WRIGHT TWP. - It was 2016 when Crestwood was in the PIAA Class 2A boys' volleyball state bracket.
Under the direction of then coach Mike Williams, the Comets ventured into District 3 land and lost to eventual state champ, Northeastern, in three sets.
Yet, in the past few years, Crestwood has fallen onto some hard times. Losing the COVID season hurt, and numbers just haven't been what they once were.
This season, that changed.
With a core group of players that have been playing the sport together since junior high, the Comets are back. Reaching 12 wins for the first time in almost a decade, Crestwood is back near the top of the Wyoming Valley Conference standings, and will enter Tuesday's District 2 Class 2A bracket as the No. 2 seed.
The Comets will start the postseason at home against No. 7 Valley View. It's a rematch from a May 3 nonleague game where Crestwood won 3-2 in a match that was decided by a combined 12 points.
"The guys put a lot of work in, and deserve it," said first-year coach Jeff Stec, who previously served as the JV coach and varsity assistant the previous two years. "It's great for the program in general, and hopefully, it will charge up some of the young guys to come out and try volleyball and see how fun it is. I want to change that culture, and let people know that boys' volleyball is competitive, fun and a sport that we can be successful at here at Crestwood."
Stec knows Williams after coaching with him at the elementary level after Stec asked the former coach if he would volunteer because of the high numbers.
They've talked about the past successes at Crestwood
They've tried to instill the fundamentals of the sport at the younger level, which in turn, should pay dividends once they reach varsity.
"Talking with him, he's just as happy as I am. It's cool to see the winning ways of Crestwood starting to come back," Stec said. "It was hard to find people who wanted to play volleyball after COVID. The year after that missed season, I think we only had two wins.
"Luckily, our core group of players started to play in junior high. Our success is really based on that core group starting early, and improving themselves all year. Most of our guys play all year round, so they are really good volleyball people. They take this seriously. Most of our guys, volleyball is the main sport. Their drive and dedication is really pushing the program forward."
It's a talented core group.
Libero Luke Joseph is the reigning WVC Defensive Player of the Year.
Junior JJ Stec and senior middle Tommy McLaughlin have formed a good attacking combination. Junior setter Zach Koons has also done a stellar job of running the offense.
Counting nonleague matches, JJ Stec has a total of 323 kills, which ranks him No. 2 in the state, according to MaxPreps. The only person with more kills in the state is Holy Redeemer's Josh Rocha, who has 772 in 75 sets played.
McLaughlin has 222 kills in 60 sets, and added 101 blocks.
In league play, Crestwood ended with three losses - falling to Wilkes-Barre Area, Delaware Valley and Holy Redeemer. But it was in that WBA match where Jeff Stec saw what kind of team he had. The Comets lost their libero early in the match, but still, fought back to force a fifth set in the 3-2 setback.
"When I saw how much fight we had, and how much we battled when we didn't have somebody that we rely on, that was the biggest turning point for me. I knew we could do something because we didn't lay down or give up. Once I saw that, I knew we would get better from there," Jeff Stec said.
It also allowed the Comets to pick up some good wins throughout the year, including a 3-0 win over Abington Heights to end the season.
"In past seasons, if we were down a set or down a few points, it was almost like the mindset was like, 'we aren't going to win this one.' This year, it's different. The mentality and drive is different. It doesn't matter what the score is, or if we are down a few points, they are fighting back and winning games. We really noticed it against Holy Redeemer, which is a really good team. We ended up losing it, but the fight was good for us. You know we aren't giving up. We are going to fight to the end."
Holy Redeemer will enter the Class 2A playoffs as the overwhelming favorite to capture the title. The Royals, ranked No. 5 in the latest Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association state rankings, rolled through league play and has Rocha, one of the top players in the state, regardless of classification.
The top two teams from District 2 advance to the state bracket in Class 2A.