Lyndhurst head coach Dan Kesack has placed such an emphasis on staying focused on the present and the next point that sometimes the Golden Bears haven’t been made fully aware of the next opponent until hours before start time.
“Our motto all year has just been one point at a time, and we’re really just looking at the next point. Because I think when they are focusing on winning and losing, it’s distracting them from really playing the game with maximum effort,” said Kesack, who is in his first season as head coach after serving as an assistant the previous seven years. “There’s days that I don’t even tell them who we’re playing the next day and just show up and get your maximum effort for the next point.”
While it might seem unconventional, the results indicate it’s been working as Lyndhurst enters the week with a 6-3 record despite having to replace five starters from last year’s 11-15.
What Lyndhurst did return was a talented setter-outside hitter combo in seniors Maks Dmochowski and Jan Lesnicki that has set the tone on the court as well as in the offseason.
“We talked about how we could get ourselves ready for the season and it really started with our two captains getting the team together in the offseason,” Kesack said. “Them getting the gym time, getting in there and doing captains’ practices made sure that when the season started, we were already ahead of the game.”
Dmochowski is a four-year starter, the last three at setter and has 207 assists on the season
The 6-foot-3 Lesnicki has emerged as one of North Jersey’s top hitters, recording 121 kills to go with 72 digs. Lesnicki, who recently committed to play at Ramapo College, has had 15 or more kills four times this season, highlighted by his 23-kill, 17-dig effort in a three set loss to Harrison.
“He’s just a real athlete,” Kesack said. “He’s a year-round volleyball player. He eats, sleeps and breathes it.”
Six-foot-three sophomore Filoteo Mosca has emerged as the second offensive threat on the outside after a strong basketball season. Mosca had 10 or more kills in five of his team’s first six games and has 78 on the year with 72 digs.
Dylan Salme, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, has 21 kills and 51 digs as the opposite hitter. In the middle has been Brett Schutt, a 6-foot-4 junior with 18 kills, and junior Luke Werner.
Lyndhurst’s attack will be further bolstered with senior opposite Luca Araujo, who had to sit out the first eight matches after transferring from North Arlington.
On the backline, while the Bears don’t play with a libero, they do have two defensive specialists who see extensive time in sophomore James Sinen (56 digs) and Alan Estrada (25 digs). Another key part of the backline is sophomore.
Adding further depth and vying for bigger roles are junior outside hitter Andres Solorzano, sophomore setter Samuel Solorzano, and Sebastian Lupinski, a 6-foot-6 sophomore middle with immense potential.
Lyndhurst is currently tied with North Arlington for second place in the NJIC National Division behind undefeated Harrison after the first leg of the double-round robin format. The Bears were set to play Paterson Charter on Monday, April 20 in the first of four straight home games for Lyndhurst. It will also host Bergen Charter on Tuesday, Paterson Arts on Friday and Leonia on April 27.
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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.)