EHS boys volleyball is off to a hot start! The boys are off with a 3-0 record, after beating Wayne in a three-set sweep, 25-22,25-19,25-19, on Tuesday.
Last season, the team finished the season with a 13-10 record, the best record in all of EHS boy’s volleyball history. Head Coach Mark Blair wants to break this record this season.
“We want to top last year’s 13-10 record, which was tied for our most wins ever and was our best win percentage ever,” said Blair.
Tanner Taggart is one of four seniors on the team. Taggart is in his fourth year on the varsity roster.
“To beat our record from last year we will need to be confident in ourselves. We have true talent on the team, multiple collegiate athletes. If everyone does what they’re capable of, we will be a dangerous team this year,” said Taggart.
Along with Taggart’s team goals, he also has some personal goals for this season.
“This season I would like to get my name on the all-time dig record,” said Taggart. Breaking this record is very doable for Tanner. he finished off last season with 132 digs.
The team has been practicing extensively this past month preparing for the season. Focusing on things they lacked last season.
“Our practices involve a lot of serve receive because that’s the one area we still struggle with at times. We are also trying to incorporate a lot of conditioning because our bench is very limited this season,” said Blair.
Building this team has relied a lot on senior leadership, and players with multiple year’s experience to pick up younger players and show them the reigns.
“Hayden Honchul has been the emotional leader of this group. He does a great job of pulling guys aside and giving advice on how to fix issues in their game, and he is always there with a positive word to pick up his teammates after an error. He is also quick to take responsibility for his mistakes and doesn’t make excuses or blame his circumstances,” said Blair.
Even though Edgewood has moved to a new conference this season, the SWBL still lacks boys’ volleyball teams, therefore not giving the team any competition. So the team has set their eyes on something else…
“We have not won a tournament game in almost 10 years. We would love to advance at least a couple rounds into the tournament,” said Blair. The coach and the players all want to shoot for the OHSAA tournament.
While the Cougars are on a hot streak, they have their eyes set on these key games.
“We have not played well against Milford and they have had our number for a long time. A win against them on the road would be huge. We also have a good shot at meeting Lakota West at the Purple Reign Tournament in Middletown. They handled us pretty easily last year, so a little revenge would feel good. Senior night will be 4/30 against Hamilton, so of course we would love to see a huge crowd on that night as we recognize Hayden Honchul, Jonah Combs, Zack Moore, and Tanner Taggart.” Blair said.
