Watch: Legendary volleyball program determined to 'get back to where we were'
Northeastern boys volleyball is one of the best teams in the state — again. But his motivation is different after a losing season and the end of a historic streak.
Matt Allibone, York Daily Record
Joel Braswell comes from a family of Northeastern volleyball players. The high school senior can speak eloquently about the program's expectations, successes and disappointments over the past two years.
But a question about being an athlete in a pandemic made him think for a moment.
“How do you become a leader when you go right from your sophomore season to your senior season?”
“That's a tough question,” Braswell admitted.
“It was hard. It was scary to come out and realize, 'Wow, we're the kids. Everyone looks up to us.”
All of today's senior student-athletes have faced that challenge after the spring season was canceled last year, but not all of them are playing for a program like Northeastern boys volleyball.
A program where “the expectation is always a championship,” as Braswell put it.
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One of the storied programs in York County — and Pennsylvania — sports history, Northeastern won six straight PIAA Class 2A titles from 2013 to 2018 before closing out its first year in Class 3A in 2019. The Bobcats lost a thrilling five-set match against Central York in that year's semifinals.
A star-studded senior class featuring current Ohio State player Nate Wilson and linebacker Austin Richards (Springfield College) didn't get a chance to redeem themselves last season.
This has put quite a burden on the shoulders of today's senior citizens. A talented but somewhat inexperienced team has had to learn how to lead and win on the fly this spring — all while understanding what's expected of them in the postseason.
“Our sophomore year, us seniors had to watch most of these kids lose that state championship (semifinal),” Setter Tanner Sadowski said. “That really stuck in our hearts. This year we're really trying to go for greatness.
“Not having last year really makes us want to make this year the best.”
So far, the Bobcats haven't seemed to miss a beat. Northeastern (8-0) is currently undefeated in games and swept Cumberland Valley, the top-ranked team in District 3 Class 3A, on Monday. Northeastern also won prestigious tournaments the past two weekends at the home-hosted Bobcat Invitational and Central York's Koller Classic.
However, the Bobcats know there is work to be done. District 3 Class 3A is “loading up” according to coach Matt Wilson, and 2019 PIAA Class 3A champion North Allegheny remains arguably the top team in the state. North Allegheny beat Northeastern in pool play at the Koller Classic last weekend.
Even through all the stress of expectation and inexperience, Northeastern's seniors have set their sights on posting another banner in a few months.
“We're not making excuses, but we only have two years of playing time and some of us haven't seen varsity before,” Braswell said. “Coming into this season, the motivation was, 'Let's get the Bobcats back to where we were.'
“Let's define who we were.”
A new situation
Matt Wilson admitted that Northeastern's annual goal of adding to its state title streak “probably became too much of a pressure cooker.”
However, the combination of coming “dangerously” close to a seventh trip to the championship game and then missing out on coaching his son's senior season was difficult for him.
But for the program, the biggest takeaway from the past two seasons is that there is no longer a player with championship experience in the gym. The current seniors were freshmen for the 2018 title, but none of them saw significant varsity time.
Regaining that confidence is still an ongoing process, according to the coach.
“We've been blessed and probably spoiled to always have a state championship player or team come through around here,” Wilson said. “That's kind of gone now.”
Still, the Bobcats bring back some good varsity experience from the 2019 squad, including senior hitters Braswell and Brady Lemen and libero Tristan Schraudner. Sadowski seamlessly replaced Richards as lead director and was the “core” of the team, according to Wilson.
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But there were still physical kinks to work out after the losing season. Braswell said the players had to figure out who would step up as the team's vocal leader and go to offensive players.
The offseason was also very different.
Some players still played club volleyball in the summer, but the school year was characterized by numerous “matches and starts,” according to Wilson. Open gyms and weight training often could not take place or were canceled due to COVID restrictions.
And the Bobcats are still figuring things out. Wilson pointed to the team's defensive blocking as an area that needs improvement. Braswell said the Bobcats are still allowing opponents to turn a point into an extended run.
But it's hard to argue with the results, and Northeastern is happy to be undefeated with less than a month left in the regular season.
The Bobcats' highly anticipated regular season matchup against Central York is at home on May 6. The Panthers (3-1) are ranked 10th in District 3 Class 3A, but are steadily improving.
“It probably went a little smoother than expected,” Wilson said. “I'm amazed at how quickly we've improved from January to now. We're on the right track, but we've got a long road ahead of us. We're not taking anything for granted.”
Focusing on the players
Wilson has been Northeastern's coach since 1996 and admitted he considered quitting in recent years.
Coming out on top with his son, Nate, was a potential storybook ending averted by the pandemic.
But after a lost season, he said he's focused on this year's team and his long-term future is “still up in the air right now.”
“I'm just enjoying the moments with these guys,” Wilson said. “At the end of the season we'll see where I'm at in my life and what happens from there.”
And as the program chases its seventh state crown in the last nine years — and 10th overall — Wilson wants the attention on players who missed a season last year.
He hopes another postseason run will give them the same feeling the Bobcats who came before them experienced.
“Coming into this year for COVID, I'd like them to get some reward,” Wilson said. “For the program, I'd like to get that state championship feeling back here again.”
Matt Allibone is a sports reporter for GameTimePA. He can be reached at 717-881-8221, mallibone@ydr.com or on Twitter at @bad2theallibone.