It’s been an amazing start to the season for the Passaic boys volleyball team. Passaic is 10-0, including first place in the Big North Conference-Liberty Division with a 6-0 record.
The standout has been Prep junior Briston Ransom, who has been dominating and is ready to make a statement. The outside hitter currently has 137 kills with a kill average of 13.7/game, leading the team. He also has 96 digs with an average 9.6 digs per game. Ransom was selected Player of the Week in his conference by NJ.com for his performance against Hackensack, where he got 21 kills, and also his performance against Paterson Eastside where he pulled off another 21 kills.
Briston said he was shocked to earn the award, and then he also won NorthJersey.com’s Player of the Week award. The media site sent a photographer to Prep to take his picture on Monday.
“When I first found out I won Player of the Week, I was in genuine shock of this achievement because coming into this season I originally had doubts of our team’s success knowing our record and performance from last season,” he said.
He also said he does not find it difficult to get motivated for each match.
“As a player there are multiple things that keep me motivated, such as my older brother, Briseas, and my mom,” he said. “My mother keeps me motivated because all the sacrifices she has made for me that allow me to play Club during the off season, or even little things like her attending my games to support me. As for my older brother Briseas he motivates me to become a better player. There are times whenever I feel sad or have doubts about in my own abilities. But he is always there to help me back onto my feet.”
Passaic most likely will earn the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Passaic County Tournament.
“What I’m most proud of is how they’ve learned to lean on each other,” Coach Omar Munoz said. “When pressure builds, they don’t pull apart—they come closer. That’s not something you can fake or coach overnight. That comes from trust, and they’ve earned that together.”
He said Passaic’s team-first mentality has helped earn success.
“The biggest thing has been keeping them connected to each other, not the record,” he said. “We remind them that wins and streaks don’t define who we are—our habits do. There’s a lot of outside noise that comes with being undefeated, but we talk about staying present and finding peace in the work.
“My favorite thing about this team is how much they genuinely care about each other. You can see it in the small moments—how they celebrate a teammate’s point, how they respond after a mistake, how they refuse to let each other hang their heads.
It’s more than volleyball for them. They’ve built something where they feel responsible for each other, and that’s what makes this group special. As a coach, you don’t get many teams like that in your career, and I don’t take it for granted.”
Check out the team’s upcoming schedule, below.
