MERRILLVILLE – Volleyball seasons for fifth- and sixth-grade teams and seventh- and eighth-grade squads concluded with thrilling victories and anticlimactic endings at the Catholic Youth Organization boys championship, where many coaches and fans also celebrated the maturing talent of the players.
At Andrean High School on March 19, excitable supporters from four diocesan Catholic schools teams gathered in the gymnasium at an event that commenced with a prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance led by CYO executive director John Curtin.
The Wildcats of St. Mary, Crown Point, took the court to warm up across from their championship match rivals, the St. Paul, Valparaiso, Panthers.
Composed mostly of sixth graders who remember getting bounced from the first round of last year’s CYO championship match, the Wildcats stayed ahead keeping the Panthers scratching to stop serves that landed on the hardwood with pinpoint accuracy.
In the second set, both teams kept parody early, but St. Mary pulled away after leading 13-11. They allowed St. Paul only one more point en route to the Wildcats’ 21-12 win and championship match title.
St. Paul coach Gayle Bakota complimented the season-long perseverance of her players and tipped her hat to the large contingent of Panthers fans gathered in Merrillville.
“Thanks for your support, parents, we really appreciate it. Thanks to CYO; this is a great event, it’s really fun to be at Andrean – I’m a graduate,” Bakota said.
Evidence of the dedication of St. Paul players – many of whom are fifth-graders – includes the presence of Ian Sherer, who hurt his arm in unrelated activities halfway through the season.
“Well, I just felt I should be there for my team; I didn’t want to leave them in the middle of the season, I wanted to keep cheering them on,” said Sherer.
Coach Bobby Wong praised his players for their dedication to fundamental skills development. The St. Mary parishioner led the Wildcats, including his son, sixth-grader James Wong, to a regular season and tournament record of 10-1.
Sixth-grader Vincent Vicari, who towers over other players at 5 feet and 10 inches tall, said he knew his role for the team this season.
“I thought our team needed help passing and stuff, so I tried my best to come in and help whenever I could,” said Vicari, who plans to return to the team as their main setter next year.
At Andrean, the seventh- and eighth-grade championship match went to three sets as the St. John the Baptist Trojans dug deep, offering up strong serves and tireless volleys to the St. Michael the Archangel Warriors.
The game narrative was flipped between the first and second sets as St. Michael jumped out to a 25-10 victory, then St. John the Baptist tightened things up with a 25-21 win. The last set was a battle point-for-point until, with a successful volley, St. Michael was the first to 15 points, one ahead of the Trojans.
The Whiting school came up shy against the Wildcats for the second time this year, their last loss coming in a three set match lost by one point.
“We tried, we tried … our players did everything we asked them to do: they got their serves in and they passed and it,” explained Trojans coach Carolyn Kruszynski. “It’s easy to just play ‘bang-ball,’ but they didn’t do that; they played really well.”
Kruszynski was complimentary about her players' talent, pointing to their solid setting, hitting and blocking, including an athletic spike by eighth grader Danny Bachler in the second set.
For Sammy Rosas, keeping in close communication with his Trojans teammates was key to the strong performance: “We look at each other and know what to do,” he explained.
Rosas was also happy about the boisterous cheering section: “That was wild, it pumps us up.”
“I am happy we have these coaches (Mary Ellen Basham, Katie Kruszynski and Carolyn Kruszynski) because they did whatever they could to make the team better. It was fun being able to play for them,” said Rosas.
Another story of team dedication, Warriors seventh-grader Max Szymanski and his family rescheduled flight plans for their vacation to Florida so he could participate in the championship games on March 19.
Szymanski, an eighth grader, is a libero, a position that requires versatility and a diverse skill set. He credits the guidance received from his mentors for his personal achievements, and the team’s crowning victory.
“It was our coaches,” Szymanski said. “(Coach Cook) is just very encouraging and I wanted to do this for her. She means a lot to me; she’s my confirmation sponsor.”
Reflecting on a successful season where only one team, St. John the Baptist, took them to the third set, coach Carrie Cook asked her players to share about their favorite moments.
Warrior Andrew Uhrick, who started playing volleyball during the 2020-2021 quarantine, said his participation in the growing sport for boys has been a mix of fun and stressful times. Last year, the team lost to St. Patrick, Chesterton in three games in the CYO final.
“In (this game), I was stressed. I thought I was going to make a mistake,” said Uhrick, an eighth grader. “I tried to breathe and I realized I have a bunch of other people to stand behind me.”