With a lot of drive and fundraising, boys volleyball team makes history at Portsmouth High

PORTSMOUTH — Players on the Portsmouth High School boys volleyball team were struck by the feeling you get when everything comes together with that long project you’ve been working on, and suddenly realize your goal has been met.

The Patriots hit the floor as a varsity team for the first time in school history on Monday and fell to defending Division III champion Johnston 25-6, 25-13, 25-13. Sure they didn’t want to lose. But the loss didn’t dampen the mood.

“It was fantastic. Their hustle, their positivity,” Portsmouth coach Lisa Zabel said. “They were so excited to be on that court and they were so proud of what they’ve accomplished – to be able to get here and have an official varsity match, the first in high school history.”

How Portsmouth volleyball went from club status to a varsity sport

Portsmouth has had a club program but that changed thanks to a whole lot of fundraising and a visit with the school committee.

“This whole season we are off the budget for the school committee,” Portsmouth’s Nick Waycuilis said. “It is fully fundraised by us. The jerseys, the busses, we paid for the refs. We’ve done it ourselves.

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“We didn’t know if we were going to be able to upgrade our club to a varsity sport but when we walked in front of the school committee (and said), ‘You don’t have to put us in the budget at all.’ It was hard for them to say no.”

Hard work made the reward well worth the wait

Waycuilis has been a club member for four years. New varsity teammate Evan Vogl just joined the club this season and he was happy for all involved on Monday.

“For Nick and a lot of people that were here before me, it means a lot more because they’ve been here longer,” Vogl said. “It’s awesome, especially for them.

“I put my own effort in the fundraisers, did my own stuff and now we’re a team. And I’m very happy about this too. It’s a lot of fun.”

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Fellow senior teammate Leekey Zhang said, “I’m happy it did become a thing.”

Waycuilis certainly was caught up in the moment.

“We wanted to turn it into something more than just a club. It’s wonderful,” Waycuilis said. “I’ve been on this club for three years and to be a team captain on the varsity team now is unbelievable. Seeing these boys work together for this common goal is unprecedented.”

Shaking off the nerves and playing the game

Waycuilis officially recorded the first Portsmouth point in team history with a cross court kill to the deep right corner on the Johnston side of the net. That point left Portsmouth trailing 4-1 in its eventual 25-6 first set loss.

“I was a little nervous because it is the first game,” Zhang said. “This is actually my first sport I’ve played at this school. There were a lot of people that showed up. There were a lot of cheers in the crowd. I’m glad someone was excited.”

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Waycuilis said, “I was a little nervous, I’m not going to lie. But to say that I played in the first game ever for Portsmouth High School, I think it’s just wonderful.”

A spectator in the stands held a Vogl sign with the player's picture on it and there were a couple more like it of his teammates. But Vogl was hit by the jitters too.

“I did terrible for a good two minutes,” Vogl said. “By the time we were on our second set, it just became apparent what I needed to do. I started to read the other players and how they were going to hit.”

Portsmouth gets standing ovations on a couple occasions

In the third set, Portsmouth’s Sport Foshee earned a point with a kill that tied the score 9-9. Foshee instantly acted like a basketball player who had just dunked over an opponent.

His fists clenched, arms tensed and – face contorted – he froze on the spot as a guttural yell escaped from his mouth. As he was surrounded by his cheering teammates the hometown spectators went wild.

“We get noisy out there,” Vogl said.

Vogl also brought the crowd to its feet – as well as his coach – by running full speed toward his seated teammates and diving to save a ball while simultaneously knocking over a chair.

“I can tell them all day to run down the ball but when it comes down to it, it’s nice to actually see them do it,” Zabel said. “Although I don’t want them necessarily to run into chairs.

“That’s just passion. The kids have a lot of passion. They want to do what’s best for their team and if that means going out of bounds to make a play they’re going to do it.”

All Vogl said was, “The chair had it coming.”

Patriots were more competitive in last two sets

Portsmouth dropped the final two sets by  the same 25-13 score to lose its first match. The Patriots never led or were tied with Johnston the first two sets. Thanks to Foshee’s kill, Portsmouth tied the Panthers for the third and final time in the last set, but never was able to gain the lead.

“We got whooped. (Johnston) is a wonderful team,” Waycuilis said. “But we all had an unbelievable amount of fun. A lot of these boys it’s the first time ever playing volleyball with a coach and set-up that’s not gym class.

“We’ve got some room to grow of course, but I think we really showed some heart out there and by the end of the season we’ll be a fighting force.”

Vogl said, “As a team, I think we did amazing. We’ve been a team for seven days so it’s only going to go up from here.”

This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Portsmouth High School boys volleyball makes history with varsity game