Hayduchok near volleyball record
By: Justin Feil – Assistant Sports Editor
Dan Hayduchok expected he’d have to deliver bigger games this season.
The West Windsor-Plainsboro North senior captain, though, never expected anything as big as his 25-kill performance in the Knight boys volleyball team’s 2-1 win over Sterling on Wednesday.
"We only had two starters back and a few others that had been on varsity before," Hayduchok said. "I understood I had to pick up my game and a lot of our team’s success would fall on Chris (Jin) and I."
The 25 kills – including one off the Sterling middle blocker’s head to win Game 2 – more than doubled his previous career best of 12.
"I was shooting for 15," Hayduchok said. "I knew I was getting a lot, but I wasn’t keeping track. I knew the only way I was able to get that many kills was to go to three games."
The Knights were forced to go three games after losing the first game, but it’s nothing compared to their comeback this season. After an 0-4 start with four straight losses to teams considered among the top 10 in the state, the Knights have won seven straight after sweeping Sterling and Camden Tech on Wednesday. A 2-0 win over rival WW-P South last week is among the wins in the turnaround.
"It’s definitely been a huge confidence booster," Hayduchok said. "Even though we played some really good teams early, it really hurt our confidence. We have a young team."
Jin, who had six digs and 33 assists in the win over Sterling, is also an experienced starter, but the Knights had plenty of holes to fill in from a team that at one point was among the state’s top 20 last year and earned a first-round state playoff home match against Wall. The Knights have seen some encouraging development, particularly from outside hitter Jason Foster, who had 10 kills and 11 digs against Sterling.
After starting at opposite last season, Hayduchok is back where he feels most comfortable – outside hitter.
"He was playing a different position because we had two kids ahead of him that were first-team all-Central Jersey kids," said Knights head coach Erich Trautwein. "When they graduated, he moved from an opposite hitter to outside hitter.
"When he was on JV, he was always an outside hitter. When he was a junior, I wanted to have him on the court so we kept him at opposite. His more natural position is at outside hitter."
Playing opposite helped him improve as a blocker, but Hayduchok is happy to be back at outside hitter. He has helped to bring along the younger players by setting an example with his hard work and positive attitude.
"I think with our passing and serving, the fundamentals have been improving a lot," he said. "We have one player who this is his first year ever playing volleyball. He’s been effective. We’ve been working on serving and passing and working on fundamentals. Some of the inexperienced players just lack the touches."
Hayduchok didn’t start playing until he was a freshman. He followed in the footsteps of his parents, both of whom played in college.
"They really enjoyed it," Hayduchok said. "I felt the desire to try it out. I tried out freshman year. I’ve been playing club and beach ever since freshman year."
Hayduchok won’t have the chance to play next year as he will attend the Air Force Academy, which has no men’s volleyball team. He didn’t know what to expect of a young Knights team, but he has been pleasantly surprised. Even in the opening losses, there was hope. Southern handed the Knights a bad loss, but WW-P North had game point against Christian Brothers and led St. Joseph’s for parts of their match.
"We saw we could compete," Hayduchok said. "It gave us more confidence. Last year, we had a very similar opener. We started 0-6 last year. We started 0-4 this year."
The Knights hope that their finish is similar to last year as they look to earn another home match in the state tournament. To get to that point, WW-P North will need some big games from Hayduchok and a little more consistency in its play overall.
"We have the potential to play with anyone in the state, and we’ve proven that, whether in tournaments or in matches," Trautwein said. "It’s a matter of wining the mental game. We’ve been able to come back lately. In the St. Joe’s Invitational, we knocked off some good teams. We have some young players and inexperienced players so we’re having some peaks and valleys and ebb and flow. If we play a perfect match, we can play with anybody.
"We have to continue to develop the younger players and get them more confident," he added. "And we have to continue to work hard in practice. The kids are buying into everything we’re doing. They’re listening very well. We say that we play with and for each other. They’re really starting to come around with that. And the attitude is great. If we can do that and keep it fun, I think we’ll be hanging around toward the end of the year."