After ending with a 29-8 record last year, setting a school record for the most wins in a season, H-F boys’ volleyball is back.

Head-coached by broadcasting and film teacher Mark Ciesielski, the team is optimistic.

“We have a lot of holes to fill, but we have some guys who are really capable of stepping in and taking over in some of those needed positions,” Ciesielski said. “We have some really good hitters on offense and, for a change this year, we have a defense that is really, really scrappy and never lets the ball hit the floor. It’ll be exciting and fun to watch, and I think very frustrating for other teams.”

 Despite graduating eight seniors, Kendall Pace, a second-year varsity libero and defensive specialist, feels there will not be a drop-off.

“It’ll take us a minute to build our team chemistry because we have so many juniors coming up. We have a lot of talent and people that can work with other people on the team, which will build good team chemistry and ultimately win us games,” Pace said.

Although losing graduating seniors is a part of high school sports, the team lost four starters, including opposite hitter Tarendran Heyward, who now plays for Penn State Behrend, and middle blocker Lane Sunley, who now plays for Illinois Wesleyan.

This year’s seniors quickly stepped up into those now-open leadership roles.

“Our five returning varsity players, Ahmad Powell, Caleb Madden, Bryan Ahrendt, Cornell Stevenson and Pace, will definitely play significant roles,” Ciesielski noted. “Additionally, sophomore Surendran Heyward is coming in and fulfilling a very vital role and should be a very strong player.”

In addition to Ciesielski, teammate Powell also looked to Ahrendt and Heyward as this season’s powerhouses.

“I would definitely say my right-hand man (Bryan) Ahrendt is one to look out for; he’s our libero, and seeing him progress as a player and a person has been great,” Powell said. “His energy just inspires a lot of people on the team.”

The team opened its season on March 25 against Illiana Christian High School in Dyer, Indiana, with a three-game sweep.

“We came out really strong in the season opener. Illiana is a good team with a lot of height, and we blocked extremely well,” Ciesielski commented. “Our offense got clicking by the middle of the first game, and our passing was on point. We have some defensive issues we need to iron out, but we’re feeling good with the way we started.” 

Powell feels this set the precedent well for the rest of the season.

“I think the first game was a great kickoff to the year,” Powell said. “Even though we had some first-game jitters and made little mistakes, we still came together as a team and managed to win in three.” 

Since then, the team has continued its winning record, with a 23-6 record as of May 9.