Rebels had big plans with eye on titles

One in a series looking at notable individuals and teams that had their spring seasons wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.

John Lawrence has been coaching volleyball for 34 years. He knows the ins and outs of the sport and can turn just about any youngster into a better player.

But there’s one specific area that even someone as experienced as Lawrence hasn’t found a way to help a player improve.

“You can’t teach someone to be tall,” he said.

And when it comes to height, his Seton LaSalle team was going to be at the head of the class this spring.

When the Rebels walked into a gym, they would have more resembled a Division I college basketball team than a WPIAL Class 2A volleyball team. How often do you see a high school lineup in any sport include players standing 6-11, 6-7, 6-5 and 6-4?

“For a high school team, that’s pretty impressive,” said junior Nathan Zini, the second tallest of the bunch. “The schools we play are in Double-A, so they’re obviously a lot smaller. You’re not going to find giants everywhere.”

Well, except at Seton LaSalle, which boasted a “big four” of junior Jacob Scarff (6-11), Zini (6-7), sophomore Liam Halligan (6-5) and senior Luke Manion (6-4). Before COVID-19 forced the season to be canceled, they hoped to lead the Rebels to their first WPIAL and PIAA titles. A year ago, the Rebels reached the WPIAL final for the first time.

The rest of this Seton LaSalle team might not have been supersized, but there was pretty good height all around. Only one starter was below 6 feet.

“It’s crazy because we were taller than the whole basketball team,” said Scarff, who knows because he was on that team, too. The next-tallest player was 6-2.

Scarff was the center of attention for obvious reasons. When you’re 6-11, you kind of stand out. And when it comes to current WPIAL athletes, Scarff has no peers. He was also a newcomer, to the team and to the sport. Scarff attended South Park his first two years. South Park didn’t have a volleyball team and Scarff had never played before until he began practicing in the fall.

“[Lawrence] reached out to me and asked me to give it a try,” Scarff said. “I usually don’t like trying new things, but I said, ‘Why not?’”

As it turns out, Scarff is glad he did. And so is Lawrence, who said Scarff was coming along nicely as a middle hitter.

“Well, the kid’s head is almost at the top of the net,” Lawrence said. “He’s just learning. I feel he’s a really strong athlete. This would have been a huge year for him. We were adjusting how we played because the setter is not used to having a kid eight inches taller than him.”

On most high school teams, Zini would be the tallest player. He didn’t have that designation on this one, but he did have the label of best player. Zini, an outside hitter, is considered one of the top players in the state. He was an all-state and allWPIAL selection his sophomore season. Zini is also an outstanding student who said Harvard and Princeton are among the schools recruiting him.

“He’s committed. He’s singularly focused on playing major college volleyball,” said Lawrence.

Zini’s height combined with his talent makes for a scary combination, not only for recruiters but for opponents. Lawrence told a story of a “laser beam” that Zini hit during a match last season that hit a player in the face and briefly knocked him out.

Halligan might not have been the tallest Seton LaSalle player, but at 6 feet 5, 265 pounds, he was perhaps the most physically imposing. If he looks more like a football player, that’s because he is. He starts at offensive tackle in football and middle hitter in volleyball.

“For volleyball, you normally see a different type of build. Not as bulky, more like a lanky tall guy,” Zini said.

Like Zini, Manion was named allstate and all-WPIAL last season. A setter and three-year starter, Manion was one of three seniors on the team.

“Last year by far he was the best setter in the WPIAL in Double-A,” said Lawrence.

Seton LaSalle didn’t get a chance to play any regular-season matches, but Lawrence said he liked what he saw in the team’s only scrimmage. Lawrence’s players weren’t looking up to him, though. It was the other way around.

“I’d walk into a huddle and be looking up at all my kids,” he said.

This season is lost, but with players standing 6-11, 6-7 and 6-5 set to return next season — and who knows, they might get taller — expectations will again be considerably tall for a ridiculously tall team.