From the moment she was hired as Kearny boys volleyball head coach Ashley Latushko has made it clear that expectations were high for this group.
Now after starting the season 12-5, including 10-1 within the HCIAL American Division, the Kardinals feel ready to show that they belong in the conversation with the best in North Jersey, heading into their Hudson County Tournament quarterfinal game against Bayonne that was set for May 12.
“They’re ready for it. I know for a fact they’re waiting for that,” said Latushko, a three-sport athlete at Kearny who later played volleyball and softball at NJCU. “I’ve had some of my players come to me and be like, coach, I played volleyball last night and someone came up to me talking to me about our team and I didn’t even know them. And I was like, exactly, you guys are making a name for yourselves.”
Up until this point, Kearny’s success has been a product of balance on the offensive end. That starts at outside hitter, where Latushko has three she’s confident in putting out there at any time.
Senior Christopher DelRosario has led the contingent with a team-high 106 kills to go with 63 digs. Fellow senior Miras Azamat has 58 kills while Gadiel Casanova, after missing nearly the first month of the season, has added 12 kills and 48 digs in his last six matches.
At the opposite is senior Denzel Holloman, who after playing in the middle last year has thrived in his new role, posting 96 kills and 61 digs to go with a team-high 24 blocks.
Kearny starts a pair of juniors in the middle with Caleb Baptista (56 kills, 15 blocks) and Mark Saravia (44 kills, 17 blocks).
With five different players recording 44 or more kills, balance has been a strength for this lineup and a priority for Latushko.
“I’m a big advocate of having all of our hitters to be shining,” Latushko said. “The outside hitters can’t be the only ones (on offense). I need my right side hitter, I need my middles (to be involved).”
Tasked with maintaining that balance has been senior setter Cristian Perez-Cruz, who has thrived in his first season of varsity volleyball. Perez has 324 assists to go with 66 digs.
“The transformation you’ve seen from tryouts to now has been phenomenal,” Latushko said of Perez-Cruz, who did have years of club volleyball experience entering his first season of varsity. “He’s come such a long way.”
Javier Rodriguez, the lone sophomore on the varsity roster is the starting libero and leads the team in digs with 82. Casanova has served as the defensive specialist in addition to his time on the outside, making him one of the area’s most versatile performers.
Senior Dwayne Hopson and juniors Isael Quintero and Misael Tiburcio have also seen time in the lineup over the course of the season and are trusted to come off the bench in a pinch.
Kearny, which earlier this season went on an eight game winning streak was awarded the third seed for the Hudson County Tournament with quarterfinal opponent Bayonne, the sixth seed. The winner will advance to the semifinal on Wednesday against the winner of second-seeded Hudson Catholic and seventh-seeded Weehawken.
The final, which Kearny has appeared in three of the last four years, is set for Saturday at County Prep High School in Jersey City.
Following the tournament, Kearny will try to clinch the HCIAL American Division title outright when it plays at Dickinson on May 19 before an independent match with HCIAL National Division champion Hudson Catholic at home on Wednesday before the state tournament begins after Memorial Day weekend.
For this veteran group that wants to be noticed, strong performances in both tournaments will accomplish just that.
“They want to be heard, they want to be looked at and I feel like that’s a little bit of a confidence boost for them as well,” Latushko said. “I tell them all the time that they are probably one of the best groups to come out of here the last couple of years and it’s showing.”
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)