Saturday, October 3, 2026
Valley Stream North boys’ volleyball has plenty of tough, balanced competition coming up if it wants to keep playoff hope alive.
“[We’ve been working on] consistent play. We know we have the skillset, we just need to be more consistent with our abilities,” said coach George Karahalios. “Sometimes we don’t reach the ability that we can at all times, so that’s something that we’ve been working on. Sometimes it seems like everything is clicking and sometimes we’ll take a step back and we have to catch up, and we do, it’d just be a lot easier if we could do this on a more consistent basis.”
The season so far has been marked by growth and change, Karahalios said. Despite seeing injuries and setbacks, the team’s collective grit is what has gotten it this far, and what he bets will continue to take them further.
“We’re working so hard in practices on a daily basis, the kids want to stay for longer practices,” he added “Even when I try to give them time to rest and take breaks, they really just want to stick around and work more on their skills, so the determination that they’ve been showing this year has been phenomenal.”
Returners Erik Ziemblicki, Nick Lang, Mark de Prado, Samual Onuoha and Liam Corbett are the vets who have the most experience on the squad, all of whom are part of the starting lieup; Jeks James Zachariah, Daniel Banach, Lorenzo Yegros and Andre Llubit have all seen considerable time on the court in order to propel the team to success so far this season, stepping in as liberos, defensive specialists or outside hitters as needed.
Onuoha and Mark de Prado both had 25 kills and Ziemblicki, the setter, dished out 66 assists as the Spartans defeated Calhoun in a five-set marathon Oct. 21.
While a sharp skillset is necessary in starting players, what’s detrimental is the heart that lies within them, according to Karahalios.
“Their heart and how much effort they put in,” he said. “They’re constantly working on their skills, helping the younger guys on the team, and they’re some of the best athletes that I’ve coached.”
On top of that, they’ve matured as players off the court, bearing the weight of leadership, especially given the fact that VSN has moved up athletic conferences this year.
“They’ve stepped into their leadership roles; Ziemblicki, Lang and de Prado are our captains, and all three of them were part of our conference championship team last year so they knew what was expected,” Karahalios said. “They understand that it takes more from them, as individuals and as leaders, to really lead this team, and they’ve been doing it. They’re one of the reasons for our successes.”
Now, with playoffs on the horizon, it’s full steam ahead for the 10-5 Spartans.
“One thing we’re focusing on is it doesn’t matter what seed we’re in, it doesn’t matter where we’re placed, we need to understand that everyone has an opportunity and once you get into the playoffs, it’s one and done,” Karahalios said. “We do understand that the lower seed can beat the upper seed, it’s been happening all year. It’s just so balanced that you really don’t know what’s going to happen.”
