Vernon volleyball chasing league championship

VERNON — When a sports team earns success by accumulating winning season after winning season and making playoff appearances year after year, sometimes that success can be taken for granted-which is unfortunate.
In 2018, the Vernon boys' volleyball team tallied an overall record of 10-7 and they advanced to the NJSIAA North 1 Sectional Tournament. In the pre-quarterfinal round of the North 1 Sectional Tournament, the 10th seeded Vikings toppled No. 7 seed Wayne Valley. In the quarterfinals, they were defeated by second seeded Lakeland. Fair Lawn won the North 1 Sectional title and Old Bridge won the State championship last year.
Key returning student athletes for the Vikings this season include Andrew Lisa (senior, outside hitter and captain), Will Jurewicz (senior, setter) and James Pellot (senior, middle blocker).
Promising newcomers who may very well help guide the varsity lineup include Travis Schneider (senior, right side), Erik Van Gorder (senior, outside hitter), Ryan Lally (junior, outside hitter) and Jeremiah Kerton (sophomore, middle blocker).
“I expect my senior returners to be positive leaders for our team," Vernon head coach Jeff DeYoung said. “They are easy going, understand the expectations, and are working hard in the preseason to maintain consistency and effectiveness in their all-around games. Their goal is to continue to make everyone better a little bit at a time."
Not surprisingly, a program of Vernon’s caliber has a set of lofty goals.
“Postseason play is always the goal and now that we have an NJAC (Northwest Jersey Athletic Conference)-recognized League, it would be nice to get that inaugural League championship," DeYoung said. “But those rewards come from reading the game in real time, making effective adjustments and playing quality ball every match.”
The Vikings are scheduled to travel to play Pope John on April 11 and on April 15 they will host Chatham. On April 18, they are slated to host Dover and on April 23 they have a road challenge at Jefferson.
“I think if everything continues to come together, we can be a contender," DeYoung said. “All of the pieces have to fall into place. Dover and Jefferson have had great success lately and are always competitive matches. Pope John is right in the mix and first-year program Chatham will be a wild-card for us.’’