Sports
St. Joseph tops Randolph in Group 2 final
Yankees prospect Spencer Jones talks torpedo bats, plate consistency Spencer Jones, the Yankees’ No. 6 prospect according to Baseball America, will be the big name to watch in Somerset to begin the 2025 season. Courtesy of Somerset Patriots SOUTH BRUNSWICK ― Gian Gomez sometimes finds himself looking at all those banners and hardware from years […]


Yankees prospect Spencer Jones talks torpedo bats, plate consistency
Spencer Jones, the Yankees’ No. 6 prospect according to Baseball America, will be the big name to watch in Somerset to begin the 2025 season.
Courtesy of Somerset Patriots
SOUTH BRUNSWICK ― Gian Gomez sometimes finds himself looking at all those banners and hardware from years past of St. Joseph volleyball success. He, too, wants to be a part of that tradition.
“When I was a freshman, I always saw those trophies from a while ago, like 2008 ― the 43-1 team, I really wanted to be like one of those teams,” the now-senior said. “This year we had a great team, and we performed.”
Gomez and his mates cemented themselves as part of the green and white volleyball legacy with a 25-16, 25-18 win over Randolph Wednesday, June 11, to three-peat as NJSIAA Group 2 champions.
The Falcons (27-5) returned a bulk of last year’s squad but also had key underclassmen step in. After an 0-3 start, things started jelling and St. Joseph lost just twice the rest of the way.
A team might have one big guy with tons of kills. The Falcons, though, feature the two-headed monster up front in Gomez (292 kills, 102 digs) and junior Dominic Nycz (302 kills, 145 digs) along with freshman Saizo Takenaga (115 kills, 81 digs). Senior Sam Contursi (398 assists) has been a steadying presence with other key pieces stepping up.
The result has been three straight titles to go along with state championships in 2002, 2006 and 2008. Wednesday, St. Joseph used a balanced effort to methodically lead in both games at host South Brunswick High School.
Talk about spreading it out ― Nycz had nine kills and Gomez had eight, with Takenaga, Tyler Huseth and Carter Tarpley each chipping in four apiece. Jayden Dela Plaza had a team-high 10 digs and Contursi and Sean Martinez had a dozen assists apiece.
Rams coach Erik Novack noted his middle players had to move quickly to make reads and the Falcons had clean sets, while the big guys kept them guessing.
“For them, they can do much more,” Novack said. “They become more dynamic and they can utilize it more, and they did. They were able to make us spread out and we couldn’t focus in on one guy.”
The Falcons’ Contursi added, “Everybody on the court belongs there. Everybody has worked really hard all year to earn their spot on the court and I think it showed in this game.”
Players credited veteran head coach Miguel Cabrita for his leadership and creating the right mindset. In turn, he said he was happy to see Gomez and Nycz leading the way early in the season and the younger guys developing, which all led to Wednesday’s trophy presentation. Sophomore Matt Yacykewych and juniors Ben Peter and Santino Oliveti have also seen time.
“They played such a great team game today which was really nice to see,” Cabrita said. “Everything from the defense to ball control to the passing aspect of the game. It was amazing to watch them do that.”
While St. Joseph has long been a volleyball power ― the Falcons made every Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament final from 1999 to 2016 ― Randolph has only had a program for five years. The Rams (25-5) captured the North 2 Group 2 title and are on the rise.
The program will graduate just Kevin Tinio (607 assists). Stars back include juniors Benjamin Barninger (254 kills, 67 blocks, 130 digs), Aedan Perez (248 digs) and Cole Cantada (93 kills, 206 digs).
“I’m proud of how far the guys have come in five years,” Novack said. “The fact that we won the state sectional, made it to the groups, I’m like just really grateful, I’m really proud of the young men that they are. They have a ton to be proud of. Obviously, it stinks to lose this way, but they did give everything and that’s all I really strive for. I told them to remember the feeling of going there. That will motivate the guys next year.”
This year, though, was St. Joseph’s time, and the players have certainly etched their mark in the program’s record books of the Metuchen school.
“It’s honestly a great feeling,” Nycz said. “We’re more of like a family than a team. We have a lot of chemistry together so it’s a great feeling to be able to play on the court with these guys and just make these memories that will last forever.”