YORKTOWN, N.Y—The Hornets look to build on the growth they displayed last year, as their final record of 7-13 was a four-win improvement from the previous campaign.
Lakeland is coming off a season that saw it as the No. 6 seed, losing at No. 3 Croton-Harmon/Briarcliff 3-0 (17-25, 22-25, 23-25) in the opening round of the Section 1 Division 2 Tournament.
“Our goals are to continue growing as a program,” said fourth-year Hornets coach Justin McCarthy, a 2010 Lakeland graduate. “We have increased our win totals each year since we started our program so that is the goal again this year. Another goal would be to win our first sectional match in school history.”
All-League Kevin Dominic (sophomore, outside hitter), All-League Kenny Bui (senior, outside hitter), Addison Cuevas (senior, middle blocker), Van Bui (sophomore, setter), Delvin Anthony (senior, setter), Luke Numme (sophomore), Ben Mathew (sophomore), Tristan Almendral (sophomore), Erdin Dedushaj (sophomore, outside hitter) and Shane Gorman (senior, libero) are Lakeland’s returnees.
“I expect them (returnees) to continue getting better and help our new athletes learn to continue getting our program better,” McCarthy said.
Isaac Arias (sophomore, middle blocker), Sterling Graham (sophomore), Joseph Kim (freshman, setter), Jake Lynch (freshman) and Logan Tolve (sophomore, outside hitter) are the Hornets’ newcomers.
“I want them (newcomers) to come every day ready to get better and work hard,” McCarthy said.
Lakeland will open the season at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 2 at Greenburgh Eleven High School–Children’s Village.
Yorktown aims for glory
Yorktown is one of the elite of Section 1 boys volleyball, and now it’s looking to take the next step to the championship level.
As the No. 1 seed, in what has become a great rivalry, the Huskers lost to No. 2 Eastchester 3-0 (11-25, 23-25, 17-25) in the championship match of the Section 1 Division 2 finals at the Westchester County Center in White Plains last fall, the first time the finals were held at the venerable White Plains venue, leaving the Huskers with a still-glittering 19-3 mark.
The year before, Yorktown hosted Eastchester in the semifinals, losing to the Eagles 3-1 (25-27, 21-25, 25-19, 20-25).
Looking to help the Huskers exact revenge on Eastchester and bring home the sectional title is second-year coach TJ Pufahl, who also was Yorktown’s assistant coach in 2023. Pufahl has more than a decade of coaching experience, from the high-school varsity level to coaching in college at his alma mater, the University of Mount Saint Vincent in the Bronx.
Pufahl also played at Mount Saint Vincent, where he graduated in 2009 and was a three-year captain, mostly as an outside hitter, in addition to playing middle blocker. He played outside hitter for four years on the varsity at Bethpage High School on Long Island as well.
“Honestly, it was surreal to play at the County Center,” Pufahl said. “It felt like we made the big leagues. I feel like we put a name out there for ourselves and showed people how competitive boys volleyball really is. What’s motivating us this year is coming home with the title.”
One of Yorktown’s senior co-captains is outside hitter Justin Sek, who was named All-League and All-Section a year ago.
“I expect him to not only excel on the court, but to be a leader as well,” Pufahl said.
Setter Jack Brunner, also coming off an All-League and All-Section campaign, is the Huskers’ other senior co-captain.
“I expect Jack to lead on the court and take charge,” Pufahl said. “I need him to be more vocal.”
Two other top returnees are sophomore middle blockers Siddharth “Sid” Shenoy and Alex Mezquita.
“As freshmen on varsity last year, they were fantastic,” Pufahl said. “Now that they know the game, I expect them to work harder and move faster on the court.”
Jacob Sinu (senior, outside hitter), Saarth Desai (junior, middle blocker), Westley McGuire (junior, right side/opposite hitter), All-League Noah Won (junior, middle blocker/libero), Xavier Guzman (sophomore, right side/opposite hitter) and Anton Ubozhenko (sophomore, outside hitter) also return from last year’s County Center squad.
Yorktown is scheduled to open the season at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4 versus visiting Scarsdale B.
“I want to continue growing the program,” Pufahl said. “Even though the season only just started, I’m already looking and planning for future seasons. Each year, as I graduate skilled seniors, I need to replace them with rising players equally as talented.”
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