WJ’s boys volleyball team, coached by Brad Seislove, hosted the annual Jesuit Cup in the Dome on Saturday, April 7.  St. Xavier of Cincinnati and St. Ignatius competed against the Warriors in the tri-match.

The team was challenged by their tough opponents.  In their first match against St. Xavier, they were swept in three sets.  Unfortunately, the Warriors also fell short in a close battle against Ignatius in four sets (17-25, 25-23, 22-25, 22-25).

Although this hard-fought match resulted in disappointment for the Warriors, senior outside hitter Sharbel Rached was upbeat about their effort.  “We came close to beating Ignatius.  We only lost each set by a few points; we almost had them.  This week in practice we are going to work on the small mistakes that need to be improved in order to finish a game out,” said Sharbel.

Junior right side hitter Owen Gaudio also included, “I think we need to improve our communication skills on the court and keep our morale up, because our momentum fell against Xavier which resulted in a hard loss.”

The Warriors look forward to the future and using their practices to focus on making it to the Division II State Final.  Middle hitter Sam McCarty, ’18, stated, “We have great new talent this year and so much potential on the team. I am really looking forward to see how we end up.”

Tyler Ligan is a new addition to the squad this year.  The starting freshman’s big block and strong swings on the right side provide a huge advantage for the team.

The Warriors are staying positive and using the losses to help them improve.  They plan on moving forward and continuing to work hard in practices so they can reach their goal.  Libero Eric Topliff and middle hitter Sam Matonis, both seniors, will continue to be key assets in the upcoming games with Sam’s aggressive blocking and Eric’s quick defensive moves.

After the Warriors face their rivals Archbishop Hoban on Friday, April 13, in the Dome, they will be facing the Brecksville Bees on Wednesday, April 18, at home.