Colts Neck High School carried the banner for the Freehold Regional High School District in boys volleyball this spring.
Coach Glenn Jansen’s Cougars qualified for the NJSIAA Central Jersey state sectional tournament and the Shore Conference tournament during a season in which they went 14-12 overall and were the top public school team in the Shore Conference A North Division.
Freehold High School continued to make strides in the sport and at 7-9 the Colonials were considered one of the Shore Conference’s top 10 teams.
Marlboro High School, which had a record-breaking season in 2010, slipped to 7-9 in 2011, but the Mustangs have bright prospects for 2012.
Howell High School moved from the A North Division to theASouth Division this spring. The Rebels were 6-10 overall and 5- 5 in division play.
Manalapan and Freehold Township high schools do not field a boys volleyball team.
Atrio of standouts from Colts Neck, juniors Ryan von der Fecht, Hunter Wysocki and Corrado Cina, head up Greater Media Newspapers’ 2011 All-Freehold Regional High School District Volleyball Team. Marlboro’s Corey Dubin and Nick Hermans, and Freehold’s Cody Clayton join them on the squad.
Wysocki, who is one of the best basketball players in the Shore Conference, has proven to be just as dominating on the volleyball court. The leaping 6-4 junior controls the net. As a middle blocker he recorded 56 blocks and 287 kills, which ranked second in the conference. Wysocki was also effective as a server, with 26 aces.
At the position of setter, von der Fecht was second in the Shore Conference with 487 assists. He contributed 40 kills and 38 aces. von der Fecht’s 38 aces ranked third in the conference. At the position of libero (defensive specialist), Cina was masterful at keeping the ball in play. He led the Shore Conference in digs with 286. Her served up 21 aces and had 25 assists.
All three of those players should be back in 2012 to keep Colts Neck on a winning path .
Dubin and Hermans were returnees from Marlboro’s 2010 championship team and they kept the Mustangs in the hunt for the postseason despite the loss of key players who graduated after the Mustangs’ memorable 2010 campaign. Dubin, a senior, missed five matches and that had an impact on his statistics in 2011, nevertheless, he remained Marlboro’s playmaker and leader. His greatest asset is his knowledge of the game.
As the middle blocker, Hermans, a senior, was Marlboro’s power hitter. Hermans was among the Shore Conference leaders with 122 kills.
Freehold is emerging as a team to watch. Players like Clayton, a senior outside hitter, have raised the Colonials’ profile. Although he only played in 11 matches, Clayton ranked among the conference leaders in kills with 99. He also contributed 35 digs.