The commemorative volleyball may have read “Coach Lundy 300 Wins,” but for longtime Harrison coach Nick Lundy, the more accurate recipient of this milestone is just below 300 wins. It was labeled “Harrison Blue Tide.”
Because for Randy, who is in his 15th year as head coach and 17th year with the program, Thursday's win over North Arlington, his 300th career win, was as much a team accomplishment as it was an individual one. .
“Looking back, it’s amazing,” Randy said. “I always say this is technically my milestone, but it's a milestone for my team, all the teams, all the coaches.”
Randy remembers when he didn't have those things. Due to the timing of his promotion to head coach in 2008, Randy had no assistants or JV coaches during Harrison's first season, when he won just three games.
Despite some initial struggles, Randy, who had served as an assistant coach the previous two years, saw the program's potential.
To be honest, when I first started working as an assistant coach, I always thought we were supposed to be as successful as the football team. Because we had the same type of kids that were playing with us and we just needed to put in the time,” Randy said. “A year later, when Anthony (Sabia) came in, we started building a program that the kids were really excited about. And they started going to club (volleyball), and we had a middle school team in the district. I had it added.
“Everything just kind of fell into place. I think the kids really loved the sport and just kept playing and winning.”
It didn't take long for the Blue Tide to become winners under Randy and Sabia. By 2011, Harrison had reached the semifinals of the Hudson County Tournament and was in the top 20 discussion for the state rankings.
In 2015, the Blue Tide went 28-3 and won their first Hudson County and NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2 Tournament championships, and Randy was named The Record's North Jersey Coach of the Year. won state strength.
The following year, Harrison repeated as county and district champions, going 37-5 and reaching the Tournament of Champions finals. After that season, Randy was named Coach of the Year by NJ.com.
Harrison, which won its third Hudson County Tournament title in 2023, has won five conference championships under Lundy. Individually, the Blue Tide has had six different players earn all-state honors, led by star outside hitter Piotr Namiotko. He was a first-team All-State selection in 2016 before starring at NJIT. The other nine also continued playing volleyball in college.
Lundy, who was named NJIC Coach of the Year for three consecutive seasons, had an overall record of 301-142, and the next day, Harrison defeated Elmwood Park to improve to 17-3 on the season.
“It's really amazing,” Randy said. “It’s really amazing how this has caught on and become such an important part of Harrison High School athletics.”
A graduate of Harrison High School, Randy served as the head men's basketball coach for six seasons and was an assistant football coach for the Blue Tide for more than 20 years.
Harrison begins her defense of the Hudson County Championship on Friday, looking to build on an already strong volleyball tradition. The top-seeded Blue Tide earned a double-bye in the quarterfinals and will play the winner of Hoboken vs. Secaucus.
Carney won the title in 2022 by defeating Harrison, but lost to the Blue Tide in the 2023 finals, becoming the No. 3 seed. The Cardinals (9-5) will face Bayonne St. Louis. Peters Prep winner on Friday.
The semifinals will be played on Wednesday, May 15th for the higher seeds, and the finals will be played on Saturday, May 18th at County Prep High School in Jersey City.
Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined the Observer as a sportswriter in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Haig. He has extensive experience writing sports-related articles for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, and The Star-Ledger).