ABINGTON BOYS’ VOLLEYBALL PREVIEW
Coach: Madeline Robinson - 1st year as Head Coach (previously JV Coach - 3 years)
Assistant coaches:
Tom Landmesser - 2nd year with Abington BVB
Abe Horng - 1st year as Head JV/Varsity Assistant Coach with Abington BVB
Last year’s record: Abington Boys’ Volleyball created a program milestone last year in 2023, earning a program-high record of 13-7 and finishing 4th in the National conference. Abington made it to first round in the SOL Playoffs last year, losing to Souderton in a hard-fought match. Senior Xavier Voit was honored on the 1st Team All-National selection, and Miles Winegrad (12) and Zach Miller (11) were honored on 2nd Team All-National. Xavier was selected for 3rd team All-District One.
Notable losses: The entire starting lineup of Abington graduated as seniors except for junior Zach Miller, who returns to Abington boys’ volleyball for his senior season in 2023.
Key returners: #19 Zach Miller returns as a senior outside hitter to Abington Varsity BVB.
Others to watch: Abington’s new, young team has a few notable additions to its varsity starting roster. Seniors Kai Savadove and Nikolay Grinyuk round out the 12th graders on Abington’s roster. The rest of the team is made up of juniors and underclassmen. Junior Brendan Dougherty stepped into the position of setter for the 2023 season, and junior Jack Scharnikow is hitting outside opposite Miller. The team’s libero is junior Thomas O’Malley, with junior DS Garrett Mulvihill joining him in the back row. Shea McGurgan, junior, is hitting as a right side in the front row for the team’s other setter, Max Brahler, a sophomore. Brahler is joining the team for the first time this year, having sat out due to injury the previous season. The other sophomore rounding out the starting lineup is Danyel Mayo in the middle; Mayo is a powerful addition to the team’s offense as a sophomore.
Strengths: The offensive outlook for Abington’s boys varsity volleyball is bright. Led by Miller as a senior captain, the outside hitters Miller and Scharnikow both are looking at racking up the kills this season from both the front and back row. The 6-2 setter combination also allows for Dougherty to add to the offensive effort on the right side.
Question marks: The question of the team’s age remains one to be seen throughout the season - but after an offseason playing, many of the younger players competing at higher age brackets at the club level, they are maturing quickly to handle varsity level play.
Outlook: “This is my first year as head varsity coach at Abington, and we have some big goals for this team. Tom Landmesser, assistant varsity coach, has been instrumental in helping to develop our lineup and mold our young players into varsity level athletes. We hope to develop a young team into a mature, coordinated unit that is capable of competing at a high level. Our seniors have helped to develop the younger players on the team into a team which is offensively formidable. Though young, this team has the potential to go toe-to-toe with the most experienced teams in this league, and we can’t wait to see what they can accomplish.”
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