There will be something a little bit different for the Fox Chapel Area boys volleyball team this season.
After about two decades in a grueling section that featured perennial power North Allegheny, which has won 22 WPIAL championships since 1985 and two-time WPIAL champion Shaler Area, the Foxes have been moved to a different section. This one will feature teams such as North Hills, Central Catholic, Plum, Penn Hills, and Gateway.
But under the heading of the more things change the more they stay the same, there will be something familiar with the team. Phil O’Keeffe returns for his 23rd season to coach the team that also was a power in that section, winning WPIAL championships in 2006 and 2015.
Last season was a bit of a struggle for the Foxes, with a 3-13 record and 1-10 in the section. However, coach O’Keeffe is optimistic about the season.
“It’s very promising,” he said. “I have two seniors, four or five juniors, along with a pretty heavy sophomore and freshman class that is the biggest underclassmen class I’ve had in quite some time. Greg Laun has done a great job at Dorseyville Middle School, getting them ready to play. I have a really nice group of players. I have sophomores, and even freshmen, who are going to be pushing for playing time on the varsity. It’s pretty competitive, and the teams I’ve had in the past that have been successful have always had that strong second team pushing them the whole way so they don’t coast.”
Coach O’Keeffe said last season’s record can be a bit misleading, considering the section in which the Foxes played.
“We were not that bad of a team,” he said. “We were actually pretty decent. In the section that we were in, if we’re not that bad, we’re terrible. We would play against teams from other sections and go 50-50 or have a winning record against them. But when it came to our section, there was no just getting by on average. I knew we didn’t have what it took to deal with our section.”
The section was so powerful that every year O’Keeffe has coached at Fox Chapel Area, a team from the section captured the WPIAL title, with the exception of 2016 when Penn-Trafford won the championship.
“I loved playing in that section,” coach O’Keeffe admitted. “I’m going to miss it.”
Looking at this year’s team, junior setter Owen Long is expected to be a key piece of the squad, although coach O’Keeffe admitted that Long is being pushed by freshman Conor Cook. The coach did say Owen has a competitive streak.
“He’s quick and has a very good demeanor for a setter,” coach O’Keeffe said. “You have to take charge, but you have to make the hitters feel good. If you’re a hitter and you screw up, Owen takes the blame. He’s very chill and doesn’t get too emotional. He just does everything you want a setter to do.”
Other key contributors are expected to be juniors Kagan Joyce and Max Bruno, and seniors Nate Klamut and Ethan Filter.
“Ethan just has a big arm,” coach O’Keeffe said. “When he gets a hold of it, the point is most likely over. If we can get him the ball in a good location for all of the hits he takes, it’s going to be a good year for him and for us.”
Something else coach O’Keeffe is happy about is that this year’s team has five volunteer assistant coaches.
“I usually don’t have any,” he said.
Coach O’Keeffe said there are many important variables for the Foxes to have a successful season, including common ones such as ball control and serving. It’s a team that will probably have to get by with finesse.
“We are not going to overpower many teams as far as height wise or pure hitting ability, because we have a lack of firepower,” he said. “We should be able to pass well, defend well, and serve well and take our opportunities where we can get them. The competitiveness of every practice and the competitiveness for spots is going to translate into them being more competitive against other teams. They have to believe they can do it. It should be a fun year. We’re all looking forward to it.”