John Klanac

John Klanac is no stranger to winning volleyball championships. The 2006 Orchard Park High School graduate led Ohio State University to a National Championship victory in 2011. Before that, he helped the Western District win gold at New York’s Empire State Games in 2010. Now Klanac is looking to help his professional team, Kokkolan Tiikerit, capture the Finnish National League title.

“It’s not every day that you’re able to win one of the top honors in America,” Klanac said of the win at Ohio State. “Then go and do it in Finland on a professional level. It’s pretty humbling.”

Klanac signed with Kokkolan Tiikerit in June 2012, a year after a season with RWE Volleys Bottrop in Germany, and has been a starting outside hitter for the Tigers in a city desiring a successful season.

“The city would be super excited if we just made playoffs,” said Klanac. “The fact that we will be playing for a Finnish championship has caused quite a bit of excitement. There is some real excitement around town.

“Volleyball is number one in Kokkola right now, and never in its history has the club played for a championship. The finals are being moved to the hockey arena in Kokkola because there is no way the gym we usually play in can fit everyone.”

With Klanac’s history of winning titles, he said he experienced a familiar feeling when the Tigers won the semis, and is hopeful another championship follows.

“I had the same feeling after we won (the semis) as the night we beat Penn State to go to the National Championship,” said Klanac, who will return home to the United States in late April. “Hopefully I’m coming back with a gold medal.”

Tom Comfort

The Penn State University men’s volleyball team will honor its seniors, Friday, April 5.

Among the team’s six seniors is Tom Comfort, a 2009 graduate of Orchard Park High School.

Comfort, a 6-foot-6 opposite hitter, helped Orchard Park win the state championship his senior season as a Quaker. He is currently second among Nittany Lions with 3.07 kills per set and third in total kills (175).

In the following video, Comfort discusses his career as a Nittany Lion and his plans after graduation.

[Video courtesy of Penn State University]

Both the Orchard Park girls and boys volleyball teams captured the sectional championship. Photo / James Goller

It’s been a strong season for Orchard Park volleyball with both the girls and boys teams capturing sectional championships over rival Frontier.

On Tuesday evening at Sweet Home, the Lady Quakers defeated the Falcons for the second straight season with a sweep to win the Class AA championship, 25-16, 25-21, 25-17.

“We’ve been working really hard this season,” said Maryellen Devic, who had 13 kills, 5 blocks, and 6 digs. “We really wanted to win this game. We came here prepared.”

The boys followed up the win by the girls with a five-set thriller over Frontier, 25-17, 22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-17, to win the Division I title at Lake Shore on Wednesday.

The win was the first section title for Orchard Park since 2008, when the team won the state championship. Orchard Park had fallen to the Falcons in each of the last two seasons, but the Quakers were able to battle back from down two sets to one to capture the victory.

The boys will host Section V champion McQuaid in the Far West Regional on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 2:30 p.m. while the girls will travel to Webster Schroeder to play Our Lady of Mercy on Saturday Nov. 10 at 4 p.m.

View photos of the volleyball teams this season:   Girls    Boys

Peter Brady with coaches and players from the OP girls and boys volleyball teams. Photo / James Goller

It was a special night on the Orchard Park volleyball court Wednesday. With honorary captain Peter Brady in attendance to support the Quakers, Orchard Park pounded Eden on senior night, 25-16, 25-15, 25-10.

Brady, a 2011 Orchard Park graduate and three-year varsity volleyball veteran, suffered a broken neck and paralysis from a swimming pool accident over the Memorial Day weekend. Prior to Wednesday’s match, Brady was presented with a check for $3,018.17 collected from fund-raising led by Orchard Park’s girls and boys volleyball teams to help with Brady’s medical costs.

Also given to Brady was an Ohio State volleyball jersey autographed by the entire Buckeye team.

In the win over Eden, senior libero Trey Cimorelli picked up 13 digs. Junior setter Nolan McArdle earned 27 assists and 9 digs. Senior Tyler Eagleton had 12 kills and 6 service aces.

View photos from senior night

Myan Idziur

Maryellen Devic

It seemed fitting that in the Orchard Park girls volleyball team’s sweep over Frontier (25-17, 27-25, 25-23) on senior night Monday that senior Myan Idziur served match point while senior Maryellen Devic got the kill to capture the victory.

“It’s great,” Idziur said of senior night. “We love our team. It’s really special. We’ve been with these girls for three years. It’s a big deal to have to leave them.”

Devic, who earned 12 kills against Frontier, agreed with the sentiments shared by Idziur.

“This team means so much to me,” said Devic. “We’ve been together for so many years. We get along so well. We have a great thing going here.”

Idziur and Devic won’t have to leave their teammates behind just yet. The win on senior night moved the Quakers to a 10-2 in ECIC I and helped earn the team the number-one seed in the Section VI Class AA Playoffs as it looks to defend the section title.

Despite trailing late in the second and third set, Orchard Park battled back to earn the sweep.

The Quakers trailed 22-17 in the second set before winning, 27-25. In the third set, Devic served five straight points to overcome a 19-15 deficit and take the lead.

“We kind of fell asleep a little bit between the second and third games, but toward the end we picked it up,” said Devic.

Junior Rebecca Higgins had 16 kills with just 3 errors against Frontier, while junior Kristen Stanek posted 12 kills. Idziur picked up seven digs.

View photos from the match

Senior libero Trey Cimorelli celebrates a point during Orchard Park’s victory in the finals of the Orchard Park boys volleyball tournament. Photo / James Goller

Cimorelli named tournament MVP

Revenge is sweet, especially when it comes so quickly.

A day after dropping a tough four-set match at Clarence Friday night, 25-17, 21-25, 25-27, 23-25, the Orchard Park boys volleyball team responded by winning its own tournament at the Orchard Park High School gymnasium Saturday evening.

The Quakers swept through the competition winning 10 consecutive sets en route to capturing the team’s fourth Orchard Park tournament title in five years.

“We were lucky to have the tournament today, because it’s really hard to stay with a loss over the weekend, especially the way we played (Friday),” senior opposite hitter Kevin Donohue after the tournament win. “No one came together. No one played with really high intensity, but we jumped back today.”

Orchard Park won its pool by sweeping Lake Shore, Maryvale, and St. Francis. The Quakers were matched up against Clarence in the semis winning, 25-18, 25-17. Hamburg defeated Lake Shore in the other semi, which pitted Coach Brian Carroll, an OP graduate, against his alma mater in the finals.

Despite a back-and-forth battle in the opening set, the Quakers won, 25-21, before dominating the second set, 25-14.

“Yesterday was terrible,” libero Trey Cimorelli said of OP’s loss at Clarence. “We had no emotion. We had nothing. They came out on their Homecoming, and were ready to play us. When you’re number one, you have to come out ready, because everybody wants to play you. Not even 24 hours later, we get to come out and not only beat them, but work them in the semis, and finish strong in the finals. It’s a great feeling.”

Cimorelli picked up 18 digs in the finals while junior Nolan McArdle earned 16 assists. Joel Ross contributed four key blocks.

Cimorelli was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Donohue and senior outside hitter Tyler Eagleton were named to the all-tournament team.

Check out photos from the tournament

Lady Quakers (8-1 in ECIC I) will travel to Williamsville North (7-1) Friday

Junior outside hitter Rebecca Higgins earned 13 kills and 4 blocks in a sweep over Lancaster Wednesday.

A three-set sweep (25-20, 25-16, 25-9) over visiting Lancaster Wednesday improved the Orchard Park girls volleyball team to a 9-2 record regular season mark and an 8-1 record in ECIC I.

Despite trailing early in the opening set due to sub-par passing, the Quakers took over midway through the set on unforced errors by Lancaster and steady hitting by standout middle hitter Maryellen Devic (11 kills).

Hitting errors by Orchard Park and several key digs by the Lancaster defense allowed the visitors to creep back and take the lead at 19-18. OP surged back on the offense of Devic, who finished off the first set with two big kills.

Lancaster held strong throughout the match, soft-blocking OP’s strong outside hitters, but couldn’t create enough offense to truly challenge the Quakers. The Redskins earned points on sending free balls to the deep corners of the OP defense, but Myan Idziur (9 digs) and Christine Zizzi (12 digs) moved into place to cover the shots.

OP led 16-14 midway through second set, got a big block and kill from junior Rebecca Higgins (13 kills, 4 blocks), and another kill from Devic to pull away and take the set, 25-16.

The Quakers took a 12-6 lead in the third set before Lancaster called a timeout, but the Quakers continued to pull away stringing together eight consecutive points after the timeout to bring the score to 20-6 before closing out the victory, 25-9.

Junior setter Noelle Poloncarz earned 36 assists while Kristen Stanek contributed 9 kills in the win.
Orchard Park’s only losses this season have come to Frontier and Our Lady of Mercy (Rochester).

The Lady Quakers will travel to play Williamsville North (7-1) on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

Kevin Donohue earned 30 kills in a five-set win at St. Joe’s Tuesday.

In a battle of Western New York’s top boys volleyball teams, #1 Orchard Park pulled out a five-set victory at #2 St. Joe’s Tuesday night.

After dropping the opening set, 25-27, the Quakers battled back to win the next two, 26-24, 25-14. Despite holding a late lead in the fourth set, the Quakers fell, 23-25, to take the match to a fifth and final set where Orchard Park pulled out a 25-23 victory.

Senior opposite hitter Kevin Donohue had 30 kills and senior outside hitter Tyler Eagleton had 23 kills. Junior setter Nolan McArdle had 62 assists while senior libero Trey Cimorelli picked up 29 digs.

Coach Matt Lexner, who left a voicemail with OrchardParkSports.com after the match, was excited by the win and apparently exhausted. The coach closed his message with: “We win. We win. I’m tired. Good night.”

The Quakers will travel to play Clarence on Friday, and host its annual tournament on Saturday, Oct. 13.

The Orchard Park girls volleyball team were swept by Section V powerhouse Our Lady of Mercy Wednesday evening. Photo / James Goller

Our Lady of Mercy swept Orchard Park in a battle of two of the top girls volleyball teams in New York State Wednesday night, 25-20, 25-16, 25-18.

Mercy jumped out to an early lead in the first two sets leaving Orchard Park with the task of playing better than sideout volleyball to make up the difference. Despite holding Mercy to a three-to-five point lead through most of the first two sets, the Quakers struggled to find an advantage against Section V’s top Class AA squad.

“I think the problem at the beginning of the game was our offense rather than our defense, which is usually opposite,” said senior libero Myan Idziur.

Orchard Park’s eventually adjusted from hitting into Mercy’s big blocks by swinging high as well as off the outside arms of the blocks when hitting down the line.

The Quakers took a 5-0 lead in the third set on Idziur’s serve, but eventually fell in three straight sets.

At the Frontier tournament on Sept. 22, Orchard Park split two games versus Mercy in pool play and lost to the Monarchs in the final, two sets to one.

“We knew they had really hard hitters and just had to play good defense,” said Idziur, who picked up nine digs. “We weren’t picking up enough of their hard hit balls and we weren’t hitting the ball very well at the beginning.”

Despite the loss, Orchard Park knows it can use the defeat to learn and get better.

“Even though we lost, it’s a game that helped us get better,” said senior Maryellen Devic, a middle hitter. “We’re just trying to improve and progress on our skills throughout the whole season.”

Orchard Park is looking forward to a potential rematch versus Mercy in the Far West regional of the state tournament if Orchard Park is successful at recapturing the Section VI Class AA title.

“We know how they play, who their strong players are,” Idziur added. “We just need to work with what we’ve got. We’re going to see what we can do when we play them again, hopefully.”

The balance of aiming to win back-to-back section titles while looking ahead to the strong competition of Section V (including last year’s defending state champion Penfield) has it challenges, but the Quakers are focused on improving on their side of the court to win games.

“I definitely think we can win the section and go to states,” said Devic. “We just need to keep working as a team and work on any rough spots. Sometimes we get caught up and get overly confident. We just need to keep working.”

View entire photo gallery

Christine Zizzi and the OP girls vball team have a 6-1 regular season record. Photo / James Goller

After suffering a disappointing road loss at Frontier Friday, Sept. 21, the Orchard Park girls volleyball team responded with a second-place finish in the Frontier tournament the following day and subsequently earned a pair of home wins over Hamburg and Williamsville North to move to a 6-1 regular season record.

With the loss at Frontier quickly followed by the tournament the next morning, the Lady Quakers didn’t have much time to let the loss settle.

“It was really hard, because we were trying to go a full season undefeated, but it didn’t work out for us,” junior outside hitter Rebecca Higgins said prior to the win over Hamburg on Tuesday. “It helped us at the tournament, because we pushed ourselves to learn from our mistakes and not play down.”

Even with a slow start at the beginning of the tournament, Orchard Park settled down and played the type of volleyball that earned the team its first sectional title when it swept Frontier last season.

The Quakers advanced to the final versus Our Lady of Mercy of Rochester after defeating St. Mary’s, 28-26, 21-25, 15-11. OP won fell to in the finals to St. Mary’s in the St. Mary’s tournament.

“We had to shake it off,” junior outside hitter Kristen Stanek said of the Frontier loss. “We all knew we had a bad game and we had to realize the next day that we needed to play our hardest to get to the finals.”

Stanek earned 17 kills in OP’s four-set win (20-25 25-15, 25-14, 25-16) over Will North on Sept. 27. Junior setter Noelle Poloncarz had 35 assists while senior middle hitter Maryellen Devic earned 14 kills.

Orchard Park fell to Mercy in the final of the Frontier tournament, 25-23, 13-25, 11-15, but will have a rematch at home on Wed., Oct. 3 at 7 p.m.

As for a rematch versus Frontier and it focus to defend the section title, Orchard Park will host Frontier in its final regular season match on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m.

“I think we know that we will still have a chance to win the section and that we’re going to come back and beat them, next time,” Stanek added.

OP defeated Hamburg in a four-set thriller Monday, 25-21, 25-23, 17-25, 28-26. Photo / James Goller

It may not have been as wild a finish as the Monday Night Football finale between the Green Bay Packers and the Seattle Seahawks, but the Orchard Park boys volleyball team defeated visiting rival Hamburg in a dramatic four-set thriller Monday.

After winning the match’s first two sets and dropping the third – OP won 14 straight sets prior – the Quakers trailed 22-17 in the fourth set.

While it appeared the match was on the verge of going to a fifth and final set, the Quakers roared back to win, 28-26, and cap off the victory, 25-21, 25-23, 17-25, 28-26.

“We wanted to take them in three (sets),” said senior opposite hitter Kevin Donohue. “That’s really important for us in every single game, not to drop any sets.”

Despite losing the third set, the Quakers dug deep and battled back in front of their home fans, and many Hamburg supporters who made the short trip.

“It definitely crossed our mind,” Donohue said of OP losing its first regular season set, “but we pulled through really well after that.”

Donohue finished the match with 17 kills, a handful of which came at the end of the final set.

“I try to let Nolan (setter Nolan McArdle) know I want the ball,” said Donohue. “Lex (Coach Matt Lexner) and Stefani (Coach Walt Stefani) are on me about that. I’m a senior this year. They encourage Nolan to set me. I don’t mind it. I want that pressure on me.”

Senior outside hitter Tyler Eagleton contributed a team-high 21 kills while senior libero Trey Cimorelli picked up 31 digs.

The Quakers remain undefeated with a 5-0 regular season mark, including previous wins versus Frontier, West Seneca West, Clarence, and Lancaster.

Photos from the match (with lots of finger-pointing):

See the entire photo gallery here

Kristen Stanek reaches to block the shot of a Frontier opponent Friday. Photo / James Goller

In a rematch of last season’s Class AA sectional championship in girls volleyball, Orchard Park came out on the losing end in a five-set match at Frontier Friday night, 25-19, 22-25, 25-17, 24-26, 19-25.

Orchard Park came into the match a heavy favorite with a 4-0 record and having won 12 straight sets, but the Lady Quakers failed to play up to their abilities.

“We just didn’t show up,” Coach Greg Lardo said after the match. “They tried to fight it off, but they just never showed up. Nobody woke anyone up. This one hurts.”

Errors played a large part in the loss with Orchard Park missing 17 serves.

“The 17 missed serves came from the games we lost,” Lardo added. “The games we won, we weren’t missing serves.”

View girls volleyball photos here

OP volleyball teams have combined to win 21 consecutive sets. Photo / James Goller

Talk about impressive. Through seven regular season matches, the Orchard Park girls and boys volleyball teams have combined to win 21 consecutive sets.

“I’m very impressed with the boys and girls volleyball programs,” said junior setter Noelle Poloncarz. “It’s great that both the girls team and guys team are winning.”

The girls team, coached by Greg Lardo, has swept all four matches this season, including three against divisional opponents Clarence, West Seneca West and Lancaster.

The Lady Quakers won in three straight sets at North Tonawanda on Wednesday.

On the boys side, the squad led by coaches Matt Lexner and Walt Stefani hasn’t dropped a set in their three divisional matchups against Frontier, West Seneca West and Lancaster.

“Both teams work very hard at practice and in the off-season to be where we are at now,” Poloncarz added. “The two teams have grown closer and it’s great to have each other at the games rooting Orchard Park on. And it is helpful in tight games to have a loud crowd that is pumped up.”

Both teams will put their undefeated records and consecutive set streaks on the line in separate gyms tonight with the boys hosting Clarence at 6:30 p.m. The girls will travel to play Frontier for a 6:30 p.m. contest that is a rematch of last year’s sectional championship which the Lady Quakers won in a sweep.

Maryellen Devic was named MVP of the Sweet Home volleyball tournament.

The Orchard Park girls volleyball team captured the tournament championship at Sweet Home on Saturday. The day after pounding West Seneca West, 25-7, 25-14, 25-18, at home Friday night, the Lady Quakers defeated Lancaster to capture victory in the 16-team tournament.

Last weekend, Orchard Park lost in the final to the host of the St. Mary’s tournament.

“It feels awesome coming off of a loss in the finals of the St. Mary’s tournament last weekend and it shows that our team is really coming together,” said senior Maryellen Devic, who was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Orchard Park’s tournament win at Sweet Home came on the same court the Lady Quakers won last season’s sectional title versus Frontier and lost to eventual state champion Penfield in the far west regional.

Devic said the notion of playing on the same court did not even cross her mind.

“I hadn’t really even thought about it,” said Devic. “Last year is in the past and this year we’re moving on to bigger and better things.”

Juniors Noelle Poloncarz and Kristen Stanek were named to the all-tournament team.

Orchard Park has two more tournaments scheduled this season. The team will play at Frontier on Sept. 22and North Tonawanda on Oct. 13.

Tyler Eagleton earned 14 kills at West Seneca West Thursday. Photo / James Goller

Orchard Park earned its second straight sweep over an ECIC I opponent with a three-set blanking of West Seneca West on Thursday night, 25-20, 25-11, 25-15.

The Quakers jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the opening set, but allowed the Indians to battle back to an 11-11 tie before eventually closing out a dominating victory.

Junior setter Nolan McArdle earned 28 assists while outside hitter Tyler Eagleton and opposite hitter Kevin Donohue earned 14 kills each.

Orchard Park previously swept Frontier on Monday, Sept. 10 at home.

The Quakers will travel to play at Lancaster Friday night.

View and purchase boys volleyball photos here

Kevin Donohue (#11) and Ken Dudkowski (#15) go up to block the swing of a Frontier opponent during the Quakers’ sweep of the Falcons at the OP Middle School Monday evening. Photo / James Goller

Tyler Eagleton’s 17 kills led the Orchard Park boys volleyball team to a sweep over visiting Frontier at the OP Middle School Monday evening, 25-15, 25-21, 25-19.

The Quakers were hoping to start the regular season off strong against Frontier, who defeated Orchard Park in the last two sectional championships.

“It’s amazing coming out like this, especially against Frontier,” said Eagleton, a senior outside hitter. “We really wanted to pummel them too, because last year they beat us so bad.”

Senior libero Trey Cimorelli made 17 digs, while junior setter Nolan McArdle earned 28 assists.

“He’s come a really long way and improved a lot,” Eagleton said of McArdle.

Orchard Park will play back-to-back road games at West Seneca West on Thursday and Lancaster on Friday.

The team’s next home match is scheduled versus Clarence in the high school gymnasium on Friday, Sept. 21 at 6:30 p.m.

View photos of Orchard Park’s win over Frontier here