A-K Valley athletes of the week: St. Joseph’s Maddie Kozub, Plum’s Eli Vasil

Claim to fame: Kozub served up five aces and had 17 kills as St. Joseph (6-1, 4-0) swept Trinity Christian, 3-0, in a Section 2-A match Tuesday. As a follow up, Kozub recorded 20 kills in a 3-1 section win over Geibel on Thursday.

When did you first start playing volleyball?

What led to the five aces on Tuesday?

My serve hasn’t really been good as of late, so it was a surprise that I got those aces. I changed up my serving routine, and it definitely helped.

Can you recall which of the 20 kills against Geibel on Thursday was your favorite?

I liked a lot of them because they were in a series. There weren’t a lot of hard kills, they were more strategically placed in a smart spot.

How does it feel being a solid varsity contributor as a sophomore?

I really like my team because everyone is super nice, and I feel like we work well together and it helps being close with them.

How did it feel to be section champions last year?

It was good. We have a lot of hard competition in our section this year. If we play well, I think we’ll be able to repeat as section champions.

What are your thoughts about the new-look section and the competition you will face?

I think it’s good to play harder teams that will challenge us, so I’m excited for section play. Plus it gets us ready for playoffs.

Last year, you were a No. 5 seed in the playoffs, win the first round but lost to eventual champion Eden Christian in the second. What did you learn from that experience?

We learned that we had to play better as a team and that if we had good energy and work as a team, we might have beaten them.

Currently, you and Serra Catholic are the two top teams in Section 2-A, each of you undefeated in section play. You’ll face Serra this coming Thursday. What do you expect going into that matchup?

We expect a lot of tough competition, and we’ll just have to play our game if we want to beat them.

What were your goals at the start of the year?

This year I wanted to make as few mistakes in games as I could. I also wanted to be a better teammate. I think I’m doing well with my energy. It’s been up, and I’ve been trying to get a lot of out of system kills, and I think I’ve been doing a lot better with that.

Who has the hardest spike on the team?

I think Kenzie Jones has the hardest.

Do you play any other sports at St. Joseph?

I have done basketball for summer league, but I didn’t play for the school last year. They’re trying to get me to play, but I’m still not sure.

What position do you play in basketball?

I normally play the five in school season. In AAU, I play more of a shooting guard or point guard.

Do you play club volleyball?

Yes. I play for Premier. It’s nice. I really like the coaches, and my team did well this year.

What hobbies do you enjoy outside of sports?

I enjoy hanging out with my friends mostly. There isn’t a lot of time outside of volleyball or basketball when I play both.

What is one hobby you would most like to try?

I want to mountain climb. My brothers would go and do it, and I think it would be fun.

Would you rather be invisible or be able to read minds?

I feel like I would want to read minds, see what people are saying about me.

The girls on my team because they’re really good and they push me to be the best that I possibly can.

Claim to fame: Vasil, a defender, scored the winning goal for Plum (6-0, 3-0) in a 1-0 Section 3-3A win against previously unbeaten Hampton on Thursday.

How was your winning goal set up?

We were struggling to get shots on net the whole game. At about the 78th minute of the second half, we got a punt and the ball goes out of bounds. We sub in Caden Zoller, he’s a really good player who creates a lot of chances for us, this was his second game back. We had a throw-in, and he and Jimmy Jodkin were coming on the side and sort of turned it over but repossess it. And as I’m watching this unfold, I’m moving up the field and trying to find the ball. I wind up with it in the middle of the box off a feed from Caden and made the easy play, put it in the back of the net.

What was your reaction to scoring the goal and seeing it hold up as the winner?

That’s one of the best moments of my soccer career for sure. Not just that I scored the goal, but seeing my teammates’ reactions to me scoring. Everyone was sprinting to the corner and that meant a lot to me.

What was the atmosphere like during that game, when both went into the contest unbeaten?

That was one of the motivations for us to keep our unbeaten streak going. Our motto has been “Getting Used to Winning” the past few years. The game was really tense, sort of back and forth. They created a lot of counters. The atmosphere was good, and the crowd was really into it. They had a little student section that was chirping at me a little bit.

How does it feel to be the last unbeaten team left in the section?

It feels great. It puts a target on our back, but we’re ready for any team.

You and Franklin Regional are the only teams in 3A to allow less than four goals all season. What’s your reaction to hearing that?

Being a part of the back line, that’s great to hear.

What’s been the key to allowing so few goals?

Starting goalkeeper Chase Eber is always keeping us composed on the back end as well as Marshall Capozza and Gavin Yurisinec. It’s Gavin’s first year as a starter, and it’s come off pretty good. We had a few rough games to start the season, but we’re looking good.

Last year, you guys played in Class 4A and are now down at 3A. What’s that switch been like?

We’ve been the big dogs for a while, so coming down, we have a target on our back. We played pretty well in 4A the last couple of years, and most teams want to come and beat us.

You guys lost to eventual champion Fox Chapel in the semifinals. How far do you guys expect to go this season?

We’re trying to get back to the WPIAL championship like we did two years ago and hopefully make a run at the state championship.

What’s the team’s main focus this year?

Building a stronger bond and sticking together. We know there are going to be ups and downs this season. We have a new team, a new roster and a lot of guys aren’t used to starting.

What individual goals did you set at the start of the year?

I want to improve the team however I can. If that means defending for a whole 80 minutes or by creating chances.

What gets you in the zone or pumped up before a game?

I know God always has me, so I like to pray a little bit before a game. I love being with my teammates as well. The bond I built with some of them over the last year is crazy to me.

If you could choose one song to play every time you walked into a room, what would you choose and why?

I would say “On One Tonight” by Gunna.

Do you play any other sports?

Not currently. I was thinking of playing basketball or track this year. If I had to pick one, I would choose basketball. I grew up playing basketball up through middle school.

Favorite hobbies outside of soccer?

My teammate Hunter Starsser got me into golfing this summer. His family owns 3 Lakes Golf Course. I also enjoy video games as well.

How would you rate yourself as a new golfer?

I’ve only been playing for three months, so I have been getting better. I would say I’m a little below average.

I would say eggs, toast and orange juice. My dad always makes it.

What are your thoughts on the doing away with regular-season overtime?

As a team, we didn’t really like it. We know we are a good team, and teams are going to want to tie us. They know we have offensive power. We’ve been working around that recently. We’re not worried about it. We’re going to score before the 80th minute is over.