April 7, 2011
Bayonne sweeps Prep
Jonathon Diaz (far left) and his Bayonne teammates celebrate after sweeping St. Peter's Prep.
Click Here for more photos from St. Peter's Prep at Bayonne
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
BAYONNE – This wasn’t your typical early-season match for members of the Bayonne boys volleyball team. Not when it’s against the St. Peter’s Prep team which had beaten them four times a year ago, twice in the playoffs.
The Bees’ 25-17, 25-22 victory may not erase the memories of those losses from the previous spring. But it did send a clear message that this year would be different.
“It was really important to come back and beat them,” junior outside hitter Kris Kucza said. “It was really emotional, especially for me, especially in the (playoffs). It just feels great to beat them and we want to win more games, do better than last year.”
Many of the faces from yesterday’s meeting may have been different from the ones that competed in the finals of the Hudson County and NJSIAA North II tournaments last year as only three starters from Bayonne (3-0) and just one from St. Peter’s Prep (1-4) are back. That fact did little to diminish the importance for the Bees in the latest showdown of North Jersey powers.
“It’s just a big rivalry between us,” said junior setter Konrad Budny. “For me personally, playing last year, losing and experiencing that loss, it just fueled me even more for this year. Wanting to come back and beat them twice as bad as they beat us last year.”
It was Budny and Kucza, two holdovers from last year’s showdowns who would set the tone early for Bayonne. After a service fault from the visiting Marauders (1-4) for the game’s opening point, Budny took over the serve with five straight points for a quick 6-0 lead.
Kucza, a popular target of Budny’s sets all match long, capped off the 11-2 Bees run with an emphatic kill.
“I think we set the tone immediately with Conrad’s serving,” head coach Pat Longo said. “And I think it gave them a boost of confidence to get those first six points of the game.
“Our goal is to get where they’ve been. They’ve been there, they’ve been a top team and we wanted to set the tone today.”
Kucza would add a pair of kills as part of a 6-0 run to make it 24-13 and essentially put the opening game out of reach. The Bees had failed to win a single game against Prep in any of the four 2010 matchups.
Bayonne would score five of the first seven points of the second game thanks to a Budny ace and two kills from Hojairy Peralta. But St. Peter’s Prep, the four-time defending North Jersey champions, would not go down quietly. The Marauders went on a 7-2 run and would tie the score at 21-all with a Chris Egan ace.
Prep’s comeback would fall short as the Bees regained the lead after consecutive Marauder faults. Peralta would end the match – and Bayonne’s five-match losing streak to St. Peter’s Prep – with an ace.
“It doesn’t matter who they have, it’s just knowing that it’s Prep,” said Kucza. “We know they have high standards so you’ve got to play the best you can (against them).
“Prep is always one of the top teams in the state and to beat them shows us that we’re one of the better teams in the state and we can only get better.”
“We always compare ourselves to them,” Budny said. “It’s definitely a good feeling to have a win against them early.”
Budny had 14 assists, eight digs, nine service points and two aces in a stellar all-around performance. Kucza, his best friend and teammate since the two were 5-years-old, added seven kills and five digs.
Jeric Pimental, the third returning starter from last year’s team, anchored the defense with nine digs. Peralta and Damian Bargielski had five and three kills respectively. Jonathan Diaz chipped in with five aces in the victory.
Egan, a sophomore, had five kills and an ace to lead a young St. Peter’s Prep squad. Senior Lorenzo Samin, the lone returning starter, added four blocks and a pair of kills. Matt LaBau had three kills, Conor Alburtus had three digs and freshman Tyler Lee chipped in with eight assists.
Sophomore Konrad Budny had a team-best three assists for Bayonne.
1st |
2nd |
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| St. Peter's Prep (1-4) | 17 |
22 |
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| Bayonne Bees (3-0) | 25 |
25 |
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