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Cape boys’ volleyball falls to IR in inaugural game

Vikings’ coaches see promise
April 1, 2021

The Cape boys’ volleyball team finally got to make their first appearance March 30 at Indian River, where the Vikings fell 0-3 to the Indians 25-9, 25-14 and 25-17. They were supposed to begin play in 2020, but the pandemic abruptly sidelined their season.

“Tonight was a really fun night for us as coaches,” said co-head coach Tyler Coupe. “The idea of having a boys’ team is something that I know co-coach Dion (Lamb) has wanted and been working on for quite some time, and is something that he expressed to me not long after our first meet several years ago. To have 12-14 boys try out our first year is just awesome. Their skill sets are developing and they continue to show an interest in getting better, and more importantly, they show a great amount of enjoyment, something we as coaches are really pleased with. Tonight was their first taste of live ball, and was against one of the better players in the state in Carson Barnes.”

Junior Ethan Shuttleworth led the Vikings with four digs, three aces and two assists. Nolan Kerstetter hit two kills, made two blocks, bumped two digs and served an ace. Alex Patterson knocked down two kills, while making one block, a dig and an assist. Oden Potemski bumped two digs and made a kill. Gavin Felker hit a kill, a block, a dig and an assist. Salavatore Oronzio made a dig and an assist.

“We improved throughout the match, scoring more points each set,” said Coupe. “The lack of live ball experience and knowledge still shows, but there were also points that showed the boys were retaining and remembering the subtle nuances needed to succeed. We told them post-match, though cliche, that this has potential to be a historic moment. That we as coaches will try and keep this program alive going forward, and much of its success will be due to these boys coming together and trying something new, and in the future, that’s something they’ll be able to look back on.”

Carson Barnes led the Indians with 18 digs, eight kills and seven aces. Finnegan Bellistri assisted on 11 IR points.

The Vikings will return to the Cape hardwood Saturday, April 17, when they host Conrad.

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