Cape volleyball gets close, but falls to Newark 3-1

The Cape boys’ volleyball team fell to Newark 3-1 April 19, then dropped by the same score to Indian River the day after. The first-year program is now 0-4, with five matches remaining.

Ethan Shuttleworth led the Vikings against Newark with 22 assists and nine digs. Alex Patterson made nine kills and five digs. Oden Potemski put down six kills and made seven digs. Gavin Felker put down seven kills. Salvatore Oronzio and Talan Stephens bumped five digs. Austin Carey scored two aces and two digs. Nolan Kerstetter and Liam Leishear put in four and two kills, respectively.

Matt Young led the Yellowjackets with 25 digs.

“This match [against Newark] was another sign of our progression during this inaugural season,” said co-coach Tyler Coupe. “Early on in practices, we were very slowly piecing things together, and we had to focus on repetitive reps of the basic fundamentals. The boys are now picking things up, and we as coaches are having to change our approach. We’re going to have to start throwing more complex and challenging things to them as they continue to grow in their knowledge. Against Newark, we showed some signs of piecing those things together; however, we made too many unforced errors overall. Our serving is consistent, but now we need to start challenging the other teams. It’s not good enough anymore to only get the ball in bounds. Our blocking and passing have made massive strides. Our offense needs to understand the importance of diversifying. Some of our attacks are becoming obvious and easy to anticipate/pick up. It’s still been an awesome journey, and it’s still so early. The boys seem to enjoy the sport. They’re giving each other a ton of support, which has been fantastic to see. We’re excited to keep challenging ourselves and look forward to piecing all these pieces together.”