Bears poised for another run at state title

BY DOUG McKENZIE Staff Writer

BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

Another season, another title chase for the East Brunswick High School boys volleyball team.

Head coach Greg Rutz’s squad lost five senior starters from last year’s 27-3 state semifinalist team, and six contributing players overall to graduation. But powerhouse programs like East Brunswick’s don’t rebuild, they reload. And that’s exactly what this year’s Bears have done.

Though they lost their first match with rival St. Joseph’s last week, Rutz is confident that loss will eventually become simply a bump in the road, as his Bears are already playing better than they did against the top-ranked Falcons.

“We are playing much better over the last week and a half,” the sixth-year coach said. “St. Joe’s outplayed us last week. They’re a solid team, and are certainly a state title contender. But we’ll rebound, and hopefully get them later this season at their place.”

Right now, Rutz is busy trying to tinker with his lineup – a lineup that features an abundance of skilled players at every position,

“I’m trying to figure out which pieces of the puzzle make us the best,” he said. “I have a lot of talented players. This team is so deep I feel like I’m leaving somebody out. And that can lead to me making changes that I don’t need to make.”

Not that he’s complaining.

“It’s certainly a nice problem to have,” he said.

Senior setter Dmitry Esterov is the team’s floor leader and is averaging over 30 assists per game.

“He’s a great leader, who leads more by example than by mouth,” Rutz said.

Junior opposite Travis Heilman leads the team in kills and is second in blocks.

“I knew he was a great athlete, but he’s really developed into a great player,” Rutz said. “I think he’s the best opposite in the state right now.”

Senior middle Mike Wagonblast was a later starter coming off the basketball season, but has really come on of late, according to his coach.

“I was always looking for him to be a defensive specialist, but his great offensive play has been a bonus,” Rutz said.

Junior middle John McLaughlin is the perfect complement to Wagonblast’s defense.

“He’s the one I was looking for offense from our middle,” Rutz said. “The balance between Mike and John has made our middle play much better than I thought it would be.”

Junior outside Eric Corpus entered the season with the reputation as one of the top players in the state, and has done nothing to quiet the notion.

“He’s the best in the state defensively, I think, and in the top three on offense,” Rutz said.

“He’s a brilliant player who sees the court so well.”

Seniors Felix Volyand and Jake Dombrowski are the other outside hitters vying for playing time.

“It started out that Felix is better on defense and Jake is better on offense, but those two are getting closer and closer together,” Rutz said. “They’re making the decision-making that much harder.”

Among the other players who contribute for the Bears are senior Alon Gitlin, who Rutz said has played great defensively, backup setter Kyle Barry, who has played outstanding defense in the back row, and junior Dan Korten, who Rutz said would start for 80 to 90 percent of other teams in the state.

“Our right side is just playing so well right now that I can’t get him on the floor,” Rutz said.

This weekend, the Bears will be hosting the Bear Invitational, which features some of the top teams in the state – Old Bridge, Fair Lawn, West Windsor-Plainsboro South, Bridgewater-Raritan CBA, and Southern.

The Bears have already faced some of those teams, including CBA, which they beat 2-0, on Tuesday, and Fair lawn, who they beat, 25-13, in the semifinals of last Saturday’s Eastern Tournament.

The Bears went on to beat Clifton, 25-19, in the finals, getting some revenge against the team that knocked them out of the state tournament last year. The title was the fifth Eastern Tournament win in the last eight years for the Bears.