Sports

Despite its new name and new determination this season, the boy’s volleyball team, the Stuyvesant Beasts, was once again knocked out of the first round of playoffs on Saturday, May 10 by the William C. Bryant Owls. The loss marks the third year in a row that the team has failed to make it past the first round.

The game, played at the York College Court, was finished after two matches in which the Owls won 25-13 and 25-17. The Beasts fought hard to escape elimination especially in the second match but still came up short. The loss was no huge surprise since the Owls were ranked seventh overall while the Beasts were ranked 26th. However, senior and captain Younghoon “Chris” Lee felt that the Owls were a team the Beasts “could definitely have beaten” and coach Suzanne Lendzian described them as “nothing great.’

According to Lee, a few bad calls by the referees and the Beasts’ below-par serving contributed mostly to the loss. The Beasts’ bumpy regular season may have had just as much of an impact.

The season began with new coaches, physical education teachers Suzanne Lendzian and Vasken Choubaralian, and an uncharacteristic loss for the team against Laguardia High School—a team Stuyvesant had not lost to in the past two seasons. Furthermore, according to Lendzian, the team had “issues with attendance” in school during the season—resulting in a few players being suspended by Assistant Principal Health and Physical Education Martha Singer. Several seniors even quit the team as a result of personal issues. “[We lost a] setter […] and a couple of quality players,” Choubaralian said.

“Several of our seniors weren’t showing up to class, so they weren’t allowed to play. It definitely hurt our morale and the team as a whole,” junior Daniel Tsuan said.

With the loss of players, the team finished the season with a 9-3 record and placed third in their division. Though their season record is substantial, it is not at the same level as previous years, in which the Beasts went 12-1 and 13-0.

Overall, the Beasts do not consider the season a failure. “Everyone learned something from each other and from the coaches,” Lee said.

“I gained a lot of perspective on what I want to be doing next year and what I want the team to be doing in practice,” Lendzian said. Not only did the team seem to have a learning experience, but leadership on the team seemed to be very strong, according to the two coaches.

For next season, the team is in need of a new setter—an important initiative that the coaches will set out to accomplish. “[I also want] to work on better communication and establishing more of a bond,” Choubaralian said. “We just need to step up to the challenge.”