BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — The St. Joseph High School boys volleyball team ended the 2005 season under first-year head coach Miguel Cabrita with a 29-4 record.
The Falcons advanced to the semifinals of the state tournament before bowing out to eventual the champions, Bridgewater-Raritan, in a 0-2 match.
“We lost a lot of talent from last year coming into the new season,” Cabrita said. “Our opponents thought we would be all right, but I don’t think they had us labeled a final four team. We played well and we had a good season.”
Another bright spot for the team came in an early-season matchup with Greater Middlesex Conference rival East Brunswick.
“Getting that early victory over East Brunswick was a definite confidence builder for us,” Cabrita said. “They are always such a tough opponent and to do it in two games made it even better.”
Cabrita and the Falcons also sent six seniors to play in the state’s all-star game this weekend at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.
Matt Colon, Brandon Kane, Kirk Ditmars, Kevin Reinhard and Jude Wierzbicki represented the Falcons at the elite tournament.
“Sending six of our guys to an all-star game is an indicator of the kind of season we had,” Cabrita said. “A bunch of teams sent three players to the game, some had one, and others had none. So sending that many is a major accomplishment for us.”
Wierzbicki is expected to play at Cornell next year, while Kane and Ditmars will reunite at Ramapo College. Colon, Ditmars and Beck will play club volleyball at Boston College, Rutgers and Georgetown respectively.
“Having trained with these guys as their JV coach, it is especially rewarding to see them garner such accolades,” Cabrita said. “For me, personally, it was a unique experience to see them come in and learn the game, to becoming potential all-state players. This is a group I will definitely miss.”
Cabrita expects Beck, Colon and Kane to be all-state selections with the possibility of Ditmars, Reinhard and Wierzbicki selected to represent all-state second and third teams.
With another exodus of talent, the Falcons are expected to rely on juniors John Molo and Kurt Backlund to lead the team as seniors in 2006.
“We’re not losing all of our experienced players because we had a strong group of guys see plenty of court time this season,” Cabrita said. “John and Kurt should emerge as leaders both on and off the court, and we expect them to be solid returnees for us.”
Cabrita will now join forces with J.P. Stevens High School boys volleyball coach Patty Savulich to run a volleyball camp through the Edison Adult School. The camp commenced June 20 and is slated to run until Saturday. All high school-aged players are welcome to attend, and inquiries should be directed to the Edison Adult School at (732) 452-4900.