By Alex Johanesen –
Off comes the shiny black bracelet Bez Arslani always wears. He puts it in the right shoe he has just taken off, a shoe that will be replaced by a neon green volleyball sneaker. The shoe carrying his bracelet and its lefty counterpart always goes into his bag, toes facing the court.
“Well, I can’t wear the bracelet during a volleyball game.” He shrugs. “Putting it in my shoe is some type of superstitious thing I think, but it helps me.”
It certainly does. In four weeks Arslani has captured Skyline Conference Rookie of the Week 3 times; the one week he didn’t, he made the conference Honor Roll.
The 19-year-old freshman outside hitter from Wayne, New Jersey only just began his career as a Gothic Knight men’s volleyball player. However, Arslani’s impact has been tremendous, bracelet or no bracelet.
“I found the bracelet in my brother’s room. My brother is my hero. I look up to him because of what and how he does things in his life. This bracelet helps me play volleyball. No matter how far away, my brother’s always with me. I hear him in my head when I’m playing,” said Arslani.
Family fuels Arslani’s drive.
“My number one fan is my sister. She comes to all my games no matter how far they are.” He adds, “My family is everything to me. Without their support I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
The health science major attends NJCU because it’s close to home. Yet, a second home is being forged on the volleyball court.
“Our team is like a big family. Say we lose a point. No one gets mad at each other. It’s unlike last year. In high school it was ‘all about Bez.’ I wanted to have fun –that was what I was looking for. Not for everything to be about me,” he said.
Considering the offensive threat that he poses, Arslani’s favorite aspect of the game might surprise some.
“My favorite thing about playing is getting a dig [passing the ball after the opposing team attacks it]. You get so hyped up and bring the other player’s momentum down,” said Arslani.
His passion proves to be a great part of the team’s successes. Much like his brother has helped him to be his best, Arslani motivates his teammates to do better.
“Besides his great talent, Bez brings fire, heart and a winning attitude to the team. His leadership is unlike any freshman that has come in to the program since I came here in 2005,” said head coach Kevin Rodgers. “On the court he contributes in every aspect of the game. He leads our team in service aces, kills, digs, and has one of the highest passing percentages on the team. Off the court, he has one of the highest GPAs. The great thing about Bez is he wants to be even better. He knows he can be an elite student-athlete and he’s doing everything necessary to be one.”
Arslani so far has contributed 237 kills with a .247 hitting percentage, 102 digs, 23 blocks and 27 service aces for 59 games, 17 matches. The Gothic Knights make their way through the season at 8-9 overall, 5-4 in the Skyline Conference. They have 13 matches left until the regular-season ends. The team is optimistic, especially with such effort from one of the starting players.
“You can just tell how much Bez loves and cares about the game by the way he pushes for every point. If he does something wrong, he’ll immediately ask one of the captains or the coaches what he needs to do to fix it,” said senior co-captain Kenny Lisk, a 21 year-old chemistry and secondary education major from Old Bridge. “He’s already done so much this year, but there’s no sign of slowing down. He’s going to have a very special career and will be a great leader for this program.”
With the superstitious luck of his bracelet and his family, on the court and off, pushing him towards his goals, Arlsani may accomplish more than conference accolades and post-season victories. He hopes that after his collegiate career he can play on a professional volleyball team in Europe. After that, he believes teaching physical education and coaching are his calling.
