Selznick Rescues Revere Volleyball

By STEVE GALLUZZO | Sports Editor

A lone voice reverberates off the walls of the gym at Paul Revere Middle School, shouting “Hands up!” “Jump!” and “Keep your eyes on the ball!”

The voice is that of Dane Selznick and the sport he teaches is volleyball.

Before the fall season began,  Revere’s program was all but a memory, having been dropped last year because the school couldn’t find a coach. However, when local player Ally Bierschenk’s mom asked Palisades High’s beach volleyball pilot step in and help out, he agreed.

Now, the Riders not only have a coach again, they have hope for a successful team in the future.

“Ally’s one of four players on my [Westside Warriors] club team and she was disappointed not being able to play for her school team,” said Selznick, who has followed in the footsteps of his father Gene, one of the pioneers of beach volleyball. “It’s been a lot of fun. It’s so much different than coaching club, where you’re working on refining skills and techniques. Many of these girls have never played the sport before, so we’re starting from the ground up.”

Revere plays in the highly-competitive Junior Delphic League and although the Riders have yet to win  a match, they are steadily improving. A case in point was Monday’s contest against crosstown rival St. Matthew’s, a team consisting entirely of 8th-graders who won the league title as 7th-graders last fall.

In the end, the visiting Falcons proved a little too tough, prevailing 25-14, 25-19, but Revere actually led the second set 6-2 and kept it close the whole way.

“That’s the most points they’ve won in any game and we’re improving every time,” Selznick said. “It’s hard finding the time between this and my club obligations, but the rewarding part for me is seeing how much fun the girls are having. That makes it all worth it for me.”

Rounding out Revere’s enthusiastic squad of 6th-8th-graders are Aian Dahingaling, Annelisa Eckert, Ashley Ephrim, Elana Chao, Elena Kilkowski, Eva Gismandi, Jalyn Johnson, Kaia Kanan, Katie Rautbort, Taylor Smith and Zoe Morgan.

Selznick and the Riders will be back in action next Thursday at Marlborough.