Girls volleyball: Princeton coach Andy Puck nets 500th career victory

PRINCETON – Andy Puck knew he was getting close.

His wife and right-hand gal, Gina, didn’t tell him how close.

The longtime Princeton volleyball coach entered Tuesday’s Three Rivers East match with Mendota just one win away from his career 500th victory. His Tigresses handed it to him with a hard-fought 25-23, 25-19 win over the Spikers.

“I forgot all about it,” Puck said, adding “You do this long enough, you hope to win a few games.”

It does make him think of the history behind the milestone victory.

“A lot of things bring a tear to my eye, just as far as how many kids have battled for me and all the parents who trust you with their young ladies. That means a lot,” he said. “It’s a team effort as far as assistant coaches go, like Eric Tinley, and now with [former players] Anna [Murray], Julie [Portillo] and Jenna [Smith] and Smitty [Justin Smith] helping out.

“It’s not just me, it’s everybody, including my wife, helping out the last 10 to 12 years.”

Puck’s path to 500 includes a 482-271 record in 23 years at Princeton with one season at neighboring Hall, going 18-8-2 in 2001. He has won eight regionals and two sectionals with a state tournament appearance in 2008.

He is 11 wins away from matching hall of fame coach Rita Placek, who won 493 matches over her 25-year distinguished tenure at PHS from 1974-98.

Mendota coach Demi Salazar said Puck has put himself among the area’s great coaches, such as longtime La Salle-Peru coach Mark Haberkorn, former Mendota coach Mary Stephenitch and Placek.

“That’s a lot of wins. It’s a good area. I like him. He’s a good kid. I remember him when he started,” said Salazar, who has 405 wins in a career that includes stops at Putnam County and Hall.

The Spikers (3-8) didn’t let No. 500 come easily. They rallied in both sets to make each close.

Princeton (7-7) ran out to leads of 10-5 and 15-11 in the first set, only to have the Spikers rally all the way back at 19-19.

An ace by Keighley Davis sent the Tigresses to a 24-20 lead, only to have Laylie Denault hit for the sideout. The Spikers scored twice more before Kathy Maciczek put up a block for game point.

“Tonight was just an energy game. It’s who can show up and create the most energy,” Puck said. “It was back and forth, pingponging. We were able to sustain a little more runs than they were.

“We passed the ball really, really well tonight, and our defense definitely improved. We worked really hard on this in practice yesterday, and I’m always happy anytime you execute things you work on in practice.”

Mendota took an 11-9 advantage in the second game on a kill by Denault before the Tigresses got going. Princeton ripped off eight straight points, and after a Mendota sideout, Keighley Davis knocked down a kill for an 18-12 lead.

The Spikers got within as close as 21-19, but the Tigresses scored the final four points to take the match.

Salazar saw a lot of improvement from his team from their summer league match at Princeton.

“That was a well-played game. First time we played them, we scored 11 and 12. We scored 23 points total and scored 23 in one game [tonight],” he said. “So we’re going for improvement and see what we can do. And we’ve been playing pretty well. I didn’t have a problem with it.”

Puck especially enjoyed matching wits with Salazar, a longtime friend and colleague.

“He’s new to the program there. They graduated a lot of kids, and he’ll do wonders there,” he said.

Murray once played for Puck and especially likes her seat on the Tigresses’ bench as an assistant coach under Puck, who has created a coaching tree of his former players.

“I love being a part of the PHS volleyball program. Coach Puck has developed a great program that I am grateful to have played for and fortunate to continue to learn the game now as an assistant,” she said. “He pushed and threw challenges at my teammates and I each year to ensure we never settled for less than what we were capable of. As a program it’s still true, we strive to get better each practice and each game. Never settling.

“The coaching crew Puck has developed made up of PHS alumni, former college athletes and overall competitively driven coaches makes being apart of Puck’s program even more fun. Wanting to be a part of such a successful volleyball program is a testament to all he has done to develop this PHS volleyball program.”

Ellie Harp and Caroline Keutzer both recorded six kills for the Tigresses, with Davis adding five. PHS also had dual leaders in serving with libero Camryn Driscoll and Keutzer (two aces) each serving for nine points.

Denault led the Spikers with nine kills, with Ava Eddy recording nine digs. Zariah Escatel chipped in seven points with two aces and seven digs.

Princeton also swept the underclass matches, with the sophomores winning 22-25, 25-15, 25-16, and the freshmen winning 25-16, 25-18.