Before leaving the country, Tony Koyfman passed the torch to his teammate and good friend Jeremy Merat – who has the task of shouldering the scoring load for the Volleyball Never Stops Volleyball Club (VNS VC) Griffins in the 2019 Spikers’ Turf Reinforced Conference.
“We’ve definitely talked about it, and I only hope that he pushes himself more and more,” said Koyfman.
Koyfman left the country due to family reasons. He averaged 15.38 points per game, and led the Griffins to two victories.
Despite suffering their seventh loss on Thursday, Merat responded well to the challenge. He unleashed a personal conference-high of 29 points on 21 attacks, five blocks, and three aces in a crushing five-set defeat against the Animo Green Blazing Spikers.
The French hitter had only averaged eight points per game before the match.
“For those people that doubt him, he is a world-class volleyball player.
“He came from France, played pro[s] with Earvin N’Gapeth – like they have legit history, and you could even look it up on Wikipedia, he’s there,” said Koyfman in confidence.
Merat played professional volleyball in France, suiting up for Tours VB and playing alongside French star N’Gapeth. A year later, Merat jump shipped to Club Alès CVB.
For Merat, he’s just trying to fill in the void left by his pal, and to salvage wins for the Griffins.
“Yeah, Tony is a really good player. He’s a really good player, so I’m just trying to do my best to help the team as much as I can,” said Merat, who is currently on an internship program at the University of Sto. Tomas hospital.
“We talked a lot [before he left]. He’s my good friend outside volleyball also. I’m physically and technically… I’m getting better, I mean – I feel it so, since I didn’t play for a long time,” added Merat.
The UAAP Season 79 Finals MVP met Merat at the Boracay Beach Volleyball tournament organized by their common friend.
Knowing Merat’s experience, Koyfman convinced him to join him in VNS. The duo then played in the 2019 PSL Beach Volleyball Challenge Cup representing the Griffins and finished with a 1-3 card.
“I would try to fill in his trust. I think on the next game I can do better and better, and [hopefully] win it this time,” shared Merat.
“But this game, we were not too far to win. It’s just connection between all of us together can make [us] win.”
