The Western Wayne senior had 32 kills in the semifinal and 30 kills in the championship match, when the Wildcats rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Berwick and win the school’s first District 2 volleyball championship.
Age: 17
Family: Mother, Lisa; father, John; brother, Jacob
Sports teams you follow: Penn State volleyball
Was there any hangover from beating Nanticoke, the defending district champ, in the semifinals? We were all tired but we just had to hop right back into it.
The Nanticoke match, you lost the first set, 25-14, but then you had 11 kills in the third set. When I play each individual game, I’m so focused on each individual game that I play at my potential, at my best, and it is what it is. I think me swinging so aggressively works well.
You are the all-time school leader in kills and blocks. What’s that mean to you? It means a lot. I’ve been working for that for a long time now. I was determined. That was a personal goal. But as a team goal, I wanted to get league and districts. I’m very happy we accomplished that.
Superstitions and rituals on match day? I have this hair tie that I’ve been wearing since my freshman year because I started varsity, and it’s the same one every game. I have to wear it. And I always wear my white headband.
What if your hair tie breaks? Oh, I think about that all the time. I don’t know what I’m going to do. No idea.
Other than volleyball, what is a skill you would love to master? Probably something, because I’m really passionate about art, mastering art techniques.
What is your favorite medium to work with? Pen and ink.
What’s the best thing you’ve ever drawn? I do a lot of portraits actually. Probably one of those. For me, it’s not hard. Drawing people is easy for me. It comes naturally to me. Drawing or painting landscapes is actually difficult for me to do, for whatever reason. My dad is an artist and he does landscapes, it’s so easy for him. People, it’s not. Kind of the opposite for me.
Is that something you want to pursue in college? I think so. I’m not quite sure exactly what yet, but I’m thinking about it. There are a lot of things you can do.
Three people you’d like to have dinner with. My three grandparents, I would love to do that. My pop-pop, my nana and my grandmother.
Football coach Randy Wolff turned his players loose from practice early so they could attend Tuesday’s championship match. What did that mean in terms of support? That was so good, so crazy. Actually, the night before, I was saying we should get a fan bus. And the moment that I said that we got an update there was going to be a fan bus. It was great, there’s going to be a student section. They’re going to be loud, they’re going to be supportive. That was really exciting.
How much momentum is there going into Tuesday night’s state playoff match? There’s a lot. We’re excited. We’re ready. (Sunday) and (tonight), we’re going to practice hard and we’re going to do our own thing. Just play.
Who’s your funniest teammate? Trina Barcarola. She’s a nut. She’s a nut.
One meal your mom makes that you don’t know if you can live without. I really have to think about this. She makes some good food. Her chicken parm. It’s good stuff.
Marty Myers began his career as a sports writer at The Wayne Independent in Honesdale, where he served as sports editor and later managing editor. After 10 years there, he joined The Times-Tribune in 1994 and has spent the ensuing years reporting on high school sports, local and professional golf. An award-winning journalist, he also enjoys his duties as a copy editor for The Times-Tribune, editing stories and designing pages. A native of Williamsport, Marty resides in Clarks Summit. Reach him at mmyers@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9100 x5437 or @mmyersTT.
