Apr 7, 2017 By Eleanor Bailey 3 min read

Zach Smith may be in his first full season at the helm of the Bethel Park boys’ volleyball team but he’s already speaking like a big-time varsity head coach.

After the Hawks chalked up their fifth victory of the season, a clean sweep, 3-0, against Upper St. Clair, Smith didn’t mention goals such as section championships or WPIAL titles. He reminded his players of their next practice and their upcoming tournament at Fox Chapel.

“We take it one match at a time,” Smith said. “At this point we are just trying to get better every day in practice. If we do that, then everything else will take care of itself.”

In Section 1-AAA action, Bethel Park has certainly taken care of business. Before wining against USC, 25-23, 25-21 and 25-13, the Hawks outlasted Peters Township and beat Central Catholic. They are undefeated with a big match scheduled April 13 at home against Canon-McMillan before a visit to Baldwin April 18 to close out the first half of league play.

Despite some roadblocks, the Hawks have succeeded this spring. Not only have they had to replace the WPIAL’s Most Valuable Player and Almanac Athlete of the Year (Jake Dixon) in the line-up, they have been forced to play without Mike Kapusta. The 6-4 senior outside hitter, who is committed to Division I George Mason University, has not played because of an injury.

“He’s week to week,” said Smith of Kapusta’s status. “It’s hard to gauge when he will return to the line-up.”

In the interim, however, sophomore Max Cooley and junior Dylan Schanck have picked up the slack. “We slipped in those guys and they have performed well for us,” Smith said.

Cooley certainly has. He earned all-tournament honors along with Zach Lizun at Fox Chapel, where the Hawks reached the Final Four, falling to Pine-Richland in the semifinals.

Four seniors and a freshman complete the starting line-up and have also submitted fine performances for the Hawks. Vincent Dongilli and Caleb Pierson have handled the setting duties while Lizun and Connor Savrese serve as the right-side and middle hitters, respectively. Tony Boff, the ninth grader, is the team’s defensive specialist or Libero.

BP’s roster also includes: seniors Peyton Capristo and Maxwell Heller; juniors Jacob Cunningham and Grant Jansante; sophomores Mason Bussard and Lance Chorney; as well as freshmen Mike Bell and Kevin Kerr.

“They’ve come together,” explained Smith. “There’s a lot of inexperience out there but we are learning and growing together.”

Smith, himself, learned the ropes from Tom Allman, who led the Hawks to the WPIAL finals in 2016, his last year at head coach. Smith, who is a teacher in the Chartiers Valley School District, served five seasons as Allman’s assistant. Allman groomed Smith for the position.

“I’ve learned a lot from him,” said Smith.

Including the coaching lingo.