By Michael Marts, The Report
TRENTON — Edgewood senior middle blocker Hayden Honchul recently recorded block 138 and broke the school’s all-time blocks record.
Honchul broke the record in the first set of a three-game sweep of the visiting Middletown Middies. The previous record was held by Zach Cundiff back in 2008-2009.
Honchul has been on the varsity volleyball team since his freshman year and wasn’t sure how close he was to the record.
“It feels great,” he said. “It’s always been in the back of my mind ever since I started, but I never realized how close I was till this year.”
Honchul believes his work ethic has helped him in his craft.
“I never really prepared for the record by trying to pick up good habits from the best,” Honchul said. “Every game I watch or every practice, whether it’s club or high school practice, I try to pick up something new or learn something new to better my game every day.”
Cougars coach Mark Blair believes Hayden has been a huge asset to his program.
“Hayden has been a great mentor to our younger players,” Blair said. “It starts with his drive to be a really good volleyball player himself, but he also understands that the program is bigger than himself, and he sincerely wants other players to be their best, too.
“Hayden has really pushed other players in our program to consider the possibility of playing at the next level, and he brings his own experience playing club back to our practices. He is always pulling players aside to work on fine-tuning their skills. He is also a great encourager, so when players try new things and it doesn’t go as planned, he is able to push them to keep going.”
Senior libero Tanner Taggart was on the court during Honchul’s record-breaking block and is very excited for him.
“I couldn’t be happier for him,” Taggart said. “He deserves this more than anyone. He’s put so much work in and he’s truly a great player.”
Blair believes Honchul’s record-breaking play started his team’s rally against the Middies.
“It was actually pretty early in our re-match with Middletown, so it wasn’t necessarily a high-tension moment, but I think it set a tone early in the evening that really got Middletown off their game. After that, we were pretty much in control the rest of the way.”
Honchul hopes that after his record-breaking play, his team will get more support.
“Volleyball has always been in the shadow of some of the bigger spring sports such as baseball, lacrosse, and track,” Honchul said. “I want people to know that we are one of those big sports, and I want people to recognize that we’re not just doing good this year, we’re improving and becoming a strong program overall.”
Honchul plans to attend Central State University, where he will major in Business Administration, and will play volleyball for the Marauders.
“I want to help Central State win their conference again,” Honchul said. “Central State has won their regular season conference and conference tournament once in their three-year history which is very impressive, but the NCAA has given their conference winner this year an automatic bid to the national tournament. I want to help bring us to that level.”
Michael Marts is a senior at Edgewood and is The Report’s Cougars beat writer. To write for The Report, email us at [email protected].
