April 6, 2024 – Story by Ava DiCecca, photos by Joshua Ross
Boys Volleyball had their first ever home opener this past Friday and though they came up short against a tough Barnstable team 0-3, they showed a lot of promise, especially for such a new program. They came out strong and the first set was an extremely competitive one, ending 25-20 with Barnstable on top. Unfortunately, Barnstable found a rhythm to start set two and a lot of serving runs and aggressive plays on their end allowed them to maintain it through the end of the third. On the Hingham side, some inexperience in comparison to their opponent hurt them as the game progressed, but the boys played with a lot of heart and had some great moments that they can build on. Now, having seen a tough opponent like Barnstable, they will be much more prepared for the rest of their season and know what it will take to come out on top of some of these more challenging teams.
One of the main positives to take out of this game was some great individual performances. Libero Sam Blake was solid in the back row and stayed strong through many tough attacks from Barnstable, setter Nole Ruccio played his crucial role well, creating some great offensive opportunities for the team on top of some consistent serving, and Matty Cummings is an offensive powerhouse who made Barnstable’s defense work hard all game and he hustled from start to finish to make things happen for the Harbormen. Additionally, Liam Warshaw made his varsity debut and definitely impressed, getting some key blocks for the team and showing confidence in his abilities.
Head coach Shawn Nugent discussed his overall thoughts on the game and what his focus will be moving forward in the season. He commented, “It’s game two for us in terms of a varsity team and we got out strong. The first set we were right there 25-20 doing a lot of things right but then what started to happen is that some of the mechanics started to break down.” He emphasized the importance of the basics in volleyball and while it is easy to shift your focus to trying to make an aggressive or more advanced play, each player must be consistently doing the little things that make a game go smoothly. He also stated that as a new program, his goal for the season is “for these boys to acclimate to what it means to be a varsity program.” This game against Barnstable was a good introduction into what high level competition looks like and as they get more experience throughout the season, they will continue to match up better against these teams.
The program in itself is a huge accomplishment and everyone involved is working hard to make their first season a fun and successful one. Like any new team, it will take hard work and dedication to establish themselves in the league but there is no shortage of that in this program, coaches and players alike. As the boys get more experienced and start to gel as a team, the pieces will come together and build a great foundation for the later part of the season and for the future of the program.
GAME PHOTOS
