Judging by the success the junior varsity had this season, the Whitehall boys volleyball program is poised to be in title contention for the foreseeable future.

Even with the loss of seven seniors, the team is well stocked with talent, and soon they’ll be bursting onto the varsity scene to help the Zephyrs stay atop the tough Eastern Pennsylvania Conference.

The main reason for such high optimism is the caliber of talent at the junior varsity level.

The JV squad went 18-0 in the spring. The team is led by Helene Quaintance who is in her seventh year as the head coach. This year they also won the Blue Eagle Invitational, defeating Northampton for the title.

Participating in the Nazareth tourney was something new for the junior varsity squad. They competed against six other teams from the EPC. Quaintance said it provided the team with some extra reps during the season.

“We just thought it would be a good experience for them,” said Quaintance.

While going undefeated and winning a tournament is a big achievement, another stat jumps out when assessing the success of the JV program.

Quaintance said they played 40 sets this year. Of those 40, they only dropped four. They won 90-percent of their sets. That’s what’s known as a strong building block.

“It was the players, they’re very athletic,” said Quaintance. “They play multiple positions, and they were so self driven.”

A number of those players were double-rostered, playing for both the JV and varsity squads. Those players included Sami Barhoum, Aziz Atiyeh, Alex Rummel, Dylan McGinley, Alexander Hayder, Richard Melosky and Alexander Khouri. The JV line-up also featured Ian Frankenfield, Khang Nguyen, Fadi Tabshi and Zachary Hess.

With a large portion of the team gaining experience at both levels, the transition to varsity next season will be much smoother since they’ll be accustomed to the faster pace at which the game is played. Quaintance said that splitting time between the two squads was beneficial.

“It’s a great experience for them to do both,” she said.

Quaintance said that a key to their ability to work together as a unit. They really meshed well and that helped keep their season unblemished.

“They really worked cohesively as a team,” said Quaintance.

She said that they were self motivated, finding the drive to win every point.

They also are dedicated to the sport, playing club volleyball in the off-season.

While she had a team of talented players, setter Melosky was the glue that held everything together. She said that he has a natural instinct for setting up his teammates, all the while looking over defenses for the best possible play.

Quaintance said that their first two matches of the year proved to be the toughest. In the matches against Liberty and Nazareth, they each went three sets, but both times they held on for the wins. It was early and they were still figuring things out as a team.

“They were getting the team dynamic together,” said Quaintance. “Soon they settled into what they’re supposed to do.”

With the junior varsity completing a robust regular season, coupled with a varsity team that were runners-up in both the league and district championships, the future is very bright for Whitehall.