Falcons spike their way to out-of-state volleyball crown
St. Joseph's wins Quakertown Invitational
BY SHAWN LAYTON Staff Writer
They took their act across state lines, and the result was more of the same as the St. Joseph High School volleyball team breezed through the competition over the weekend at the Quakertown Invitational in Pennsylvania. In the 20-team field, the lone team from outside the keystone state crashed the party and improved to 20-1 on the season after beating Parkland and Penn Ridge in the semifinals and finals, respectively.

The Falcons swept through the early stages of the Quakertown Tournament before sweeping Parkland and Penn Ridge by 2-0 scores.

"We're doing really well right now," St. Joe's head coach Miguel Cabrita said. "The team's level of play keeps getting better. We keep raising the bar higher and higher, and the team consistently meets the challenge. They are really starting to come into their own of late."

After opening the season with a 2-0 loss to East Brunswick by scores of 25-23 and 25-18, the Falcons have been unstoppable. The team has already posted impressive wins over state powerhouses St. Peter's Prep and Southern. Prior to the Quakertown Invitational last week, St. Joe's leveled some stiff competition in a quad meet against Fairlawn, St. Peter's Prep, and Williamstown.

"The way the guys have been playing makes me anxious to get right back on the court," Cabrita said. "I just can't wait to get to the next match and unleash them on the opponent."

The most anticipated regular-season match of the year is on this week's schedule when the Falcons host East Brunswick at 7 p.m.May 1 in a rematch of the season-opener.

"This is definitely the biggest match of the year," Cabrita said. "The guys have been looking forward to this match since losing that first one at the start of the season. We have some tough matches before Thursday, so we can't look too far ahead of us."

After opening the week with matches against Old Bridge and South Brunswick, the Falcons will take on North Brunswick at 3:45 p.m. today in North Brunswick. After a busy week of four in a row, the Falcons will set their sights on this year's Super Six Tournament. This annual event brings the top six programs in the state to St. Joe's and offers a prelude of things to come in the state tournament later in the month. The Super Six is set to begin at 8 a.m. May 3.

The Falcon starting lineup, responsible for a 20-1 start to the season, is led by senior Marcin Midura. Midura, a right-side hitter, will continue his volleyball career next year at the Division I level for Rutgers Newark. Fellow seniors Eddie Rossiter and Paul Konopacki will team up to play Division III volleyball for Ramapo.

"Marcin really is a man among boys," Cabrita said. "The other teams even make fun of us because he is so much bigger than the rest of the guys on our team."

Rossiter is arguably the best libero in the state and brings amazing passing and defensive skills to the floor. Konopacki is a big-hitter in the middle and a three-year varsity player. Joining Konopacki in the middle is sophomore Bobby O'Grady.

"Bobby is an amazing athlete," Cabrita said. "He reminds us a lot of Paul, and it's been a godsend to have such gifted athletes on the court."

Outside hitters Kyle Ditmars and Dan Vaccariello round out the starting lineup with center Steve Brandenburg.

"I think we've seen the most growth out of Steve," Cabrita said. "He's been a tremendous setter and a big reason we've been successful this season."