Determination, height, persistence and talent are all skills that are hard to find in one athlete, but even more difficult to find them twice. But seniors Jake Rioux and Eric Marzano perfect these qualities. Together the duo brings leadership and a height advantage to the Park Vista boys’ volleyball team.
Park Vista (Lake Worth, Fla.) coach Ira Hubschman and his players recruited Rioux last year and were able to convince Marzano to play this season. Each is a 6-foot-7 former basketball player that could give the Cobras a superb blocking poise at the net.
“I had seen Eric last year walking the hallways and then I saw him on the basketball court,” Hubschman said. “I liked what I saw: his timing, blocking and his height.”
Although Marzano is fairly new to the sport, he’s expected to be in the Cobras starting line-up.
Rioux, a reserve on last year’s team that went 26-3 and reached the state quarterfinals, had trouble mastering the rotations from front to back row last season, but it grew on him quickly.
This season he is one of the team’s key players as it seeks to win its first state championship.
“It was a lot harder than I thought it would be,” Rioux said. “I thought you could just come up and pound the ball, but you have to get on top of it and get your arm right.”
Marzano is going through the same process as Rioux.
“I’ve got to work on my hitting, but my blocking’s almost down,” Marzano said. “I’m getting my timing down when I’m hitting. If you don’t get the timing down, it’s no good.”
If the Cobra’s two towering middle hitters develop quickly and junior all conference star Ryan Osborn finishes what he started last year, the Cobras could have a shot at a state title.
Players to watchRyan Osborn: Topped 200 kills and 200 blocks last year.
Jake Rioux: Minimal playing time last year, but could emerge as a star.
Eric Marzano: At 6-foot-7, a major obstacle to all opposing hitters.
