Egg Harbor Township HS boys volleyball team building upon early success
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. — Christian Wiech didn鈥檛 pay attention to the normal roadblocks associated with starting a brand new sports program at the high school varsity level. A highly successful girls soccer coach at Egg Harbor Township High in the fall, Wiech started up the boys volleyball team at the school prior to the 2021 spring season.
He鈥檚 heard it all before 鈥� 鈥榠t鈥檚 going to take time鈥� and 鈥榶ou have to be patient, you may not win much with a new program.鈥� He chooses not to listen to that kind of caution, instead asking questions like, 鈥榳hy can鈥檛 a Group 4 school with a bunch of good athletes come out and compete right away?鈥�
That鈥檚 exactly what the Eagles have done so far in their brief two-year history. EHT posted a 7-6 won-loss record in its inaugural season, then followed that up with an impressive 14-6 mark that included a 10-match winning streak that was only stopped by eventual South Jersey playoff finalist Eastern Regional in the second round of states.
鈥淭his is a second-year program and I鈥檓 excited about how far we got this year,鈥� said senior Scott Hiltne, who played lacrosse in the spring prior to starting his volleyball career. 鈥淐oming off a 7-6 season last year and going 14-6 this season, it shows a great improvement. Everyone put in a lot of work.鈥�
EHT entered the state tournament as the No. 11 seed and beat Paul VI in the play-in round. That set up a matchup against No. 3 Eastern, one of the more established programs in the area and a true contender for the South Jersey championship. EHT took the Vikings to the brink, and Eastern needed to hold off a late Eagles rally to win in three sets to advance.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a second-year program and the expectations are what they are for new programs, but we鈥檝e taught our boys from Day One to go out and be aggressive. You want to be on the aggressive side in this sport. To see where they were last year to this year getting 10 wins in a row to finish out the regular season, winning on the road at Kingsway, Central Regional, we beat Eastern earlier in the season 鈥� I think this group put EHT on the map,鈥� Wiech (pronounced WEECH) said. 鈥淲e were 14-5 and Eastern was 15-4. The committee, the way the seedings work, it is what it is 鈥� for better or worse, I think they reward more established programs. But I don鈥檛 think we were 11 seeds below this team. We had expectations to go deep in these playoffs. We thought this group had what it took. Even with one of our best players injured, we thought we could make a run.鈥�
Hiltner, like a lot of the players on EHT鈥檚 roster, grew up playing other sports and had little volleyball experience or knowledge, but now professes a love for the game. He said he couldn鈥檛 imagine now what his high school career might have been like without playing volleyball.
鈥淚 started playing during the summer of the coronavirus and I played for the Eastern Academy club team between my junior and senior years. I played ice hockey and lacrosse (when I was younger). I just loved this sport from the start, it鈥檚 a great feeling to be on the court with your teammates. I think everyone had a lot of drive this year. And we have a great coaching staff, which makes it easy to get into the sport and find a passion for it, and put in the work,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 great to see (EHT) kind of get on the map and see other teams recognize us. I鈥檝e just really enjoyed this opportunity to work with my teammates to help put this team on the map. This is definitely my No. 1 high school experience. I鈥檓 sad it鈥檚 over, but I enjoyed my entire senior season. Just hanging with my friends every day was great 鈥� even Saturday practices at 6 a.m., it was fun to be there.
Wiech said he鈥檚 excited about where this program can go in the near future.
鈥淲e have kind of the perfect storm at EHT 鈥� we have accessibility to the sport because we have beach courts in one of our local parks, we have recreational leagues at the shore in Margate and Ventnor, I have great coaches around me. There are some really good volleyball players who have taken the time to help our program develop and that teaching from those guys really helps,鈥� the coach said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e excited that there might be a Cape-Atlantic League forming for boys volleyball. We鈥檝e done well, unofficially, in the CAL, against CAL opponents the last two years. We鈥檙e hopeful we鈥檒l be competing for a CAL title next year and hopefully win some hardware. Now, it鈥檚 beach season so our guys will keep playing and enjoying the sport.鈥�
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