Bryant’s Troy Gaugler had 12 kills to lead the Owls past Brooklyn Tech. (Denis Gostev)
If Bryant doesn’t win the PSAL city title this season, its star player better start looking for a new place to live. At least that’s the joke in the Gaugler househould.
Troy Gaugler’s two brothers – Todd, the oldest, and Tyler, the youngest – both have won championships with Cardozo. He is the lone volleyball-playing sibling who has yet to collect any hardware.
“I don’t think I’ll be allowed to go home if I don’t win,” Gaugler said with a laugh.
With one more victory, though, he won’t have to start packing. Top-seed Bryant defeated No. 5 Brooklyn Tech, 25-19, 25-23, in the PSAL boys volleyball semifinals Tuesday night at Hunter College. The Owls have not made the final since they won the title in 2005.
Back then, the team’s star player was the 7-foot-2 Jacek Ratajczak, who was the best player in the city at the time and went on to star at Cal State Northridge. Gaugler is only about 6-foot-1, but, too, is arguably the best player in the PSAL, much like Todd was when he won the second of two titles at Cardozo. Tyler, a sophomore, could be in that conversation in two years.
“They must breed volleyball players or something,” Owls coach Steven Hagenlocher said of the Elmhurst, Queens family. “I think they were playing in the crib.”
Hagenlocher jokes with Gaugler all the time about his lack of a title to this point. He said down the road his child is going to be asking him why both uncles have championships and dad doesn’t.
“I wouldn’t be able to do that the rest of my life,” Hagenlocher said.
Bryant (15-0) will meet No. 2 Academy of American Studies in the final 6 p.m. Thursday back at Hunter. Things clicked well for the Owls against Brooklyn Tech (15-1), better than they did in the quarterfinals Saturday against John F. Kennedy. It all started with the receiving and passing of junior libero Godwin Sequeira (12 digs) and if the Engineers were keying on Gaugler, middles Mirsad Bektesevic (six kills) and Asmir Cirikovic (five kills) took advantage with sets from Patryk Dabrowski (22 assists).
“I think it’s a little bit difficult to defend us, because we have so many different weapons,” Hagenlocher said.
The Engineers, who made the semifinals despite being in somewhat of a rebuilding stage, had their most success when Gaugler (12 kills) was in the back row. They just couldn’t keep him there long enough for coach Noreen Begley’s liking.
“The kid is a great player,” said Begley, who was proud of her team’s performance. “He may be the best player in the city. He pounds the ball. It goes straight down.”
Hagenlocher said at the beginning of the season that he would be disappointed if Bryant didn’t make the semifinals. But now it reminds him something his grandfather always said about being happy to live to 80.
“I think I lied,” Hagenlocher said with a laugh. “I’d like to win [a city title] again.”
Gaugler just wants to win his first. His brothers tease him mercilessly about it. But he says he always tells them that Bryant winning one is more impressive than Cardozo, which is typically filled with players who compete year around in volleyball.
“I tell them that I’m better than both of them anyway,” Gaugler said with a laugh.