. “You get some managers that help with the fundamentals and help with the organization piece.” Chin stated that one of the biggest reasons for success has been the leadership of the team overall. “All three captains have stepped up to help lead the team,” Chin said. Braginsky agreed, but not before adding that younger players on the team have also stepped up as leaders. “The captains have been great this year and lots of other guys on the team are good leaders as well, so the team is always going in a positive direction,” Braginsky said. The team has come so far so fast, but players like Keren believe that slowing down now could set back the team. “We all set a very high goal and we will do anything it takes to go as far as possible, even if it means to practice seven days a week,” Keren said. Keren also added that though there is some inexperience on the team, more weathered players have taken on the role of teacher. “We have some great athletes on the team that have never played volleyball until this season,” Keren said. “ I noticed that the more experienced players helped a lot by slowly teaching them one by one the right techniques.” As far as what the team accomplished during the offseason, Elwell was encouraged with the team’s preparation leading up to this season. “[This year], players [were] going out and finding good coaches or good clinics or good camps to develop their fundamentals,” Elwell said. During the regular season however, it comes down to the intangibles, according to Braginsky. “Everyone gives 100 percent in practice and that leads us to playing great
volleyball during the games,” Braginsky said. Most importantly, however, Keren believes that the most important facet of the team does not involve sports at all. “We aren’t just teammates, we are all friends,” Keren said.