May 1, 2012

Damian Bargielski and Bayonne earned their 16th-straight victory last night. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

St. Peter's Prep at Bayonne Boys Volleyball Photo Gallery

BAYONNE –Kris Kucza knows that the records and rankings are irrelevant when it comes to matchups with arch-rival St. Peter’s Prep. A three-year veteran of the rivalry, the Bayone outside hitter knows the twice (and sometimes three or four) a year showdowns will push both teams to their limits.

Yesterday’s matchup proved no exception, even if it didn’t go the customary three games as Bayonne, ranked No.7 in the state, held on for a 25-17, 31-29 victory over No. 20-ranked St. Peter’s Prep.

“Prep is always a tough competitor, always,” Kucza said. “I don’t care who they graduated, what’s happened to their team, it’s always going to be tough. You can never take a Prep team lightly, never."

“Both teams are very competitive and that’s the way it is,” added Bayonne coach Pat Longo. “It’s the nature of the beast and no matter what happens it’s always a competitive game.”

This one saw the Bees (16-1) nearly fall apart in the second game as the visiting Marauders (8-7) went on a 10-1 run to make it 22-16, thanks in large part to a string of Bayonne errors and three aces from Chris Egan.

Bayonne would rally back behind a pair of kills from Kucza and the serving of senior Konrad Budny with five straight points to cut the deficit down to one. The Bees then survived five game point opportunities by Prep.

“I thought we got momentum on Konrad’s serving,” Longo said. “He made some really smart serves, got a couple of aces and I think that got us the momentum we really needed.”

“The whole team just came out a little sluggish in the beginning (of the second game),” Budny said. “But we slowly got it rolling and found the intensity.”

Trailing 29-28, Bayonne evened the score with a kill by Elijah Egalite. After an Egalite ace, Kucza finally put an end to the marathon game and the match with his 11th kill of the evening.

“We test our mettle against teams like this,” Budny said. “It further strengthens our momentum going forward, especially towards the playoffs.”

Budny had 17 assists, eight digs and two blocks for the Bees, winners of 16-straight. Egalite had seven kills and five digs. Damian Bargielski and Hojairy Peralta added five and four kills respectively. Steven Granados recorded eight digs and Kraige Tobias had five digs.
  
With the loss, St. Peter’s Prep has lost five of its last six. Despite a grueling schedule, in which five of Prep’s seven losses have come against teams ranked among the top seven in the state, coach Don Guide can see the improvement in his young squad.

“I think we took a few steps forward,” Guide said “We had a big week last week, taking a few losses, but I think we’re getting better.

“You can’t get confidence by playing easy teams. That’s false confidence. I think its good for them to play tough teams and take their lumps.”

St. Peter's Prep libero Jeremy DelCastillo returns a serve. (Photo: Jason Bernstein)

St. Peter's Prep at Bayonne Boys Volleyball Photo Gallery