Photos/Videos: Anthony Salvato & Zach Reagan, St. Joseph’s Prep Jr. Reporters (WSJP Broadcasting)
By: Zach Reagan
PHILADELPHIA – This afternoon two of the Philadelphia Catholic League’s top teams will meet in a regular season battle for first place. St. Joseph’s Prep and La Salle College High School are both 3-0, but this afternoon one team will have a slight blemish.
The successful start for the Hawks began on Thursday, April 6, in which the Prep pulled out a 3-0 victory over Archbishop Wood. The Prep won the first set 25-10, the second set 25-22 and the third set 25-18.
Both the Hawks and the Vikings are practically brand new, as both varsity teams last year were filled to the brim with seniors. The Prep was led with great performances from freshman libero, Fernando Nido, and junior captain, Jack Owens.
The freshman jitters did not exist for Nido, as the talented underclassman exuded confidence after the Hawks initial win.
“The hitters weren’t as quick or strong as I expected, and I was always able to find the hole in the block,” said Nido.
Nido dished out great passes all night, which made it possible for every Prep outside hitter, especially Owens, to get to work. He credited his great performance to his teammates.
“When everyone’s firing on all cylinders like today, that really opens things up for our outside hitters,” Nido said.
It’s impressive that the entire team was able to have a good game, considering this was the first time the majority of the Hawks were playing together in a PCL match. Owens added that despite his team’s inexperience, the Hawks were able to play seamlessly.
“It looked like we’ve been playing for years,” said Owens.
This rejuvenated Prep team has a new-look coaching staff as well, which is headed by coach Jonathan Lai. Lai noted the team’s inexperience as well, but added a positive spin.
SJP freshman Fernando Nido is confident there are more wins to come for the Hawks - Video by Zach Reagan:
SJP junior captain Jack Owens talks about initial PCL win vs. Wood, new team and new coaching staff - Video by Zach reagan:
“It was great to see the improvement every player has made since we started, and for that to culminate to a win was really great,” said Lai. “The beauty of this game, unlike most team sports, is that it literally comes down to what you do next. We plan to keep plugging through until we get where we want to be.”
On Archbishop Wood’s side, it’s clear to head coach Chris Quaglia that work needs to be done. After a rough first set from Wood, Quaglia still liked what he saw from his group.
“The guys played great, and they showed a lot of heart in that second set, but it just wasn’t our day,” said Quaglia.
Wood’s outside hitter Jack Velten had similar thoughts to his coach.
“We came in kind of cold, and expected to play later, but at the end of the day those are just excuses. We have to come ready to play,” said Velten
Throughout the game it seemed like Wood had some trouble getting big hits over, which in turn made it easier for Nido and other Prep passers to focus on their game plan.
Velten added that the Prep’s constant double block on the outside proved troublesome for him and his teammates. While adjusting to the balls set to him, he knew that he “had to get over or around it”, which proved to be a challenging task.
All in all, Quaglia is confident in his team’s ability to regroup and make adjustments in practice in order to compete with the rest of the PCL.
St. Joe's Prep vs. Archbishop Wood - Gallery by Anthony Salvato
“We’ll practice more and work on certain things I saw in the game. I’ll take this game by game with this great group of guys,” said Quaglia.
Following the opening victory, the Hawks went on to defeat Archbishop Ryan 3-0 and a newly revived Roman Catholic team, 3-0. The Vikings dropped another tough match to PCL powerhouse La Salle 0-3, but rebounded against Archbishop Ryan with a 3-1 victory.
While the Hawks (3-0) will have a tough battle for first place against La Salle (3-0) this afternoon at 3:45 p.m., Wood (1-2) will also have a meaningful away game against Lansdale Catholic this evening at 5 p.m., who currently sits at 2-1.