After a strong regular season, the Old Bridge High School boys volleyball team is setting its sights on the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) and NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV tournaments.
The Knights are 21-3 overall following their success Monday against South Brunswick High School and are just three victories shy of the team record of 24 set back in 2006. Along the way, coach Andrew Hopman’s team has triumphed over Fair Lawn, East Brunswick (twice), Southern Regional and Hillsborough and also won the Livingston Invitational Tournament in late April. Old Bridge’s losses have come against Livingston and GMC rival St. Joseph of Metuchen (twice).
Old Bridge is seeded second in the GMC tourney, which is scheduled to begin on Friday, and Hopman has his sights set on earning a berth in the final and a likely third go at St. Joseph.
“We talk about that and the state tournament on a daily basis,” the sixth-year coach said. “Our guys know the bar is high, and they like it that way.”
The Knights have a strong all-around team led by junior Tom Cruz. The 6-4 middle leads the team with 238 kills and 68 blocks. He has also contributed 42 digs and 20 aces.
“Tom has high expectations of himself and he consistently puts up the big numbers,” the coach said. “He’s a very humble kid, and he just goes out there and gets it done over and over again — and he acts like it’s no big deal.”
Outside hitter Chris Smith is second with 166 kills and also has 59 digs and 17 blocks. Paulo Guinto, a co-captain, is third in kills with 163 to go with 104 digs. Dhruv Lad, the other captain, plays opposite, where he has posted 156 kills, 87 digs, 36 aces and 22 blocks.
Setter Harsh Prajapati has proved to be a valuable setter. He distributes the ball well and tops the team with 246 assists. He also has 103 digs.
Libero Keith Krauss has quietly done an excellent job in defense, where he has a staggering 276 digs and 45 aces, to lead the Knights in both categories.
“Keith seems to be everywhere on the court, and I sometimes kid him because there seems to be more than one of him out there,” Hopman said. “It’s very difficult to get a ball to touch the floor when he’s out there.”
Other members of the team include Amritpal Rathore, a middle, who has picked up 95 kills; Vivek Kadiwar, Dave Krzewinski, Dylan Seesman and Andy Guinto. Old Bridge has played the entire season without valuable Dave Totten, a solid defender, who is out with a back injury.
“Early in the season they didn’t seem to be in top physical condition,” said Hopman. “They worked on that, and as a result, they’ve come together as a team. They really enjoy each other’s company, and it shows.
“Right now they’re excited to be in a position to go after the team record for wins and they’re ready for the tournaments to begin,” he added
The coach also credited the Knights’ undefeated junior varsity contingent with spurring his team on. The two teams often scrimmage, and Hopman said the JV “pushes the varsity hard.”