Shubin Has PaliHi Volleyball Program on the Rise
One need only look up at the endless stream of banners hanging from the walls of Palisades High’s gymnasium to know that volleyball is one of the school’s most successful sports. The boys team, however, has not won the City championship since 1998. Player defections and numerous coaching changes have taken their toll in recent years and the aura of invincibility the Dolphins once enjoyed is gone. The theme for new coach Matt Shubin is to get that long-lost swagger back. “If I had to give us a letter grade at this point in the season, I’d give us an ‘A’,” Shubin said after a recent practice. “We’re starting to come together as a team and there’s a healthy competition at every position. I expected it to take a few seasons to get the program back up to the level it once was, but seeing the progress we’ve made so far I don’t see why we can’t do it this year. All the pieces are in place.” Amidst this week’s winter break the Dolphins find themselves second place in the Western League, having lost only two matches all season–a sweep at the hands of defending City champion Chatsworth on March 14 and a four-game loss to league rival Venice March 29. “Every match we’re improving,” said Joey Sarafian, one of seven seniors on the Dolphins’ varsity roster. “I’ve never seen this much improvement in one year. Last year, we practically coached ourselves but this coach has us doing things we’ve never done before. He’s even got us soliciting businesses around town to donate money for a sound system.” Sarafian, who leads the team in kills, is joined on the outside by 12th-grader Beck Johnson. Ace leader John Barneson is referred to by Shubin as “the best setter in the City Section” and fellow seniors Rob Mees and Vertis Hays are the middle blockers–a key position in the Dolphins’ first-tempo offense. “Our attack is designed to get our hitters one-on-one with a blocker,” Shubin said. “If we can get a good pass we should be able to put the ball away 80 percent of the time. We also have versatility in our serving. We have guys who can float it short and others who can jump serve it deep, which keeps opponents off balance.” The team has exceeded expectations largely because of the development of Hayes, who joined the squad after Pali’s basketball season ended, and freshmen liberos Jordan Cohen and Matt Hanley. Junior Will Smith and sophomore Adam Cristiano rotate at opposite hitter. “I had never really played volleyball before I joined the team because basketball has always been my sport,” Hayes admitted. “They are completely different. The first volleyball practice I had was on a Thursday and by Friday night I couldn’t do a push-up because my shoulders and back were killing me. The only similarity I see is that serving is like shooting a free throw. It was great to beat Fairfax and Westchester in volleyball because that’s something we haven’t done in basketball.” Cohen, who trained with Shubin at Sinjin Smith’s beach volleyball camp over the summer, moved into the starting lineup three matches ago and Shubin has been impressed with his on-court leadership and work ethic. He called Hanley “the best defensive player we have” and said the healthy competition in practice keeps players sharp. “Our practices are tougher than most of our matches,” Mees said. “We still have room for improvement but I definitely think if we can improve our passing we’re good enough to win City.” Rounding out the varsity are Scott Vegas, Jonathan Peters, Nathan Pezeshki, Stuart Klein and Jacob Khoubian, a senior on the All-Academic team who has been accepted to both Harvard and Yale. Shubin said he will likely bring Noah Kauss, who has dominated on the junior varsity level, up to varsity for the playoffs. Palisades resumes Western league play next Wednesday with a home match against Hamilton. JV plays first at 2:30 p.m., followed by the varsity.
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