Beasts on Fire with Five-Game Win Streak

Spectators started filling the stands, anxious to see the game between the Beasts, Stuyvesant’s boys’ volleyball team, and the Lions of Laguardia High School on Monday, April 3.

The game started off badly for the Beasts. Stuyvesant, heavily favored to win, had many missed bumps, serves and hits, and Laguardia quickly took a 6-1 lead. Coach Vasken Choubaralian called a timeout and berated the team for their careless errors, stating that to win, they couldn’t be overconfident. “There were a ridiculous number of [unfocused] errors, like missing serves and missed attacks, that are unacceptable at this point,” he said.

After the timeout, Stuyvesant came back, still trailing 7-9, but playing much better. After some strong spikes from juniors Justin Chan and Tommy Min, the Beasts took the lead and went up 15-12. Laguardia, who also missed many hits, was unable to bounce back, and Stuyvesant won the first set with a score of 25-16.

At the start of the second set, members of the Beasts still looked dejected, as they saw the team fail to play at the level they had in the past.

Junior Shun Bitar was able to give the team a small lead with his jump serves, but the team continued to commit many errors. Despite this, the Beasts were able to claw their way to a 12-5 lead, as even Stuyvesant’s lower level of play proved effective enough, and Laguardia committed even more errors.

The second set concluded with an impressive point by junior and setter Ray Jones. After one of one of Bitar’s spikes was blocked, Laguardia was left off balance, allowing Jones to shoot the ball into the far corner on the second touch.

Though they improved their record to 4-0, much of the game was very mediocre compared to the Beasts’ past games. Both teams made a lot of mistakes, mainly service errors, being unable to receive the ball and being unable to hit over. “[This game] was strange because we [had] a really good day on Saturday. We played [a lot of] strong teams and won many games, playing excellent volleyball. Today, we played like a completely different team. I’ve seen them do all these things much much better,” Choubaralian said.

With that win and a 2-1 victory over High School of Environmental Studies, they have started their season on a five-game winning streak. The first win of their season was an automatic forfeit, as the team from West 50th Street Campus High School failed to show up. The second win of the season came from a matchup against Louis Brandeis, a strong win in straight sets. The third win of the season came from another 2-0 win against High School for Math, Science and Engineering (HSMSE). It gave HSMSE, who is currently in second place in the Manhattan A West division, their only loss of the season.

The season has not been all smooth sailing for the Beasts. They have lost one non-league scrimmage against Benjamin N. Cardozo High School. Last year, Cardozo High School finished fourth in the PSAL tournament and they currently have a record of 3-0. Although the scrimmage will not affect the Beasts’ placement, teams like Cardozo could keep the team from advancing far in playoffs.

Senior and co-captain Jackson Deysine believes that the team always has the ability to do better. “The bounce back from scrim losses will really come from playing smarter as a team. Volleyball is [about] playing the ball intelligently, so I know that if we read the court better, we can easily win games against teams we lost to,” Deysine said.

Over the past few games, the juniors have helped the team in many ways. Much of the team’s starting lineup is made up of juniors, so they have come to make up a crucial part of the rotation. Jones is the starting setter with middle hitter Nick Kim. Additionally, Bitar, Chan, and Min are strong outside/opposite hitters, which give the Beasts good depth and options to rely on.

“The juniors are really the core of the team. The chemistry is almost there. Looking forward to next year, it’s reassuring to know that not much will change, and it will be mostly the same lineup,” Chan said.

The Beasts will be looking to use their practices to improve on their subpar performances. They need to work on forcing other teams to make errors instead of committing unforced errors themselves. With an undefeated record despite their mistakes, the season is looking bright for them moving forward.