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U.S. Marshals searching for federal judge Edwin Kosik

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Misericordia punter Pat Newins staying busy in prep for NFL draft

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; There are certain things everyone can count on.</p><p>Christmas comes every December. Someone will shoot fireworks off on the Fourth of July. And when the boys volleyball season starts, Holy Redeemer is going to have two or three attackers that can smash the ball.</p><p>And 2017 won&#8217;t be any different.</p><p>Ben Rachilla and Luke Nealon were on display Wednesday night as the Royals duo combined for 30 kills in a 3-0 sweep of Nanticoke in an early season showdown between two of the top teams in the Wyoming Valley Conference.</p><p>Set scores were 25-12, 25-14 and 25-12.</p><p>&#8220;This is a great feeling,&#8221; Nealon said. &#8220;I think it is more of a defensive team because we had more power last year. But we still have some good hitters. This team, I think we live for the big moment. We&#8217;ve played in some big tournaments, and we played in a championship game last weekend at the tournament we were in. We are getting used to these big matches.&#8221;</p><p>Both Nealon and Rachilla played roles on last year&#8217;s Redeemer squad that made a run to the state quarterfinals. Still, both took a bit of a back seat to powerful attackers like Rob Zbierski, John Carr and Chris Mennig.</p><p>Yes, they both showed their flashes last season. But it was hard to really shine behind a player like Zbierski, last season&#8217;s Times Leader Player of the Year, and Carr, an all-state selection.</p><p>Not this season. Those two, along with Matt Blaum, will be front and center for all to see.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s hard to try to live up to what those guys did last year because they were talented hitters,&#8221; Rachilla said. &#8220;I&#8217;m just glad that I&#8217;m part of this team, and I can be a contributing factor. We&#8217;ve been doing our part in the gym. You can see that our chemistry is coming together.&#8221;</p><p>They made their presence felt early.</p><p>Rachilla had seven kills in the opening set alone as a 10-2 run on serves by Blaum and setter Jimmy Stepanski opened up a 16-7 lead in the first.</p><p>Nealon started to open up in the second.</p><p>The senior combined for 10 of his 13 kills in the final two sets where Redeemer was in control throughout.</p><p>The Royals jumped out to a 10-2 to start the second and extended it to 18-5 behind a 5-0 run on Stepanski&#8217;s serve. Nanticoke tried to rally as three points on Josh Baranowski&#8217;s serve cut the deficit to 24-14 before Blaum&#8217;s swing down the line ended the set.</p><p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t get swings without good sets, and I thought that Stepanski had a great night,&#8221; Redeemer head coach Jack Kablick said. &#8220;I think our guys rose to the moment. I thought our preseason really helped us.</p><p>&#8220;Right now, we still have to work on running a better offense, and getting our new guys up to speed. Guys like Joey Judge and Tom Engle have only been with us for like 10 days. They are good athletes that can help our team.&#8221;</p><p>Nanticoke, which had limited practice time because of the basketball team&#8217;s successful run to the PIAA semifinals, hung around in the third. But the long Royals run popped up again, this time a 7-0 spurt fueled by libero Mike Mohutsky, to break open a 10-9 set.</p><p>&#8220;I expected a little bit more, but literally, we only had five practices before playing one of the best teams in the conference,&#8221; Nanticoke coach Debbie Gavin said. &#8220;We have a lot of hitters and we are well-rounded. The biggest thing, though, is I&#8217;m disappointed that I didn&#8217;t see that senior leadership today on the court. We need them to step up in that aspect of the game.&#8221;</p><p>Stepanski finished with 30 assists and 10 points, while Mohutsky added 10 digs.</p><p>Nanticoke&#8217;s Luke Butczynski had five kills to pace the Trojans, and teammate Justin Casey added three spikes.</p><p><strong>Crestwood 3,</strong></p><p><strong>Hazleton Area 0</strong></p><p>Michael Williams had 26 assists and seven service points as Crestwood swept Hazleton Area 25-21, 29-27, 25-3.</p><p>Adam Williams added 11 service points, while Kenny Brush and Brady Fetterman posted eight kills each.</p><p>Matt Boretski paced Hazleton Area with 20 assists, seven points and three aces. John Wolk added five kills. Everett Fritz had three kills and a pair of blocks.</p><p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Holy Redeemer 3, Nanticoke 0</strong></p><p><strong>Nanticoke`12`14`12 &#8212; 0</strong></p><p><strong>Holy Redeemer`25`25`25 &#8212; 3</strong></p><p><strong>Nanticoke &#8212;</strong> Luke Buczynski 5 kills; Justin Casey 2 kills, 2 blocks; Carlos Castillo 5 assists, 4 digs.</p><p><strong>Holy Redeemer &#8212;</strong> Ben Rachilla 17 kills, 2 blocks, 13 points; Luke Nealon 13 kills, 4 blocks; Matt Blaum 7 kills, 3 points; Jimmy Stepanski 30 assists, 10 points, 3 digs; Mike Mohutsky, 10 digs, 8 points.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Mike Mohutsky reacts after a point against Nanticoke in a WVC match on Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Redeemer-NanticokeVB_1-2.jpg</photo0><caption0>Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Mike Mohutsky reacts after a point against Nanticoke in a WVC match on Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Redeemer-NanticokeVB_2-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Matt Blaum right goes for the kill as Nanticoke&#8217;s Carlos Castillo defends the net in Wednesday&#8217;s match. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Redeemer-NanticokeVB_2-2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Matt Blaum right goes for the kill as Nanticoke&#8217;s Carlos Castillo defends the net in Wednesday&#8217;s match. </caption1><photoCredit1>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Redeemer-NanticokeVB_3-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Nanticoke&#8217;s Alec Divers saves a ball against Holy Redeemer on Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Redeemer-NanticokeVB_3-2.jpg</photo2><caption2>Nanticoke&#8217;s Alec Divers saves a ball against Holy Redeemer on Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre. </caption2><photoCredit2>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Redeemer-NanticokeVB_4-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Luke Nealon attacks the net against Nanticoke&#8217;s Luke Butczynski on Wednesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Redeemer-NanticokeVB_4-2.jpg</photo3><caption3>Holy Redeemer&#8217;s Luke Nealon attacks the net against Nanticoke&#8217;s Luke Butczynski on Wednesday. </caption3><photoCredit3>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Redeemer-NanticokeVB_5-2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Nanticoke&#8217;s Carlos Castillo sets the ball against Holy Redeemer on Wednesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo4>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/web1_Redeemer-NanticokeVB_5-2.jpg</photo4><caption4>Nanticoke&#8217;s Carlos Castillo sets the ball against Holy Redeemer on Wednesday. </caption4><photoCredit4>Bill Tarutis | For Times Leader </photoCredit4></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Royals sweep Trojans in battle of top WVC teams</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Fox</p><p>For Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @TLsports</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Boys Volleyball: Holy Redeemer makes statement with win over Nanticoke