The reestablished J. Taylor Finley Middle School boys’ volleyball team enjoyed a very competitive season this winter.
Coached by Washington Primary School physical education teacher Eric Mininni and captained by eighth graders Caleb Palermo and Spencer James, Finley gave most of their opponents all they could handle.
When Finley wasn’t winning outright, it frequently fell by a score of 3-2 in five game matches. “Our biggest accomplishment was winning our very first match,” Mininni said. “I think it really set the tone for the rest of the season. It made us believe we could compete and we did for the rest of the year.”
The full roster included seventh graders Lucas Biancardo, Eric Heinz, Zachary Matthews, Dylan Michaelson and Charlie Stanforth and eighth graders Christ Castillo Martos, Eoin Charles, Kevin Dominguez, Joseph Gilhuley, Spencer James, Jeremyah Leiva, Alvin Luna, Andrew Ochoa Islas, Caleb Palermo, Markis Ponce and John Reyes.
Finley’s top players included Palermo (44 kills, 27 blocks, 28 aces), James (135 passes, 49 aces, 12 kills), Michaelson (48 sets, 38 aces, five kills), Biancardo (24 sets, 22 aces) and Heinz (75 passes, 28 aces, 15 kills). (A kill is recorded whenever an attack is unreturnable by the opposition and is a direct cause of the opponent not returning the ball or any time the attack leads directly to a blocking error by the opposition. A kill leads directly to a point.)
“Caleb Palermo is the true definition of a leader,” Mininni said. “He gave us a presence. I could always count on Caleb to come up big for our team. Spencer James is another great leader. He’s Mr. Consistency in all aspects of the game. He always made great passes and came up huge with his serves.”
The coach also praised Michaelson and Heinz for individual praise. “Dylan Michaelson is another true competitor,” Mininni said. “He probably had the most difficult serve to return and was so athletic. Eric Heinz is Mr. Versatile. Regardless of when I put him in, he came up big for our team.”
Huntington practiced in the Woodhull Intermediate School gym and played its matches at Finley. The home contests were livestreamed on the Huntington Blue Devil Sports YouTube channel. A video library of home matches is archived there.
Mininni said he hopes to increase the number of players on next year’s roster and be even more competitive in 2023.
