CMSV volleyball off to strong start

Brett Holiday has played volleyball with many different teammates in his four years at the College of Mount Saint Vincent.

But leading up to this season, he felt a special bond, even with the new players. Camaraderie is crucial in a sport that requires pinpoint timing on sets and spikes — and the Dolphins have it this year, Holiday said.

The early results have proven strong, as CMSV is 2-1 to begin the season, including a three-game sweep of local foe Lehman College at home on Jan. 30. Holiday, a middle hitter, led the Dolphins with 11 kills in the 25-15, 25-18, 25-23 non-conference win. But two freshmen, whom Holiday met only a few months ago, provided strong supporting roles, as setter Logan Dickover had 24 assists and five digs and outside hitter Michael Kochen had 10 kills. 

“Something I noticed right away was the tremendous heart these freshmen have,” Holiday said. “We had good chemistry right from the jump. And I know I can swing as hard as I want to because they’re going to protect me even if I get blocked.”

Another freshman, Neven Skobler, finished with nine kills, including two in the opening set to get CMSV off to an early 5-1 lead. 

The eight Dolphin freshmen have gotten off to a fast start in part because of the team’s leadership structure, Holiday said. The seniors, notably Holiday and James DiGiovanni, set the tone at practices, but everyone has a say in the team’s daily activities.

“Some people lead homework sessions, some lead stretching, everyone leads at something,” Holiday said. “It puts everyone on the same plane. And it carries over off the court. A lot of the guys go out together, and we go to a lot of open gyms.”

Second-year coach Nelson Kwok brought in the talented freshman class hoping to continue the team’s improvement that began last season when it finished over .500 for the first time in three seasons. 

Even in the team’s loss to Southern Vermont, the players worked through their adversity constructively, Holiday said.

“If things aren’t working, we come to the middle, figure out what’s wrong and we fix it,” he said. “Each play, we have each other’s backs.”

As a result of a scheduling quirk, CMSV plays its first five matches at home. But Kwok said the only benefit of the home games is that they “don’t have to fight traffic in the city.”

Still, the coach is pleased with his team’s early-season effort, especially his leader, Holiday.

“Things went according to plan on Friday,” he said. “We were firing on all cylinders. Passing was good, serving was good, everything was good.

“Brett was on, he was in the zone. He knows what’s expected of him and he’s a leader in the offense.”

The Dolphins were scheduled to play host to York College (New York) on Wednesday, Feb. 4 and will finish their homestand at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 10 against Medgar Evers. 

Despite Friday’s loss in its season-opener, Lehman has high hopes this season because of outside hitter Jaleel Lino, a junior from Belize who had 13 kills against CMSV. Lino was named the CUNY Athletic Conference’s Co-Preseason Player of the Year. He earned first-team All-Star honors in the conference last season.