Edner Geffard is on a winning streak, in, this his first year on the men’s volleyball team at York College. Geffard is one of the standout volleyball players in the City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC).
Geffard has recently captured his sixth consecutive CUNYAC volleyball Rookie-of-the-Week award. In fact, through mid-March he has taken every such honor this season.
Originally from Arcahaie, Haiti, and a product of Centre d’Teuds Secondaires School, Geffard received the award for statistics through four matches during one week, when his team posted a 2-2 record to increase his college’s overall mark to 13-10, including 6-1 in league competition, At press time, York is 14-10.
At one stage of the season, the Cardinals from Jamaica went 0-4 and then bounced back to win six matches in a row, including over league rivals City College twice, Lehman and Brooklyn before losing to Hunter. They are still in contention for top place in the standings.
During the week that earned him the award, his best match came when he posted 14 kills, hit .650, and had three digs in a victory over Wells College and in the process his team won in straight sets of 25-20, 25-19, and 25-17. He also had eight kills each in matches against Hunter with team scores of 23-25, 16-25, and 16-25, and Mount St. Vincent 25-20, 26-24, and 25-20. For the week he piled up 35 kills, hit .257 and turned in 18 digs.
On the season he ranks among the NCAA Division IIIs top players in a numerous categories. As of mid-March he ranked fourth in the nation in kills per set with 3.95 in hitting percentage with .331 and 24th in aces per set with (0.48).
A kill is an offensive point. A dig is a defensive statistic. And an ace, also used in the sport of tennis, is a serve.
Geffard is excited, and honored to pile up such awards every week. He is progressing very nicely under Coach Andre Titus.
“I like the challenge of playing volleyball here at York,” he said on an off day of a match and of practice at York College, located in Jamaica. “I don’t like to lose and want to keep getting the awards until the end of the season.
His goal is to help his team win the CUNYAC regular season and tournament titles and go into the NCAA Division III tournament feeling very confident.
“I am optimistic about all this,” said Geffard, who started since the first match of the season.
When asked what will it take to accomplish these goals Geffard added, “We have to keep working more in practice, listen to strategy, and be confident. We want to be top seeded gong into the playoffs. When it comes down to the playoffs it’s a new season.”
A two-sport athlete, for he dons a soccer uniform for York during the fall season, Geffard started one of six games for a 7-12-0 record booter squad. He played mostly as a reserve in his first year at York.
Before entering York, Geffard also had a soccer background, having experience in Haiti.
A resident of nearby Jamaica, New York he played volleyball as a youngster and in high school and later with club teams including those in D1. During the time he kept improving and learned a lot from various coaches.
“When I first started out in volleyball, I played with six players much better than me,” he said. “It was stressful but I learned a lot and kept improving.”
In Haiti, he competed for various national teams including those under 20 and the national 21 squad. In addition, he played beach volleyball, very popular in New York City and in Long Island.
He graduated from high school in 2007 and went to the University of Notre Dame College in Haiti where he spent two years. He left Haiti for Florida in 2010 and eventually landed in St. Albans, Queens, where he has an uncle, Morales Geffard.
The regular season ends April 4, followed by playoffs.
