Whitehall's Fady Deeb recalled how he started playing volleyball in the eighth grade, and he has developed a close-knit tie with the sport over the years. It mostly has been due to the influence of his family. He credited the support and guidance of his cousin Amir Deeb, a Dieruff graduate who helped him progress in the game.

"My family has always been involved with volleyball," said the senior. "I had a couple of friends who had been playing it, and they also got me interested. But in my family it has always been a big sport.

"I used to play club soccer in middle school and also played baseball. When I got to high school, I was playing volleyball and also football for the first two years."

Deeb was also introduced to the game by his family in Syria, where he played it as a youth. He continues to make a trip there every summer.

"It is a popular sport there," he said. "I always played it and it made it easier for me to play in middle and high school once I got started."

Since then, Deeb has developed into an effective outside hitter for the Zephyrs and has utilized his height to his advantage. The transition, though, did take some time.

"I started as a middle hitter and then moved to the right side," he stated. "There are so many good outside hitters around, and it took me some time to get used to playing there. It was different and difficult for a while, but I eventually got used to everything.

"In my first two years in high school, I was fooling around too much and getting in trouble. But then I got everything together and started being a better kid. The coaches here have been great from middle school to high school. Coach Cowitch and I have had a great relationship over the years."

Head coach George Cowitch has watched his player evolve over the past year.

"Fady has come a long way since last season," said Cowitch. "He has been a big presence on the right side, providing a big block for us on opposing hitters. He has also chipped in with 90+ kills, which has been a bonus for us.

"We will be looking for him to be a big presence in the District 11 playoffs."

The Zephyrs will open the district Class AAA playoffs Friday as the sixth-seed and face third-seeded Northampton.

Deeb is optimistic his team can make a deep run. Whatever the final outcome, Deeb plans to attend Penn State Lehigh Valley next year and then transfer to the main campus. He will pursue a career in building engineering and plans to continue to play volleyball on some level.

"We are a really close team," he said. "Our chemistry is pretty high right now. We all played club volleyball together and we all want the title very badly. We feel we can play toe-to-toe with anyone."