13 minute read
Sports
Sports & Recreation
Kearny’s volleyball team enjoying stellar season
Photo by Jim Hague Senior Santiago Lopez just recently set the Kearny school record for kills in a career with 322. Now with his total way over 400, Lopez hopes it can reach 500 before season’s end.
By Jim Hague ogsmar@aol.com
When Santiago Lopez arrived in North Arlington, then quickly Kearny from his native Las Palma de Gran Canaria in Spain four years ago, he didn’t know what to expect.
“I didn’t know the difference between varsity and JV (junior varsity),” Lopez said. “I didn’t understand it.”
Lopez wasn’t making friends in a hurry either.
“The first day of practice, I hit the ball really hard,” Lopez said. “And I hit the ball into a kid’s face.”
But after that practice, veteran Kearny High School volleyball coach Bill Mullins approached Lopez.
“He said, ‘Are you ready to play varsity?’” Lopez said. “I really didn’t understand it. I said, ‘Yes.’ And that’s how the whole thing got started.”
At the same time, Marcelo Garcia and Nathan Aguilar were getting introduced to varsity volleyball, Kearny style.
“We came in and didn’t know who was trying out,” Aguilar said.
“A lot of us have been together since our freshman year,” Garcia said. “We formed a really close bond. I think that’s been the key to our success.”
That closeness has carried the Kardinals a long way in 2021. A year after missing the entire season due to the coronavirus, the Kards have come back with a vengeance this season, winning 13 of 15 matches, advancing all the way to the Hudson County Tournament finals last week.
Unfortunately, the Kardinals came up a little short against rival St. Peter’s Prep in the finale, but it doesn’t diminish the incredible season that the team has enjoyed.
The Kardinals will be the top seeded team in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 1, Group IV tournament that will begin next week. That’s an achievement in itself.
“I hope we can get one of those banners to hang to recognize us,” said Lopez, who recently set the school record for kills in a career when he collected his 322nd kill two weeks ago. Lopez is now approaching 400 kills for his career. He could actually finish somewhere in the 500 range when he’s done.
“He’s like our power guy,” Mullins said. “He hits the ball very hard. He’s also a good server and plays good defense. He’s a strong kid who is good all around.”
One look at outside hitter Lopez and you wouldn’t think he was such a terror. He appears mild mannered with his rimmed glasses, sort of a Clark Kent type. But Lopez is headed to Kean to play college volleyball, but wants to leave Kearny with a legacy of greatness.
“As a captain, one of my goals is to see my teammates improve,” Lopez said. “I thought I was going to help them, but it’s crazy to see how well they’ve all improved. I’m really happy with what we’ve done this year. We never had
KEARNY
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the chance to win like this before. Now, people are talking about us and that makes me feel very proud. It’s motivation to play hard for my teammates.”
Lopez didn’t know how well the Kards would play this season, especially after missing out on all of 2020.
“Not having a season left us with people who had no experience this year,” Lopez said. “But after I saw the team, I knew that this team would play the best volleyball we’ve ever seen.”
Garcia is headed to New Jersey Institute of Technology to study civil engineering. He will graduate from Kearny with an astounding 4.40 grade point average, having scored well in three different advanced placement courses. He plans on trying out for the NJIT team when he arrives.
“It means a lot to us that we’re doing so well,” said Garcia, who was raised in Peru and came to Kearny in seventh grade. “I really believed in this team. I thought we could go far.”
Part of the reason why Garcia thought the Kardinals would do so well is the commitment they showed to play practice games at the volleyball courts in West Hudson Park.
“Sure, there are people, men who have more experience than us there,” Garcia said. “But it has helped me so much to go there. I think it’s helped us all a lot.”
“He can play all around,” Mullins said. “He plays defense and makes good passes.”
Nathan Aguilar is the third senior in the mix. He’s also going to Kean in the fall to study physical therapy.
“It’s crazy to think we’d be this good,” Aguilar said. “We have a lot of players who have put in the hard work, but it’s unexpected.”
“He can hit the ball very hard,” Mullins said of Aguilar. “He’s a solid blocker and a big threat.”
What makes this team special is that Mullins’ two sons are on the team. Sophomore William Mullins is playing volleyball for the very first time.
“He’s been around the gym with me, but never really came out,” Coach Mullins said. “He’s done a really good job as a strong blocker. I try to treat them like everyone else.”
Freshman Matheus Mullins is making his way into the rotation as an outside hitter.
Senior Kevin Chaloco is the team’s libero.
“He’s a strong kid who makes good passes,” Mullins said. “He’s a powerful server.”
Senior Francisco Penaherrera and junior Cristian Poncio are the team’s two setters.
Junior Ethan Lugo is a fixture at outside hitter. Sophomore Sebastian Glazewski is a middle hitter and senior Andres Villoa is a libero. Senior Rafael Sampaio is a defensive specialist, while Sebastian Diaz is a senior all-around player.
Despite the loss to St. Peter’s last week, this is a very confident team heading into the NJSIAA state playoffs.
“We have something left to accomplish,” said Lopez, who will major in information systems at Kean. “We want to get a ring. That’s what we’re working for now, getting a ring.”
“You wish you had more years to play high school volleyball,” Garcia said. “Especially this year, because we have such a close team. We have good chemistry and keep everyone up. It’s really exciting to be this good.”
The Kardinals will have an interesting match Wednesday against Harrison in Kearny at 4:30 p.m. as the two rivals wear different hats this year. The Blue Tide are the ones chasing the Kardinals. Lopez doesn’t mind that.
“I’m glad to win with this team,” Lopez said. “This team deserves it.”
Photo by Jim Hague The Kearny volleyball team has enjoyed great success this season, winning 13 of 15 matches. Front row, from left, are Ethan Lugo, Renzo Alama, Andres Ulloa, Francisco Penaherrera, Kevin Chalaco, Rafael Sampaio and Sebastian Diaz. Back row from left are Coach Bill Mullins, Matthew Viera, Matheus Mullins, Santiago Lopez, William Mullins, Nathan Aguilar, Marcelo Garcia, Cristian Poncio and Sebastian Glaweski.
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11 Kearny’s Serrano provides gigantic power surge
By Jim Hague ogsmar@aol.com
Chris Serrano was trying to wrap his head around the fact that his high school athletic career was drawing to a close, that the Kearny High School standout shortstop/pitcher was actually preparing himself for the last few times he would wear the Kardinals’ uniform.
“Losing last year to COVID was a big blow to me,” Serrano said. “I really didn’t have a good sophomore year, so I just wanted one last chance to have fun with the boys. I think I just tried to do too much as a sophomore. I had a good freshman year, which sort of set me back. I didn’t need to do too much. I was overswinging. I was pulling off a little.”
Then, the coronavirus cancels everything in 2020, eliminating all chance of a bounce back campaign.
So Serrano had to wait and wait for his chance to get back on the baseball field. He worked hard on his own, spending most of his free time at Retro Fitness in North Arlington, getting ready for his last chance.
“I usually would go before school, early in the morning,” Serrano said. “I worked on the lower half of my body, strengthening my legs. Then after school, I would go to the batting cages to get extra swings. I wanted it to be as good of a season as I could have.”
Kearny head coach Dave Smart knew that his slugger would have a solid senior season.
“I wasn’t sure about what we were walking into this year, but I knew we did have him,” Smart said. “We really couldn’t put a price tag on what Chris meant to us. We just needed him to go in any and every situation.”
Smart vividly recalls the first time he saw Serrano play.
“He was in fifth grade and he came to our summer camp,” Smart said. “He let us know how special he was a long time ago. We actually took Chris and turned him into a counselor. He was just a man among boys at that point.”
Serrano was a 12-year-old helping to instruct kids that were much older. But that’s what Chris Serrano is all about.
Serrano has always been a special young man, an athlete destined for greatness. Sure, he played soccer for a while and was a basketball standout for four years. But everyone understood that baseball was Serrano’s bread and butter, his ticket out to stardom elsewhere.
And here it was, Serrano’s senior campaign, sort of sneaking up on him. He had his future already planned out, having given a verbal commitment to Rowan University to play for the Profs in the fall. But this was his last chance to make his name known in his hometown.
“I definitely felt stronger than ever,” Serrano said. “My legs definitely felt stronger and I was just going to let my hands do all the work with the swing. I just had to focus on my hands.”
Serrano said that he learned everything he needed to know about hitting from his father, Serafin, who once played baseball at Barringer High School in Newark.
“He definitely taught me the right way,” Serrano said.
Well, the right way carried over to the 2021 regular season, where Serrano has basically treated every ball that is pitched to him like it’s a beachball.
In fact, Serrano has been on a tear like no other seen in local baseball in quite some time.
Serrano homered in four straight games against perennial Hudson County powerhouses Memorial and Hudson Catholic. He also homered and drove in four runs in a win over Lincoln and had a homer and three runs scored in a win over Hoboken. For the season, Serrano is batting .555 (15-for-27) with 16 runs scored, 13 RBI, 22 stolen bases and five homers, four of which came in one gigantic power surge last week.
For his efforts, Serrano has been selected as The Observer Athlete of the Week for the past week.
Serrano just wants to finish off the season in strong fashion. The games are down to a precious handful.
“I just want to go out and have fun,” Serrano said. “If you’re not having fun playing baseball, well, you’re not going to play good. I always try to have a smile on my face.”
His grades certainly don’t cause him concern. He owns a 4.3 grade point average that he will take to Rowan, where he plans to study civil engineering.
“I don’t think my parents would have allowed it,” Serrano said.
Mom’s first name is Janet. We met Dad earlier. The Serrano family just drove up to Syracuse, N.Y. last weekend to support Chris’ sister Brianna as she graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in architecture. . ]]“I’m just going to cherish the rest of the season,” Serrano said. “Then, when I get to college, I hopefully will win the starting shortstop spot. My time in high school just flew by. I’m not going to lie and say that I wasn’t upset about last year. But I managed to cherish it all and make the best of everything.”
With homers in five of six games last week, it looks like he has.
“I’m just mad that it couldn’t make it six of seven,” Serrano said.
That’s certainly a determined young man.
Photo by Jim Hague Kearny High School senior shortstop Chris Serrano.
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