Sports
Western Wayne boys volleyball team advanced to district semifinals
Western Wayne boys volleyball team opens with two solid wins
Led by a solid nucleus of veteran players, the Wildcats have opened the regular season with wins over North Pocono and West Scranton.
VARDEN — Western Wayne has struggled a bit the past few years on the local boys volleyball scene.
This spring, though, the Wildcats reclaimed their place among elite teams at both the league and district levels.
Led by a trio of record-setting seniors, coach Darren Thorpe’s squad finished tied for second in the Lackawanna League standings, then advanced all the way to the Class AA semifinals.
“Theo Black, Vinny Silon and John Pyatt were definitely our leaders this season,” the veteran skipper said. “They were the kids we counted on in the biggest situations. Theo, Vinny and John pretty much always delivered in the crunch.”
Western Wayne closed out the campaign with an overall record of 16-8. The ‘Cats ended up 8-2 in the league, trailing only undefeated Abington Heights (10-0) in the final rankings.
“I’m happy with how the season turned out,” Thorpe said. “We really had talent this year and we didn’t waste it. When all was said and done, we came up just a few points short of making the district finals.”
Senior record-setters
While Western Wayne’s 2025 roster was chock full of talented players, it was a seasoned group of seniors that led the way.
Theo Black, Vinny Silon, John Pyatt, Noah Vail and Robert Phillips all made key contributions to the Wildcats’ success. However, it was the trio of Black, Silon and Pyatt who provided stellar leadership on and off the court.
Black earned a spot in the starting line-up last spring and quickly evolved into one of the region’s top setters. He finished up his junior campaign with more than 500 assists, setting the stage for a record setting senior season.
By the time his varsity career came to an end, Black had become the most prolific setter in program history with well over 1,000 assists.
“Theo made himself into a really good setter because of hard work,” Thorpe said. “He set a goal for himself as a freshman and worked to get there. Theo has a good understanding of the game and is very competitive.”
Silon also spent the spring rewriting Western Wayne’s record book. The high-flying outside hitter powered his way to a total of 605 kills, a new school record.
“Vinny is very athletic and competitive,” Thorpe said. “He is driven to play well and hard on himself when he feels he didn’t play up to his standards. Theo is now No. 1 all time for career kills and kills in a season.”
Pyatt is a talented multi-sport standout who also excelled on the football field. A tall, lanky senior, Pyatt had the ability to dominate in the front row at times.
“John is just a natural,” Thorpe said. “You could just see him getting better and better every match. John finished Top 5 in career kills and for a single season.“
A bright future
While Western Wayne will suffer some serious hits at graduation, hopes are running high that the Wildcats won’t skip a beat next season.
The future looks bright for Thorpe’s squad as several talented underclassmen are expected to fill the void left by Black, Silon and Pyatt.
Braden Laity, Logan Pauler, Gavin Morcom and Eli Bilski all made their presence felt at the varsity level this spring. Each saw significant action during the Wildcats’ run to the district semis.
“We are definitely in a good place,” Thorpe said. “Braden and Logan are juniors who started every match. They both will step up next year.
“Gavin and Eli are sophomore starters. Gavin is really talented, but missed time with an injury. And Eli really improved once he took over a starting spot.”