Crestwood’s JJ Stec (24) tries to send the ball past Holy Redeemer defenders during the Wyoming Valley Conference Championship on May 12, 2026.
1 of 8
Crestwood’s JJ Stec (24) tries to send the ball past Holy Redeemer defenders during the Wyoming Valley Conference Championship on May 12, 2026.
NANTICOKE — After dropping the first two sets Tuesday night in the Wyoming Valley Conference boys volleyball championship game, Holy Redeemer didn’t panic. Instead, the Royals rallied and trusted the process.
When Crestwood was one point away from clinching the match in the fifth set, that same mindset carried Holy Redeemer through to another WVC title.
The Royals captured the fifth and deciding set, 16-14, at Nanticoke Area High School to wrap up the division title with a 3-2 victory. The one-game playoff was necessary after the teams finished the regular season tied with 10-1 records. Last week the Royals defeated Crestwood, 3-2.
“Talk about resilient,” Holy Redeemer coach Jack Kablick said of his team. “A championship match, down 2-0, a lot of teams would have packed it in and said, ‘Let’s get them in districts.’ We didn’t feel that way. It is a testament to the team. They are tough, mentally tough.”
Crestwood couldn’t have asked for a better start to the match. The Comets rolled off the first four points of the first set and withstood a Holy Redeemer rally to win 25-19. In the second set, Crestwood continued to take advantage of several Holy Redeemer miscues to win, 25-17. Zach Koons, JJ Stec and Larry Little all played a key part in leading the Comets to the win.
“We gave up 18 points in the first set, then bettered that in the second set with 19,” Kablick said. “They didn’t have to score a lot. The third set we only gave up eight. A lot of unforced errors. Like every sport, errors. There are errors in baseball and errors in volleyball.”
After falling behind, 7-6, in the third set the Royals began to flip the switch. Holy Redeemer scored nine consecutive points on its way to a 25-16 victory to put the pressure on the Comets. The Royals were on the cusp of cruising to a victory in the fourth set, but the Comets managed to close within 24-21. However, the Royals got the point they needed to force a fifth set.
It was Holy Redeemer’s victory in the third set that not only kept the championship aspirations alive, but it was a turning point as far as a confidence builder for the team.
“After that (third) set, we knew we were good the rest of the game,” Holy Redeemer’s Koirey Tang said. “This is amazing. Crestwood is one of the best teams around. It feels amazing to beat them after them preparing a whole year to beat us.”
Crestwood was one point away from winning the championship, taking a 14-12 lead. The Royals strung together the final four points with the winning point coming after a Crestwood timeout. Tang came up big for the Royals contributing several key blocks late in the set.
“I know what I was there to do,” Tang said. “We just kept each other up, the captains kept us going. We pushed is. We don’t give up no matter what.”
Tang had six blocks, 14 kills and one assist. Jack Wasiakowski had 16 kills and 30 assists. Jack McCue added 11 kills, eight points and two blocks while Max Mohutsky had 15 points and nine assists.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.citizensvoice.com ’
