West Hempstead relies on strength in numbers

West Hempstead’s boy’s volleyball team has been close in every match.

The Rams’ losses, which both came against arguably the two best teams on Long Island, have been close, while their wins weren’t as much.

The reason why being the Rams don’t rely on one player to dominate the stat sheet. Instead, it’s the contributions of the entire herd that have powered their strong season thus far.

“We want to be a little more balanced on offense,” West Hempstead coach Andrew Wilson said. “All the kids are skilled. They can all do something that can help us. I pretty much have played just about everybody in every match.”

That most recent match came against powerhouse Elmont Oct. 4. West Hempstead stuck around early on in sets, but the undefeated Spartans consistently managed to find the edge and earned a sweep.

“[Elmont] played with a lot of effort, energy and intensity,” Wilson said. “We made a bunch of plays, they made a bunch of plays, it was a really good match. Afterward, a lot of people came up and said what an exciting match it was. Every set was close.”

That might be the one thing that undermines West Hempstead’s success so far. At 5-2, the Rams haven’t separated themselves from the pack within Division II Conference B, as they’re tied for second place with Lawrence and sit a game behind Hewlett in the win column.

So how does West Hempstead plan to get over that hump?

Of course, as every team does, West Hempstead has leaders in individual statistics. Aden Palmer leads the team in kills and Stephen Schreck dominates assist totals, all the while libero Jeremy Jason Ramos’ 71 digs ranks top 10 in the county. But the strength of the Rams remains in their numbers.

“Every team has top players,” Wilson said. “We try to get our middles involved, our right side hitter involved, and try to play some good defense as a team. It's pretty much what everybody tries to do. It's just a matter of who does it better.”

Over the course of the final seven matches on its schedule, West Hempstead will lean heavily on players such as Michelet Sainvilus, Ryan Merle, Joseph Thomas and Eduardo Leon Lotero to continue the consistency they’ve displayed to this point.

That stretch includes a rematch with Hewlett on Oct. 20 and another against Lawrence in the season finale on Oct. 26. But before then, West Hempstead must capture another key victory against Floral Park by having faith in the virtues that have carried it all season.

The Rams defeated Hewlett in four long sets in the first meeting, capped by a 26-24 finale. Schreck had 34 assists and Palmer 18 kills.

“We approach every match the same,” Wilson said. “We're going to do what we need to do by playing with a lot of energy and a lot of intensity. I definitely am not overlooking anybody, and my players are not either.”