Twins join in love for volleyball
Brothers shine on Quincy team
Andrew and Brendan Paine share the same birthday, and the same house in Quincy, but few other similarities. At 6 feet tall, Andrew outstretches Brendan by about 3 inches, while Brendan can belt out a tune with a pleasing tone.
On the volleyball court, however, the fraternal twins share a common bond. This season, the brothers are among nine seniors who make up the 11-player roster on the Quincy High boys' volleyball team.
"In almost every rotation, they're standing next to each other and you would never know they were twins," Quincy coach Ed Smith said. "They don't look too much alike. They don't really act similar. When you see them on the court, they look like two friends out playing volleyball. You would never know they go home to the same house."
There is no denying their contribution to the Presidents. Andrew, an outside hitter, is 90 kills shy of reaching 1,000 for his career; and Brendan, the team's defensive specialist, or libero, averages 10 digs per game for a talented squad that ended last week with a 7-1 record.
While both brothers look forward to the high school season, Andrew focuses on the sport year-round, also suiting up for the Natick-based Beantown Volleyball Club. The twins first started playing for the club team as seventh-graders, attracted to the sport after watching their older sister, Shannon, play at Quincy.
Brendan developed other interests, focusing more on school activities (the drama club and the student council) and stepped away from the club team. Andrew, meanwhile, continued to develop his skills, developing an explosive leap from the outside, leading to his powerful attack at the net.
"He's come a long way since joining Beantown," Brendan said of his brother. "He was already good, but he built his skills and now he's really, really good."
This season, according to his coach, Andrew has come out of his shell a little more and is taking a role as a vocal lead er. Andrew and senior setter/outside hitter Mike Mottola are team captains. After a recent match, Andrew initiated a conversation with Smith about strategy and volunteered to move from his natural position of outside hitter to middle hitter when needed.
"Nobody ever questioned if he was a good volleyball player," Smith said. "He always had the brains, skill, and talent to be a great volleyball player. Because he's so good, he naturally sets the tone for the kids."
Andrew said part of that growth came from playing against his brother at home. When Andrew separated his right shoulder as a freshman, he learned how to strike with his left hand against Brendan.
"He still beat me even with his left hand," Brendan said.
By frequently facing his brother's tough shot, Brendan learned how to stand in and defend. No matter how hard the shot, he had to dig it out. This season more than ever, Brendan has increased that effort. Brendan said he never knew the proper way to dive so he often feared leaving his feet to make a play. This season, assistant coach Jacqui Niosi gave Brendan knee pads. It seemed to be all Brendan needed to fly into the stands for loose balls or dive on the court.
"If you know the game of volleyball, it's a joy to watch Brendan play defense," Smith said. "If you don't know the game, it's not a flashy position, so he can oftentimes go unnoticed. . . . If he wasn't on the back row playing defense, we wouldn't be [7-1] right now."
Brendan is the student body president and a member of the school's drama club. But this spring more than ever, he was excited about the return of volleyball.
Last season, Andrew and Brendan were part of a historical season: The Presidents went 10-0 in the Southern Alliance and won the league title for the first time. Quincy qualified for the state tournament for the first time in four years.
In the offseason, the entire varsity team participated in a 20-team fall league for the first time and counted down the days until the first practice session.
Their work has paid off. Among the victories is a 21-25, 25-12, 25-18, and 26-24 rally against New Bedford, the program's first win over the Bucs.
"I don't think any Quincy boys' team has been looking forward to the season as much as we have, because we know we can go far this year with the talent we have," Andrew said.
Among returning players is junior setter Ken Tan, a key part of Quincy's 6-2 system. The only underclassman on the varsity roster is sophomore middle hitter Bobby Dion, who at 6-3 shows signs of becoming a dominant player, Smith said.
All the seniors agree that their focus is sharp after falling in the first round of the tournament a year ago.
"We know this is our last year to make a run," Mottola said.
Monique Walker can be reached at mwalker@globe.com. 