The Brooklyn Tech fans were loud and Godwin Sequeira was one of their primary targets. The Bryant libero, who looks young and is small in stature, heard every word.
“It was making us, especially me, play harder,” the Owls junior said. “I have to show them that we can play and show them how strong I am in playing. Some of the fans were talking to me. They were saying you’re a baby, you can’t do that and everything else. I had to show them I’m not that baby and I can do great things on the court.”
Sequeira went on to have 12 digs in top-seed Bryant’s 25-19, 25-23 victory over No. 5 Brooklyn Tech in the PSAL boys volleyball semifinals Tuesday night at Hunter College. It was another excellent defensive performance in a season of them for arguably the city’s top libero. Sequeira also had 11 big digs in a three-set win over John F. Kennedy in the second round. He helped bail the Owls out in a subpar performance.
“Their libero is an amazing passer,” Kennedy coach Iris Bromfield said after that match.
Bryant will take on No. 2 Academy of American Studies in its first finals in six years 6 p.m. Thursday back at Hunter. While star senior outside hitter Troy Gaugler gets all the press and middles Mirsad Bektesevic and Asmir Cirikovic can be brilliant at times, it is Sequeira’s work in the back row that allows those three to excel.
“There have been times where he did something wrong and I got mad at him and a few minutes later an opposing coach will say, ‘Oh your libero is so good,’” Bryant coach Steve Hagenlocher said with a laugh. “I just yelled at him. Didn’t they see that? … He might be the best libero in the city.”
Sequeira might be slight of build, but he makes up for it with speed, technique and experience. He estimates he has been playing volleyball for more than 10 years dating back to his native India. Sequeira came to the United States four years ago and India is not known for its volleyball, but the sport is popular in the town of Karanataka where he’s from.
“Where I used to live, they used to play volleyball every day,” Sequeira said. “I used to play with the bigger kids, not kids my age, I used to play with the college kids. I got better experience.”
The Owls have ridden that this far and Sequeira will need to be at his best again versus American Studies’ 1-2 combination of outside hitters, Nino Hot and Michal Kasza. Hagenlocher, who has a world of coaching experience in both college and high school, understands just how valuable he is.
“The libero position was one of the best ideas volleyball has had,” he said. “You have somebody who’s probably not gonna play unless you have the position or he’s gonna be a [defensive specialist]. He solidifies our line as far as serve receive goes. … Any team that has a good libero is that much ahead of everybody else.”
And that’s no baby talk.