Summit got Casey Nardino back for the match versus Rahway and the team responded with their best performance of the season, beating Rahway 25-6, 25-19 to earn their 2nd victory of the season. JV cruised past the Indians with a straight game sweep of 25-18, 25-16.
Varsity had just come off one of their worst matches versus Union earlier in the week, having played without Casey Nardino and without Sammy Auerbach due to illness. Getting Nardino back gave the team a boost and with contributions from the rest of the squad, Summit looked like the dominant team they expected to be all season. Summit hit for 19 kills and a dominant .292 hitting efficiency while also ripping 11 aces and adding 2 blocks for a season high 32 points in a 2 game match.
In game 1, SHS started off fast and never took their foot off the gas in a 25-6 victory. Val Guzman ran off 7 consecutive service points (3 aces) in rotation 2 and the team jumped out to a 10-1 lead. Casey Nardino took over in the next rotation and proceeded to rip off 6 service points (3 aces) and by the time she was done serving, Summit held a 17-2 lead. The Hilltoppers had the game wrapped up in 6 rotations as Jocelyn Mendez served it out in rotation 6. The Maroon and White hit for .300 with 8 kills led by Guzman with 3 and Katie Samay with 4. The team also dominated from the service line with 9 aces in the game led by Guzman and Nardino who hit for 3 apiece.
Game 2 was a much tighter affair and the Hilltoppers held a slim 10-8 lead after 6 rotations although they trailed early 5-2 before Samay stepped up with 3 service points to push SHS to the lead at 9-6. Two rotations later, Gabby Mejia extended the lead to 14-8 with 3 key service points and the team never looked back. Grace Galuppo pretty much shut the door on any Rahway comeback hopes with a an ace and 2 service points as the squad extended the lead to 22-13. The Indians got as close as 24-19 but a well placed Jocelyn Mendez serve led to an India error that ended the match.
Summit nailed 11 kills while hitting .286 to pace their scoring. Guzman led the squad with 4 kills in the set and Nardino chipped in 3 kills. Taylor Thompson and Grace Galuppo combined for 2 aces and a perfect 6/6 from the service line. Lauren Trindell and Casey Nardino had 1 block apiece and were a factor on defense the entire match.
Summit gave up only 2 aces the entire match and passed at a 2.00 with Guzman passing at a 2.28 and Jocelyn Mendez at a near perfect 2.75. Summit dug up 28 balls led by Guzman´s 12 who also led the team with 7 kills followed by Nardino´s 6 kills.
The team will face off against Linden on Friday in another heated conference battle.
JV SERVING ATTACK KEY TO 25-18, 25-16 VICTORY OVER RAHWAY
The JV Squad was looking to avenge a road loss to the Rahway team earlier in September and the squad came through with flying colors as the team got 11 aces and 14 kills for the match to outgun the Indians on this afternoon.
Game 1 was the close at 9-8 SHS through 5 rotations but Blakely McCann stepped up to the service line and pounded out 8 service points (2 aces) to blow the game open at 18-9. Rahway made a comeback and closed to within 4 at 18-14 but a kill by Katie McPhearson stopped the momentum and gave Summit the room it needed to regain control of the game. The Hilltoppers played even the rest of the way and Olivia Elko finished the game off with 2 service points (1 ace) to give SHS the win at 25-18.
Lharyssa Viana and Olivia Skrobala led the team with a combined 9 digs and 5 different players had at least 1 kill on the offeensive side of the ball. The spotlight was, however, on Cheryl Liu who dominated from the service line as she hit for 4 aces out of 5 attempts to set the tone for the squad.
Game 2 was more of the same as both teams were knotted at 10 through 6 rotations when Elko got to the service line and proceeded to nail 5 aces out of 6 service attempts to blow the game open at 16-10. Summit never looked back and outscored Rahway 9-6 the rest of the way to close out the game and match.
Six different players had at least 1 kill and Elko led the way with 3 kills and was the top scorer in the game with 8 points (5 aces-3 kills). Micaela Nardino and Camille Della Piazza combined for 7 assists and Della Piazza combined with Carmel Barsh for a key block in the game.
JV improves to 7W-3L on the year and has its sights set on County Tournament and breaking last year´s 15W mark and best winning %.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
SHORT-HANDED SUMMIT FADED LATE VS THE FARMERS; JV IMPROVES TO 6W-3L
Summit had high hopes for the week coming off another good Saturday tournament performance this past weekend but this time, the team´s undoing came at the hand of an illness. Summit lost both Sammy Auerbach (DS/SS) and starting MB Casey Nardino to illness for this match (future matches day-to-day) and despite the team´s best efforts, the offense just was not there on a consistent basis. The Hilltoppers fell 25-17 and 25-15 in very different ways in each game but the constant theme was the lack of offensive production.
Summit held the fort in game 1 until the last third of the game when the Maroon and White trailed only 13-16. In rotation 11, Summit allowed a 3-0 run that extended Union´s lead to 20-13 and SHS could only cut it back to 15-20 before the next loss of serve. That was as close as the Hilltoppers would get as the Farmers outscored SHS 5-2 to close out the game.
Val Guzman and Lauren Trindell got 2 kills apiece to account for the entire offense and Summit's serving, usually a source of strength, yielded only 1 ace to 4 errors. The team passed at an effective rate (1.95) with Jocelyn Mendez leading the way with a 2.25 rating handling almost 50% of the serves sent over the net. Mendez and Guzman also led the team in the game with 5 digs apiece and team dug up 17 balls in the game.
In game 2, the suspense was over within 6 rotations but the team seemed to be in a good place after 3 rotations, up 6-3 and looking like a much more inspired squad. However, a Union kill stopped any momentum the team had and the Farmers regained the lead 12-8 by rotation 6. After Summit could not generate anything off rotations 4, 5 and 6, Union ran off 5 straight service points to take a commanding 18-9 lead that the Farmers would not relinquish. Summit was outscored 7-6from that point on but could not muster any consistent offensive output that would threaten the Union defense.
Lauren Trindell and Katie Samay led the team with 2 kills apiece and the team hit for 2 aces (Guzman and Alisha McDonnell) while committing only 1 error. Summit passed at an amazing 2.05 led again by Mendez who tallied a 2.27, handling 11 of the 18 Union serves.
Lauren Trindell was the woman of the match for SHS in the absence of both Auerbach and Nardino as she scored 4 points with 4 kills, leading the SHS offense for the day. More impressively, Trindell hit for a .429 efficiency and was very active on defense getting a team leading 6 block touches.
The team hopes to be healthier for Rahway on Thursday at home as they search for that elusive 2nd win.
JV GETS 6TH VICTORY IN 3 GAME BATTLE
The Hilltoppers improved to 6W-3L with a 2-1 victory over the Farmers (25-21, 18-25, 25-14) . Summit turned a sloppy game 1 performance into a win despite only scoring 9 points in the game behind Olivia ElkoĊ serving that netted 4 service points and opened up the game for the Hilltoppers with an 8-3 lead. That lead was never really challenged as both teams traded points fairly evenly throughout the next 8 rotations before Summit took it 25-21.
The second game saw SHS go from an 8-8 score to trailing by 16-11 within 2 rotations (5 and 6) as the Farmers pressured the Hilltopper serve receive with each and every serve. Despite SHS cutting into the lead late behind Elko´s serving (16-18), Union outscored Summit 7-2 the rest of the way to seal game 2.
The decisive game 3 was a great display of volleyball for the fans as both teams dug and hit with aggression as neither team wanted to give in to the other. Summit found itself ahead 8-2 after Micaela Nardino ran off 4 service points and 2 rotations later, behind Elko´s serving again, SHS went on a 6-0 run that put away any doubts that the team would win as the Hilltoppers held a 16-5 lead. Summit and Union each scored 9 points apiece the rest of the way but the Farmers never threatened due to Katie McPhearson´s offense and Caitlin Thompson´s defense in key points in the game.
Nardino scored 7 points in the match all on kills and Eloko led the squad from the service line with 4 aces. Olivia Skrobala notched 4 points as well with 3 kills and 1 block and tallied 6 digs and 5 assists. McPhearson was a menace in the front row as she hit for 7 kills (4 in the 3rd game) to lead the team offensively. Caitlin Thompson was the key defensive performer in game 3 as she dug up 5 balls in the game to lead her team and was perfect on serve receive.
The team hopes to avenge an earlier loss to Rahway on Thursday.
Summit held the fort in game 1 until the last third of the game when the Maroon and White trailed only 13-16. In rotation 11, Summit allowed a 3-0 run that extended Union´s lead to 20-13 and SHS could only cut it back to 15-20 before the next loss of serve. That was as close as the Hilltoppers would get as the Farmers outscored SHS 5-2 to close out the game.
Val Guzman and Lauren Trindell got 2 kills apiece to account for the entire offense and Summit's serving, usually a source of strength, yielded only 1 ace to 4 errors. The team passed at an effective rate (1.95) with Jocelyn Mendez leading the way with a 2.25 rating handling almost 50% of the serves sent over the net. Mendez and Guzman also led the team in the game with 5 digs apiece and team dug up 17 balls in the game.
In game 2, the suspense was over within 6 rotations but the team seemed to be in a good place after 3 rotations, up 6-3 and looking like a much more inspired squad. However, a Union kill stopped any momentum the team had and the Farmers regained the lead 12-8 by rotation 6. After Summit could not generate anything off rotations 4, 5 and 6, Union ran off 5 straight service points to take a commanding 18-9 lead that the Farmers would not relinquish. Summit was outscored 7-6from that point on but could not muster any consistent offensive output that would threaten the Union defense.
Lauren Trindell and Katie Samay led the team with 2 kills apiece and the team hit for 2 aces (Guzman and Alisha McDonnell) while committing only 1 error. Summit passed at an amazing 2.05 led again by Mendez who tallied a 2.27, handling 11 of the 18 Union serves.
Lauren Trindell was the woman of the match for SHS in the absence of both Auerbach and Nardino as she scored 4 points with 4 kills, leading the SHS offense for the day. More impressively, Trindell hit for a .429 efficiency and was very active on defense getting a team leading 6 block touches.
The team hopes to be healthier for Rahway on Thursday at home as they search for that elusive 2nd win.
JV GETS 6TH VICTORY IN 3 GAME BATTLE
The Hilltoppers improved to 6W-3L with a 2-1 victory over the Farmers (25-21, 18-25, 25-14) . Summit turned a sloppy game 1 performance into a win despite only scoring 9 points in the game behind Olivia ElkoĊ serving that netted 4 service points and opened up the game for the Hilltoppers with an 8-3 lead. That lead was never really challenged as both teams traded points fairly evenly throughout the next 8 rotations before Summit took it 25-21.
The second game saw SHS go from an 8-8 score to trailing by 16-11 within 2 rotations (5 and 6) as the Farmers pressured the Hilltopper serve receive with each and every serve. Despite SHS cutting into the lead late behind Elko´s serving (16-18), Union outscored Summit 7-2 the rest of the way to seal game 2.
The decisive game 3 was a great display of volleyball for the fans as both teams dug and hit with aggression as neither team wanted to give in to the other. Summit found itself ahead 8-2 after Micaela Nardino ran off 4 service points and 2 rotations later, behind Elko´s serving again, SHS went on a 6-0 run that put away any doubts that the team would win as the Hilltoppers held a 16-5 lead. Summit and Union each scored 9 points apiece the rest of the way but the Farmers never threatened due to Katie McPhearson´s offense and Caitlin Thompson´s defense in key points in the game.
Nardino scored 7 points in the match all on kills and Eloko led the squad from the service line with 4 aces. Olivia Skrobala notched 4 points as well with 3 kills and 1 block and tallied 6 digs and 5 assists. McPhearson was a menace in the front row as she hit for 7 kills (4 in the 3rd game) to lead the team offensively. Caitlin Thompson was the key defensive performer in game 3 as she dug up 5 balls in the game to lead her team and was perfect on serve receive.
The team hopes to avenge an earlier loss to Rahway on Thursday.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
MORRISTOWN-BEARD FALL CLASSIC TOURNAMENT REVEALS PRESENT AND FUTURE STARS
The Lady Hilltoppers traveled to nearby Morristown to participate in the Morristown-Beard Fall Classic. The team featured 2 different lineup versus 3 different teams in their pool (Morris Tech, North 13th Tech and Piscataway).
Summit opened with Piscataway and split 25-21 and 17-25. The next matchup was versus North 13th Tech and SHS lost both games 14-25 and 16-25. Summit closed out pool play with Morris Tech and the Maroon and White split with Morris Tech 25-21, 21-24.
The team was ranked 10th after pool play and played Lacordaire in the first round. SHS started off slow and lost the first game 25-20 but came back in the 2nd game and won 25-18. Summit moved on to face Oak Knoll in the second round due to point differential.
Oak Knoll had just beaten SHS in 3 games in comeback fashion after the Hilltoppers looked to have the 3rd game in hand at 22-19. Oak Knoll came in as a top 5 seed in the tourney and heavy favorites. Summit did not have top OH sub Madison Young due to illness and starting Setter Gabby Mejia was away at a family function but the team did not miss a beat with backup Setter Alisha McDonnell running the show.
Summit took control early and did not Oak Knoll get control at any point in the single game elimination match. SHS led 10-6 and extended the lead to 15-11 after Oak Knoll had closed to within 1. The Royals made another run to get close to the Lady Hilltoppers at 16-17 but yet again the Maroon and White responded with a 4-1 run to take a commanding 21-17 lead. The Royals called a time out and the Hilltoppers could sense the victory.
SHS saw its lead evaporate in a matter of seconds and Coach Martins called a time-out to settle the squad. Summit came out of the time-out with a sense of purpose and won 2 of the next 3 points to take a 23-21 lead. With top Middle Blocker Casey Nardino and top OH Val Guzman in the front row at this point, the Hilltoppers should have been very confident but yet nervous errors cost the team at this critical junction as they have all season long. The Royals closed out a 4-0 run with an ace to win the match 25-23 as SHS could not muster the kills that mattered.
STARS OF THE TOURNAMENT:
Alisha McDonnell took over the reigns of the offense and had an outstanding day. McDonnell had a 2 kill 3 ace day to contribute offensively but had 27 assists (3.0/game) to lead the Hilltoppers in Mejia's absence. With Mejia graduating this year, McDonnell's role and performance becomes more vital to the team's success in 2017.
Casey Nardino led again all scorers with 24 points with 11 kills, a team leading 6 aces and was a blocking machine with 7 blocks on the day.
Val Guzman was the offensive star for the Hilltoppers with 15 kills to lead the team and tied for 2nd with 5 aces. Guzman was also 2nd on the team with 17 digs and yielded only 2 aces during the entire tournament. Guzman scored 20 points total, 2nd on the team.
Grace Galuppo was brilliant in the tournament, scoring the 3rd highest amount of points with 11 off a 6 kill, 5 ace performance. Galuppo also chipped in 4 assists and 3 digs.
Katie Samay keeps solidifying her OH status for this season and the future with performances like she had versus the Royals earlier this week (team leading 8 kills) and followed up with a 10 point performance at the MBS tournament with 6 kills and 4 aces. Samay also had 3 digs and 1 assist. With the bulk of the offense graduating this year, key performances by Samay and others this year will go a long way to setting up next year's offense.
Jocelyn Mendez, the most versatile player on the Hilltopper roster, started the season as an OH and now has moved to Libero to strengthen up the passing defense. Mendez had 1 kill and an ace but handled almost 70% of the serve receive and allowed only 2 aces. Mendez was also all over the court defensively, digging up a team leading 22 balls.
The squad faces off against conference foes Union on the road on Tuesday and host Rahway and Linden Thursday and Friday.
Summit opened with Piscataway and split 25-21 and 17-25. The next matchup was versus North 13th Tech and SHS lost both games 14-25 and 16-25. Summit closed out pool play with Morris Tech and the Maroon and White split with Morris Tech 25-21, 21-24.
The team was ranked 10th after pool play and played Lacordaire in the first round. SHS started off slow and lost the first game 25-20 but came back in the 2nd game and won 25-18. Summit moved on to face Oak Knoll in the second round due to point differential.
Oak Knoll had just beaten SHS in 3 games in comeback fashion after the Hilltoppers looked to have the 3rd game in hand at 22-19. Oak Knoll came in as a top 5 seed in the tourney and heavy favorites. Summit did not have top OH sub Madison Young due to illness and starting Setter Gabby Mejia was away at a family function but the team did not miss a beat with backup Setter Alisha McDonnell running the show.
Summit took control early and did not Oak Knoll get control at any point in the single game elimination match. SHS led 10-6 and extended the lead to 15-11 after Oak Knoll had closed to within 1. The Royals made another run to get close to the Lady Hilltoppers at 16-17 but yet again the Maroon and White responded with a 4-1 run to take a commanding 21-17 lead. The Royals called a time out and the Hilltoppers could sense the victory.
SHS saw its lead evaporate in a matter of seconds and Coach Martins called a time-out to settle the squad. Summit came out of the time-out with a sense of purpose and won 2 of the next 3 points to take a 23-21 lead. With top Middle Blocker Casey Nardino and top OH Val Guzman in the front row at this point, the Hilltoppers should have been very confident but yet nervous errors cost the team at this critical junction as they have all season long. The Royals closed out a 4-0 run with an ace to win the match 25-23 as SHS could not muster the kills that mattered.
STARS OF THE TOURNAMENT:
Alisha McDonnell took over the reigns of the offense and had an outstanding day. McDonnell had a 2 kill 3 ace day to contribute offensively but had 27 assists (3.0/game) to lead the Hilltoppers in Mejia's absence. With Mejia graduating this year, McDonnell's role and performance becomes more vital to the team's success in 2017.
Casey Nardino led again all scorers with 24 points with 11 kills, a team leading 6 aces and was a blocking machine with 7 blocks on the day.
Val Guzman was the offensive star for the Hilltoppers with 15 kills to lead the team and tied for 2nd with 5 aces. Guzman was also 2nd on the team with 17 digs and yielded only 2 aces during the entire tournament. Guzman scored 20 points total, 2nd on the team.
Grace Galuppo was brilliant in the tournament, scoring the 3rd highest amount of points with 11 off a 6 kill, 5 ace performance. Galuppo also chipped in 4 assists and 3 digs.
Katie Samay keeps solidifying her OH status for this season and the future with performances like she had versus the Royals earlier this week (team leading 8 kills) and followed up with a 10 point performance at the MBS tournament with 6 kills and 4 aces. Samay also had 3 digs and 1 assist. With the bulk of the offense graduating this year, key performances by Samay and others this year will go a long way to setting up next year's offense.
Jocelyn Mendez, the most versatile player on the Hilltopper roster, started the season as an OH and now has moved to Libero to strengthen up the passing defense. Mendez had 1 kill and an ace but handled almost 70% of the serve receive and allowed only 2 aces. Mendez was also all over the court defensively, digging up a team leading 22 balls.
The squad faces off against conference foes Union on the road on Tuesday and host Rahway and Linden Thursday and Friday.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
HILLTOPPERS NEARLY TOPPLE ROYALS - SERVICE ERRORS DOOM JV BID FOR 6th WIN
The Hilltoppers came off their first win versus the Plainfield Cardinals and were looking to start a winning streak against the conference leading and town rival Oak Knoll Royals. Despite an amazing 2nd and 3rd game performance, Summit lost in 3, 11-25, 25-22, 23-25, in a match that the Hilltoppers looked like they had in their hand in game 3 with a 20-17 lead and the serve.
Game 1 saw the Royals get out to an early lead and never really be challenged as the Hilltoppers tentative attacks were no match for the aggression of Oak Knoll's offense. The team was down 21-7 after 6 rotations and despite committing very few errors, Summit could not get closer than 25-11. SHS hit for only 3 kills, went 11/12 from the service line and had 10 digs in a lackluster offensive game.
Game 2 proved to be more of what Coach Martins was looking for as the Maroon and White tallied 8 kills, 7 aces and 1 block to pace a 25-22 game 2 victory. Summit trailed early again (6-3 and 8-4) but Casey Nardino ripped 7 service points ( 4 aces) to bring the Hilltoppers to their first lead at 11-9. But the lead as short lived however as the Royals struck for 4 points and had SHS down 13-12 after 4 rotations. After rotation 6, Oak Knoll led 18-17 as both teams were siding out pretty efficiently. After a Casey Nardino kill had Summit within 1 at 19-18, Gabby Mejia provided another classic service run that sealed the fate of Oak Knoll in game 2. Mejia went 4/4 with 1 ace to spot SHS a 22-20 lead. Oak Knoll got to within 1 at 21-22 but a Val Guzman kill gave the team its 2 point cushion at 23-21. Guzman followed up with a tough serve that caused a hitting error by the Royals and Summit was 24-21 up. Despite an Oak Knoll kill, Summit closed out the tough game 25-22 after another Nardino serve.
The scene was set for one of the biggest wins in recent history for the SHS program or another heartbreaking loss in the 2016 season. Summit and Oak Knoll were tied after rotation 3 (8-8) as both teams threw everything they had at each other in every facet of the game. After Grace Galuppo was done serving in rotation 4, SHS looked like it had a slight edge in play with an 11-9 lead. Despite a mini Royal run in rotation 5 that had the game knotted at 11 again, Katie Samay hit for 4 service points, including 2 aces, to give the Hilltoppers the momentum and the lead at 16-11. Summit had the crowd, the momentum and were applying all the pressure on Oak Knoll.
To the Royals' credit, the team did not wilt and key kills had the Royals within 1 at 17-18 by rotation 7. Val Guzman fired off an ace to get SHS a 20-17 lead after a Royal missed serve which forced Oak Knoll to call a time-out to break the Maroon and White's momentum. Summit came off the time-out poised to finish the match but a key missed serve stunted the momentum and gave the Royals some hope at 20-18. Three service points later (1 ace and 2 hitting errors later), Summit was staring at the wrong end of a 21-20 score. A Samay kill brought the team even at 21 But Oak Knoll had a side-out to rip the lead back at 22-21. SHS got a Guzman kill to tie the score at 22 and another tough serve later that led to a free ball error by the Royals seemingly turned the game on its head as the Hilltoppers had stormed back to a 23-22 lead. But that was to be the last point the team would score as SHS hit for 2 errors and allowed an ace on match point to fall to the Royals 25-23.
Summit hit for a game high 10 kills in game 3, added 5 aces in a 21/23 serving performance and had 10 digs while only giving up 2 aces. Captain Val Guzman tried to lead the team by example as she had 4 kills in the game and hit a .429 for the deciding game. Katie Samay dug up a team leading 4 balls in game 3 to keep the Hilltoppers alive and joined teammate Grace Galuppo as the team leaders with 4 service points apiece.
For the match, Guzman and Jocelyn Mendez led the way defensively with 9 and 6 digs respectively. They also received 41 of the team's 59 serve receptions and scored a 1.93 rating. Summit only gave up 4 aces for the match and had 2 blocks (Nardino and Galuppo). The team's leading scorer was KAtie Samay with 12 points off of a team leading 8 kills (.238 hitting %) and 4 aces (40% ace% and a serve % of 90%). Casey Nardino had a quiet 5 kills from the front row but ripped a team leading 6 aces (ace % 35%, serve % 88%).
The team will next compete at the Morristown-Beard Tournament on Saturday.
JV Service Miscues Result in Loss to Royals
Coming off their 5th win versus the Cardinals, Summit felt ready to take on the Royals as they continue their assault on the 15 win record set last year. Despite the win versus the Cardinals, a disturbing trend of multiple rotations missing serves was starting to emerge. Unfortunately for the Hilltoppers, not even the comeback of Bella D'Ambrosi could fix this problem on this day.
Summit missed 10 serves in route to a 25-19 loss in game 1 versus the Royals. Despite a very productive defense and offense, Summit could not gain any momentum as the team continuously missed a big serve at the wrong time. Oak Knoll had a 20-14 lead after 11 rotations and Summit got to within 3 at 21-18 by rotation 12 but the Maroon and White commited its 9th service error then to give the Royals the ball. Oak Knoll pushed Summit to the wall with 3 service points at 24-19 and Summit ended the game as it had begun, with a service error to close out game 1.
Game 2 was much of the same as both teams found themselves deadlocked at 11 with Summit producing another 3 service errors in 6 rotations. SHS cleaned up its serving though and found themselves in a 19-19 tie by rotation 11 as Kate McPhearson, Olivia Elko and Bela D'Ambrosi pounded out 7 kills combined to keep the Maroon and White's hopes alive. But another missed serve and a Royal kill gave Oak Knoll the lead at 21-19 and they never looked back as the Hilltoppers gave up an ace, committed 2 hitting errors and had a free ball error with a Royal missed serve in between to finish with a 25-20 loss.
Summit missed a combined 15 serves in the match but hit for 12 kills, 8 aces and 13 digs in the loss, all of which are season highs for a 2 game match.
Game 1 saw the Royals get out to an early lead and never really be challenged as the Hilltoppers tentative attacks were no match for the aggression of Oak Knoll's offense. The team was down 21-7 after 6 rotations and despite committing very few errors, Summit could not get closer than 25-11. SHS hit for only 3 kills, went 11/12 from the service line and had 10 digs in a lackluster offensive game.
Game 2 proved to be more of what Coach Martins was looking for as the Maroon and White tallied 8 kills, 7 aces and 1 block to pace a 25-22 game 2 victory. Summit trailed early again (6-3 and 8-4) but Casey Nardino ripped 7 service points ( 4 aces) to bring the Hilltoppers to their first lead at 11-9. But the lead as short lived however as the Royals struck for 4 points and had SHS down 13-12 after 4 rotations. After rotation 6, Oak Knoll led 18-17 as both teams were siding out pretty efficiently. After a Casey Nardino kill had Summit within 1 at 19-18, Gabby Mejia provided another classic service run that sealed the fate of Oak Knoll in game 2. Mejia went 4/4 with 1 ace to spot SHS a 22-20 lead. Oak Knoll got to within 1 at 21-22 but a Val Guzman kill gave the team its 2 point cushion at 23-21. Guzman followed up with a tough serve that caused a hitting error by the Royals and Summit was 24-21 up. Despite an Oak Knoll kill, Summit closed out the tough game 25-22 after another Nardino serve.
The scene was set for one of the biggest wins in recent history for the SHS program or another heartbreaking loss in the 2016 season. Summit and Oak Knoll were tied after rotation 3 (8-8) as both teams threw everything they had at each other in every facet of the game. After Grace Galuppo was done serving in rotation 4, SHS looked like it had a slight edge in play with an 11-9 lead. Despite a mini Royal run in rotation 5 that had the game knotted at 11 again, Katie Samay hit for 4 service points, including 2 aces, to give the Hilltoppers the momentum and the lead at 16-11. Summit had the crowd, the momentum and were applying all the pressure on Oak Knoll.
To the Royals' credit, the team did not wilt and key kills had the Royals within 1 at 17-18 by rotation 7. Val Guzman fired off an ace to get SHS a 20-17 lead after a Royal missed serve which forced Oak Knoll to call a time-out to break the Maroon and White's momentum. Summit came off the time-out poised to finish the match but a key missed serve stunted the momentum and gave the Royals some hope at 20-18. Three service points later (1 ace and 2 hitting errors later), Summit was staring at the wrong end of a 21-20 score. A Samay kill brought the team even at 21 But Oak Knoll had a side-out to rip the lead back at 22-21. SHS got a Guzman kill to tie the score at 22 and another tough serve later that led to a free ball error by the Royals seemingly turned the game on its head as the Hilltoppers had stormed back to a 23-22 lead. But that was to be the last point the team would score as SHS hit for 2 errors and allowed an ace on match point to fall to the Royals 25-23.
Summit hit for a game high 10 kills in game 3, added 5 aces in a 21/23 serving performance and had 10 digs while only giving up 2 aces. Captain Val Guzman tried to lead the team by example as she had 4 kills in the game and hit a .429 for the deciding game. Katie Samay dug up a team leading 4 balls in game 3 to keep the Hilltoppers alive and joined teammate Grace Galuppo as the team leaders with 4 service points apiece.
For the match, Guzman and Jocelyn Mendez led the way defensively with 9 and 6 digs respectively. They also received 41 of the team's 59 serve receptions and scored a 1.93 rating. Summit only gave up 4 aces for the match and had 2 blocks (Nardino and Galuppo). The team's leading scorer was KAtie Samay with 12 points off of a team leading 8 kills (.238 hitting %) and 4 aces (40% ace% and a serve % of 90%). Casey Nardino had a quiet 5 kills from the front row but ripped a team leading 6 aces (ace % 35%, serve % 88%).
The team will next compete at the Morristown-Beard Tournament on Saturday.
JV Service Miscues Result in Loss to Royals
Coming off their 5th win versus the Cardinals, Summit felt ready to take on the Royals as they continue their assault on the 15 win record set last year. Despite the win versus the Cardinals, a disturbing trend of multiple rotations missing serves was starting to emerge. Unfortunately for the Hilltoppers, not even the comeback of Bella D'Ambrosi could fix this problem on this day.
Summit missed 10 serves in route to a 25-19 loss in game 1 versus the Royals. Despite a very productive defense and offense, Summit could not gain any momentum as the team continuously missed a big serve at the wrong time. Oak Knoll had a 20-14 lead after 11 rotations and Summit got to within 3 at 21-18 by rotation 12 but the Maroon and White commited its 9th service error then to give the Royals the ball. Oak Knoll pushed Summit to the wall with 3 service points at 24-19 and Summit ended the game as it had begun, with a service error to close out game 1.
Game 2 was much of the same as both teams found themselves deadlocked at 11 with Summit producing another 3 service errors in 6 rotations. SHS cleaned up its serving though and found themselves in a 19-19 tie by rotation 11 as Kate McPhearson, Olivia Elko and Bela D'Ambrosi pounded out 7 kills combined to keep the Maroon and White's hopes alive. But another missed serve and a Royal kill gave Oak Knoll the lead at 21-19 and they never looked back as the Hilltoppers gave up an ace, committed 2 hitting errors and had a free ball error with a Royal missed serve in between to finish with a 25-20 loss.
Summit missed a combined 15 serves in the match but hit for 12 kills, 8 aces and 13 digs in the loss, all of which are season highs for a 2 game match.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
CARDINALS GET WINGS CLIPPED BY THE HILLTOPPERS
The Summit Volleyball Team was looking to get a taste of victory as the squad traveled to Plainfield to take on the Cardinals. After less than one game, SHS had lost its Libero, Co-Captain Jocelyn Mendez, to illness and had to finish game 1 and play game 2 without its best defensive player and top rated passer. In a season of near wins and key mistakes, this just seemed like destiny's wheel turning against Summit. The team, however, showed great resiliency and determination, got key performances from its bench players and walked out of the Cardinal gym with a 26-24, 25-23 victory.
Coach Martins knew that his Libero was on borrowed time and he had hoped the team could roll through the first set using its superior passing and hitting attack but, as has been the case many times this season, the best laid plans were not going to come to fruition. Summit led 11-5 after its 4th rotation but could not hold the lead as the team gave up a 4-0 run to see its lead shrink to 11-9 on a series of hitting errors and mis-communication gaffes. Although Summit regained control after Mendez's serving put the team up 16-11, a free ball mistake opened the door for a 3-0 run in the seventh rotation that had the Cardinals within 2 at 15-17. It was at this point that Mendez retired from the match, unable to continue due to illness. Plainfield took advantage and a few rotations later were looking at 3 game points leading 24-21. Summit rallied behind a Madison Young kill to pull to within 2 at 22-24 and regain serve. Young stepped up and delivered 5 pressure packed quality serves (1 ace) to give the Hilltoppers the win at 26-24. Val Guzman also contributed with a kill during the defining run.
Summit ended with 9 kills but also 9 errors and served 24/26 (92.3%) and hit for 5 aces 19%) while passing at a 1.82 rating, led by Val Guzman who passed 10/23 receptions at a 2.20 rating.
Game 2 was another tight affair and Summit used 11 players in an effort to secure a game 2 win despite the loss of Mendez. Summit trailed briefly 13-12 entering the 6th rotation but key serving by Gabby Mejia brought the lead back to 15-12 in rotation 7. The lead seemed safe because of the quality of play of the squad but unfortunately, the Cardinals began to target an area normally covered by Mendez and the team just could not handle it cleanly. Within 2 rotations, Summit had seen a 3 point lead evaporate and morph into a 17-18 deficit despite the team being nearly perfect with a 9 kill, 1 error offensive effort and a perfect 17/17 from the service line with 1 ace. Taylor Thompson stepped up though and ripped a quick ace and earned 2 other service points to get SHS a 21-19 lead late in the match. After a couple of SHS errors got the Cardinals knotted at 21-21, a Val Guzman kill settled the team and got the Hilltoppers closer to the victory at 22-21. After the Cardinals tied it back up at 22, Sammy Auerbach took the ball from the service line and ripped 3 consecutive pressure serves to lead Summit to its first win at 25-23.
Val Guzman was outstanding in the game, hitting on 5 of 11 attack attempts with 0 errors. The other OHs -Katie Samay and Maddie Young- combined for 4 kills on 11 attempts with 3 errors. The team also went a perfect 24/24 from the service line with 2 aces. For the match, Mendez and Guzman combined for 24 of the team's reception attempts and passed at an outstanding 2.31 pass rating. Guzman also led the team in digs with 9 and was by far the best hitter with 8 kills and an outstanding 30% hitting % and a 40% kill %. Katie Samay nailed 5 kills in the match for a 12.5% hitting % and a 31.2% kill %. Lauren Trindell had an outstanding day putting down 2 kills with 0 errors and adding 2 blocks. Taylor Thompson led the way from the service line with 3 aces (.250) and a 92% serving %. Thompson and Guzman combined for 15 of the team's 26 digs.
JV SWEEPS PLAINFIELD DESPITE POOR SERVING START
If the Hilltoppers get far in the County Tournament, it will be in no small part to their lethal serving attack. However, if they don't get too far, it will also be their undoing. Summit missed 9 of its first 12 serves and miraculously, thanks to Plainfield errors and Summit's own receiving game, SHS actually led 10-8 after 7 rotations. It wasn't until Olivia Elko ripped 12 service points (4 aces) and the Maroon and White defense got 3 kills from Katie McPhearson that the team settled down and began to look more like itself. The 25-13 score was reflective of the serving Hilltopper dominance.
Game 2 showed the promise of a more competitive match until Juliana Fiore ripped 7 straight service points (4 aces) to blow the game open at 15-9. The Cardinals could get no closer than 3 points at 14-17. Summit kept Plainfield at bay with key kills and serving pressure and at 22-19, SHS looked to be in total control. The Hilltoppers finished the match off with an ace by Olivia Elko, her 5th of the match, after a Cardinal error opened the door for the defining point of the game.
Katie McPhearson led the way offensively with 5 kills and Camille Della Piazza distributed an effective offense with 5 assists. Olivia Elko's 5 aces led the squad and she added 1 kill to her match total. Juliana Fiore had the best serving day of her career with 4 aces. Tessa Pulgar had 2 digs to lead the pack defensively.
JV sits at 5W-2L
Coach Martins knew that his Libero was on borrowed time and he had hoped the team could roll through the first set using its superior passing and hitting attack but, as has been the case many times this season, the best laid plans were not going to come to fruition. Summit led 11-5 after its 4th rotation but could not hold the lead as the team gave up a 4-0 run to see its lead shrink to 11-9 on a series of hitting errors and mis-communication gaffes. Although Summit regained control after Mendez's serving put the team up 16-11, a free ball mistake opened the door for a 3-0 run in the seventh rotation that had the Cardinals within 2 at 15-17. It was at this point that Mendez retired from the match, unable to continue due to illness. Plainfield took advantage and a few rotations later were looking at 3 game points leading 24-21. Summit rallied behind a Madison Young kill to pull to within 2 at 22-24 and regain serve. Young stepped up and delivered 5 pressure packed quality serves (1 ace) to give the Hilltoppers the win at 26-24. Val Guzman also contributed with a kill during the defining run.
Summit ended with 9 kills but also 9 errors and served 24/26 (92.3%) and hit for 5 aces 19%) while passing at a 1.82 rating, led by Val Guzman who passed 10/23 receptions at a 2.20 rating.
Game 2 was another tight affair and Summit used 11 players in an effort to secure a game 2 win despite the loss of Mendez. Summit trailed briefly 13-12 entering the 6th rotation but key serving by Gabby Mejia brought the lead back to 15-12 in rotation 7. The lead seemed safe because of the quality of play of the squad but unfortunately, the Cardinals began to target an area normally covered by Mendez and the team just could not handle it cleanly. Within 2 rotations, Summit had seen a 3 point lead evaporate and morph into a 17-18 deficit despite the team being nearly perfect with a 9 kill, 1 error offensive effort and a perfect 17/17 from the service line with 1 ace. Taylor Thompson stepped up though and ripped a quick ace and earned 2 other service points to get SHS a 21-19 lead late in the match. After a couple of SHS errors got the Cardinals knotted at 21-21, a Val Guzman kill settled the team and got the Hilltoppers closer to the victory at 22-21. After the Cardinals tied it back up at 22, Sammy Auerbach took the ball from the service line and ripped 3 consecutive pressure serves to lead Summit to its first win at 25-23.
Val Guzman was outstanding in the game, hitting on 5 of 11 attack attempts with 0 errors. The other OHs -Katie Samay and Maddie Young- combined for 4 kills on 11 attempts with 3 errors. The team also went a perfect 24/24 from the service line with 2 aces. For the match, Mendez and Guzman combined for 24 of the team's reception attempts and passed at an outstanding 2.31 pass rating. Guzman also led the team in digs with 9 and was by far the best hitter with 8 kills and an outstanding 30% hitting % and a 40% kill %. Katie Samay nailed 5 kills in the match for a 12.5% hitting % and a 31.2% kill %. Lauren Trindell had an outstanding day putting down 2 kills with 0 errors and adding 2 blocks. Taylor Thompson led the way from the service line with 3 aces (.250) and a 92% serving %. Thompson and Guzman combined for 15 of the team's 26 digs.
JV SWEEPS PLAINFIELD DESPITE POOR SERVING START
If the Hilltoppers get far in the County Tournament, it will be in no small part to their lethal serving attack. However, if they don't get too far, it will also be their undoing. Summit missed 9 of its first 12 serves and miraculously, thanks to Plainfield errors and Summit's own receiving game, SHS actually led 10-8 after 7 rotations. It wasn't until Olivia Elko ripped 12 service points (4 aces) and the Maroon and White defense got 3 kills from Katie McPhearson that the team settled down and began to look more like itself. The 25-13 score was reflective of the serving Hilltopper dominance.
Game 2 showed the promise of a more competitive match until Juliana Fiore ripped 7 straight service points (4 aces) to blow the game open at 15-9. The Cardinals could get no closer than 3 points at 14-17. Summit kept Plainfield at bay with key kills and serving pressure and at 22-19, SHS looked to be in total control. The Hilltoppers finished the match off with an ace by Olivia Elko, her 5th of the match, after a Cardinal error opened the door for the defining point of the game.
Katie McPhearson led the way offensively with 5 kills and Camille Della Piazza distributed an effective offense with 5 assists. Olivia Elko's 5 aces led the squad and she added 1 kill to her match total. Juliana Fiore had the best serving day of her career with 4 aces. Tessa Pulgar had 2 digs to lead the pack defensively.
JV sits at 5W-2L
HILLTOPPERS ARE SWEPT BY RAIDERS ON BOTH LEVELS
After opening the year 0W-5L, the Lady Hilltoppers traveled to Scotch Plains to take on the Raiders in a non league match-up. Summit suffered a 2 game sweep with scores of 25-10 and 25-17 in a match that saw the Raiders make key plays out of less than perfect situations and the Hilltoppers not be able to do the same out of a stellar passing game.
Despite being down 5-1 early in game 1, the Hilltoppers serve receive, featuring for the first time Jocelyn Mendez as Libero, was putting quality balls up for the offense to attack. Entering rotation 6, SHS trailed 15-6 but the Hilltoppers pulled closer after Mendez's serve brought the team back to within 6 at 15-9. But then the wheels came off of the receive and attack game as the team could not get out of rotation 7 and trailed 22-9 before the rotation was done. Another 3-1 Raider run closed out the game 25-10 in a game that saw the Hilltoppers pass very well for most of the game -Mendez 2.50, Val Guzman 2.80- at 1.85 but could not convert on any attacking opportunities with the team hitting for only 4 kills and only 1 ace in the game.
Game 2 proved to be a bit more competitive with Summit finding themselves in a 13-13 tie by the end of a mere 3 rotations behind the serving prowess of Guzman who hit for 2 aces in 6 service point effort. Knotted at 15, Scotch Plains went on a 6-0 run that had the Raiders up for good 21-15. A 4-2 Raider run closed out the game and match 25-17. Yet again, the team passed at an outstanding rate -2.12- with Guzman and Mendez leading the way with 15 of the 24 serving receptions at a 2.41 rating. Despite the season best passing, the team could not generate more than 5 kills in the game, a big reason for the loss (5 K/ 5 Err).
Summit was led by Guzman and Mendez in serve reception (2.60 and 2.26 respectively). Guzman led all Hilltoppers with 5 digs, 3 kills and 2 aces while Casey Nardino led the offense with 4 kills and 2 blocks.
Summit was 24/27 (89%) from the service line but had only 3 aces for the match (11%).
JV SQUAD SWEPT IN 2
The JV Squad were handled by the Raiders 25-16, 25-15 in a match that saw the Hilltoppers miss many serves and attack opportunities. The Raiders held a 9-4 lead by rotation 3 and 18-8 by rotation 6. The writing was on the wall. Summit played fairly even from there on out (8-7 score) but could not muster much consistency against the Raider defense.
Game 2 was much of the same with the JV Squad missing serves and not being able to stop the Raider serving game. With the score 4-3 in favor of Summit, the Raiders went on a 10-0 run to blow the match open at 13-4. Yet again, the Maroon and White played even from that point on (11-12) but could not put a dent in that lead.
Summit was paced by Micaela Nardino who had 2 kills, 2 assists and 1 block in the loss and Cheryl Liu who led the team with 4 digs and 2 aces.
Despite being down 5-1 early in game 1, the Hilltoppers serve receive, featuring for the first time Jocelyn Mendez as Libero, was putting quality balls up for the offense to attack. Entering rotation 6, SHS trailed 15-6 but the Hilltoppers pulled closer after Mendez's serve brought the team back to within 6 at 15-9. But then the wheels came off of the receive and attack game as the team could not get out of rotation 7 and trailed 22-9 before the rotation was done. Another 3-1 Raider run closed out the game 25-10 in a game that saw the Hilltoppers pass very well for most of the game -Mendez 2.50, Val Guzman 2.80- at 1.85 but could not convert on any attacking opportunities with the team hitting for only 4 kills and only 1 ace in the game.
Game 2 proved to be a bit more competitive with Summit finding themselves in a 13-13 tie by the end of a mere 3 rotations behind the serving prowess of Guzman who hit for 2 aces in 6 service point effort. Knotted at 15, Scotch Plains went on a 6-0 run that had the Raiders up for good 21-15. A 4-2 Raider run closed out the game and match 25-17. Yet again, the team passed at an outstanding rate -2.12- with Guzman and Mendez leading the way with 15 of the 24 serving receptions at a 2.41 rating. Despite the season best passing, the team could not generate more than 5 kills in the game, a big reason for the loss (5 K/ 5 Err).
Summit was led by Guzman and Mendez in serve reception (2.60 and 2.26 respectively). Guzman led all Hilltoppers with 5 digs, 3 kills and 2 aces while Casey Nardino led the offense with 4 kills and 2 blocks.
Summit was 24/27 (89%) from the service line but had only 3 aces for the match (11%).
JV SQUAD SWEPT IN 2
The JV Squad were handled by the Raiders 25-16, 25-15 in a match that saw the Hilltoppers miss many serves and attack opportunities. The Raiders held a 9-4 lead by rotation 3 and 18-8 by rotation 6. The writing was on the wall. Summit played fairly even from there on out (8-7 score) but could not muster much consistency against the Raider defense.
Game 2 was much of the same with the JV Squad missing serves and not being able to stop the Raider serving game. With the score 4-3 in favor of Summit, the Raiders went on a 10-0 run to blow the match open at 13-4. Yet again, the Maroon and White played even from that point on (11-12) but could not put a dent in that lead.
Summit was paced by Micaela Nardino who had 2 kills, 2 assists and 1 block in the loss and Cheryl Liu who led the team with 4 digs and 2 aces.
Sunday, September 18, 2016
HEAL THE CHILDREN TOURNEY SCRAMBLES DEPTH CHART
The Lady Hilltoppers went into the weekend with the purpose to improve their point scoring and passing. With that in mind, Coach Martins gave all players an opportunity to get on the starting lineups for this week based on their performance at the tournament with 8 different combinations of lineups. The following were the top results and top scorers as tabulated by the team based on the following criteria:
Kills/Aces/Blocks/Assists/Digs=1 point
0 Pass = -1 per pass
Top Kill Production: Guzman 14, Nardino 8, Samay 7
Top Ace Production: Thompson 7, Guzman 5, Young/Samay/Mejia 4
Top Block Production: Trindell 3, Nardino 2, Thompson/Inggs 1
Top Assist Production: Mejia 24, McDonnell 10
Top Dig Production: Guzmas 17, Mendez 15, McDonnell 10
Top Scorers (K+B+A)
Guzman 19
Nardino 13
Samay 11
Young/ Thompson 10
Top Contributors { (K+B+A+D+Ast) - 0 Pass} above 10 points
Guzman 34
Mejia 32
Mcdonnell 22
Galuppo 21
Mendez 18
Thompson 17
Nardino 15
Samay 14
Young 11
Kills/Aces/Blocks/Assists/Digs=1 point
0 Pass = -1 per pass
Top Kill Production: Guzman 14, Nardino 8, Samay 7
Top Ace Production: Thompson 7, Guzman 5, Young/Samay/Mejia 4
Top Block Production: Trindell 3, Nardino 2, Thompson/Inggs 1
Top Assist Production: Mejia 24, McDonnell 10
Top Dig Production: Guzmas 17, Mendez 15, McDonnell 10
Top Scorers (K+B+A)
Guzman 19
Nardino 13
Samay 11
Young/ Thompson 10
Top Contributors { (K+B+A+D+Ast) - 0 Pass} above 10 points
Guzman 34
Mejia 32
Mcdonnell 22
Galuppo 21
Mendez 18
Thompson 17
Nardino 15
Samay 14
Young 11
Friday, September 16, 2016
HILLTOPPERS REPLAY FAMILIAR RESULTS WHILE JV ROLL TO 4th WIN
Summit came off a solid 2 days of practice ready to take on New Providence, one of the top teams right now in the conference. SHS played brilliantly at times, however, as has been the unfortunate story thus far for the Maroon and White, Summit committed too many errors late and dropped a 25-19, 25-23 decision to the Pioneers.
Summit had a tremendous start behind the hitting and serving of Casey Nardino who stepped up to serve in rotation 3 after a few kills out of the front and hit for 7 service points (2 aces) to give SHS the lead at 10-6. By rotation 7 the team saw their lead evaporate as the Pioneers knotted up the score at 14. Summit couldn't regain momentum and saw New Providence's best server rattle off 5 service points behind 2 aces and a few attacking miscues to give the Pioneers a 20-16 lead before she was done. Down by 4 and still within striking distance, SHS did what has been familiar late in these sets and committed a service error which allowed New Providence to extend the lead to 6 at 22-16. The teams traded points from there on out and Summit dropped the game 25-19.
The team reacted well at the onset of game 2 as the team fought back from a 13-10 deficit in rotation 6 behind Katie Samay who hit 2 aces in a 5-0 run that gave Summit a 15-13 lead. But yet again, the Hilltoppers lost momentum off a service error and saw the Pioneers' best server step up again in rotation 8 and hit Summit for 4 service points behind poor passing that led to 2 New Providence kills and 2 Summit hitting errors. Trailing 19-16, Summit managed to generate a kill and break momentum but could not get any closer than 2 points as key hitting errors derailed any momentum generated by good Hilltopper defense. The Pioneers followed those miscues with 2 consecutive service errors that kept SHS alive and Val Guzman stepped up again from the service line and ripped an ace and added another service point to tie up the score at 22. The Hilltoppers were re-energized but made a crucial unforced hitting error to give the ball and the lead back to New Providence who extended the lead to 24-22. Despite a Nardino kill to keep Summit alive at 24-23, a well dug attack
by New Providence led to a final kill out of the left side that Summit could not retrieve and SHS lost
the game and match 25-23.
The team will play tomorrow at the Heal the Children Tournament at Rahway Rec Center.
JV MISSING KEY STARTERS TO STOKES ROLLS OVER THE PIONEERS
JV continued its winning ways with a 25-18, 25-14 win over New Providence. Olivia Elko was yet again instrumental in the match scoring 10 points behind 6 aces and 4 kills while Cheryl Liu added 5 kills to lead SHS to its 4th victory.
Game 1 was essentially over after 6 rotations as Summit held a 14-5 lead and never looked back from there. New Providence made a run at the squad, cutting the lead to 4 at 21-17 but the Hilltoppers slammed the door with a 4 service performance by Olivia Skrobala who closed out the game at 25-18.
Game 2 was more of the same with SHS jumping out front 5-0 right out of first rotation and extending it to 13-6 by rotation 3 and Elko's serving. By rotation 6 the lead had ballooned to 19-11 and the match was over soon thereafter after another 6-3 run to close game 2 and the match.
JV will next take on ScotchPlains-Fanwood on Monday.
Summit had a tremendous start behind the hitting and serving of Casey Nardino who stepped up to serve in rotation 3 after a few kills out of the front and hit for 7 service points (2 aces) to give SHS the lead at 10-6. By rotation 7 the team saw their lead evaporate as the Pioneers knotted up the score at 14. Summit couldn't regain momentum and saw New Providence's best server rattle off 5 service points behind 2 aces and a few attacking miscues to give the Pioneers a 20-16 lead before she was done. Down by 4 and still within striking distance, SHS did what has been familiar late in these sets and committed a service error which allowed New Providence to extend the lead to 6 at 22-16. The teams traded points from there on out and Summit dropped the game 25-19.
The team reacted well at the onset of game 2 as the team fought back from a 13-10 deficit in rotation 6 behind Katie Samay who hit 2 aces in a 5-0 run that gave Summit a 15-13 lead. But yet again, the Hilltoppers lost momentum off a service error and saw the Pioneers' best server step up again in rotation 8 and hit Summit for 4 service points behind poor passing that led to 2 New Providence kills and 2 Summit hitting errors. Trailing 19-16, Summit managed to generate a kill and break momentum but could not get any closer than 2 points as key hitting errors derailed any momentum generated by good Hilltopper defense. The Pioneers followed those miscues with 2 consecutive service errors that kept SHS alive and Val Guzman stepped up again from the service line and ripped an ace and added another service point to tie up the score at 22. The Hilltoppers were re-energized but made a crucial unforced hitting error to give the ball and the lead back to New Providence who extended the lead to 24-22. Despite a Nardino kill to keep Summit alive at 24-23, a well dug attack
by New Providence led to a final kill out of the left side that Summit could not retrieve and SHS lost
the game and match 25-23.
The team will play tomorrow at the Heal the Children Tournament at Rahway Rec Center.
JV MISSING KEY STARTERS TO STOKES ROLLS OVER THE PIONEERS
JV continued its winning ways with a 25-18, 25-14 win over New Providence. Olivia Elko was yet again instrumental in the match scoring 10 points behind 6 aces and 4 kills while Cheryl Liu added 5 kills to lead SHS to its 4th victory.
Game 1 was essentially over after 6 rotations as Summit held a 14-5 lead and never looked back from there. New Providence made a run at the squad, cutting the lead to 4 at 21-17 but the Hilltoppers slammed the door with a 4 service performance by Olivia Skrobala who closed out the game at 25-18.
Game 2 was more of the same with SHS jumping out front 5-0 right out of first rotation and extending it to 13-6 by rotation 3 and Elko's serving. By rotation 6 the lead had ballooned to 19-11 and the match was over soon thereafter after another 6-3 run to close game 2 and the match.
JV will next take on ScotchPlains-Fanwood on Monday.
Thursday, September 15, 2016
HILLTOPPERS CAN'T FIGHT OFF LINDEN PRESSURE, FALLS 2-0; JV WINS ANOTHER THRILLER FOR 3rd WIN
After the heartbreaking loss to the Crusaders of ALJ on Monday, Summit had barely enough time to ponder its misfortune as SHS traveled to Linden High School to take on the Tigers on Tuesday. SHS fell to the Tigers 20-25, 14-25 in a match that the Hilltoppers just had no answer for Linden's middle offense.
Summit upset Linden on the road last year in a 3 game thriller but it was not to be as Linden kept the Hilltoppers off balance in this match-up with their middle attack. Summit was in the match through the first 6 rotations, down by only 4 at 12-8 and, after Gabby Mejia completed her service rotation, the Hilltoppers were within 2 at 10-12. Linden responded with a 4-0 run to extend the lead to 16-10 behind a few kills out of the middle. This turned out to be the turning point of game 1 as SHS out-scored Linden 10-9 the rest of the way but did not allow SHS to get on any extended run to close the gap.
Summit managed 6 kills and 2 aces in the set, Val Guzman scoring 4 of the teams 8 points. Linden outscored SHS 18-6 in the game, a warning sign of what was to come in game 2.
Linden came out flying in the 2nd game, taking a 7-2 lead through 2 rotations and 13-3 after 3 rotations. The Hilltoppers were generating opportunities but couldn't finish points off which gave Linden and its offense multiple attacks at the Summit defense. Unfortunately for the Maroon and White, the Tigers were much more effective in transition than SHS. Yet again, despite the game getting fairly even after this point (12-11 Linden), the Hilltoppers just could not get into any run to cut into the deficit they faced.
Summit scored 10 points in the game off a balanced attack that saw 5 players get at least 1 kill but the team only hit .087, a credit to the Linden defense that prevented easy points by the Hilltoppers. Linden outscored Summit 16-10 in game 2.
Despite the result, the team was highly competitive and bounced back emotionally rather well from the ALJ match, a trait that will be highly tested as the team looks to overcome a 0W-4L start. The Hilltoppers will take on the Pioneers of New Providence at home this Friday after the JV match, approximately at 5:30pm.
JV Wins Tough Match For 3rd Win
The JV Squad pulled out an unlikely win at Linden for its 3rd win and first on the road 27-25, 25-23. Olivia Elko's serving was key in game 1 as Elko hit for 9 service points total (3 aces) and Kate McPhearson hit for 4 kills to pace the Hilltoppers in the win. However, the game was far from simple as SHS had an 11-4 lead after 3 rotations (Elko serving) and 17-9 after Blakely McCann was through in rotation 5 which included 2 aces. Despite the lead, Summit's serve receive fell apart in rotation 7 and 8 and the Tigers went on a 13-3 run to take the lead 23-21. Cheryl Liu gave Summit hope with an ace and McPhearson hit for a kill to knot the score at 24 but Linden had the ball serving for the match at 24-25. A service error gave Elko the opportunity to put game 1 away with 2 service points (1 ace) to take game 1.
Game 2 was a more even affair through the first 6 rotations as SHS held a 15-12 lead but most of the damage for the Hilltoppers was done by Elko again (1 ace, 1 kill) and Micaela Nardino (4 service points, 2 aces) from the service line. Yet again, later rotations became the problem for the Hilltoppers. The Tigers outscored the Hilltoppers 11-8 between rotations 7-9 to knot the score at 23. This included a 6-0 run that brought Linden from a 23-17 deficit to a 23-23 score due to numerous SHS miscues on receiving and hitting. Cheryl Liu yet again came through under pressure with 2 key serves, one of which yielded a free ball that Summit put away and the other caused a hitting error by the Tigers, to seal the game and match 25-23.
Olivia Elko led the squad in scoring with 7 points (5 aces, 2 kills). Next up for SHS are the Pioneers of New Providence as the team looks to improve to 4W-1L.
Summit upset Linden on the road last year in a 3 game thriller but it was not to be as Linden kept the Hilltoppers off balance in this match-up with their middle attack. Summit was in the match through the first 6 rotations, down by only 4 at 12-8 and, after Gabby Mejia completed her service rotation, the Hilltoppers were within 2 at 10-12. Linden responded with a 4-0 run to extend the lead to 16-10 behind a few kills out of the middle. This turned out to be the turning point of game 1 as SHS out-scored Linden 10-9 the rest of the way but did not allow SHS to get on any extended run to close the gap.
Summit managed 6 kills and 2 aces in the set, Val Guzman scoring 4 of the teams 8 points. Linden outscored SHS 18-6 in the game, a warning sign of what was to come in game 2.
Linden came out flying in the 2nd game, taking a 7-2 lead through 2 rotations and 13-3 after 3 rotations. The Hilltoppers were generating opportunities but couldn't finish points off which gave Linden and its offense multiple attacks at the Summit defense. Unfortunately for the Maroon and White, the Tigers were much more effective in transition than SHS. Yet again, despite the game getting fairly even after this point (12-11 Linden), the Hilltoppers just could not get into any run to cut into the deficit they faced.
Summit scored 10 points in the game off a balanced attack that saw 5 players get at least 1 kill but the team only hit .087, a credit to the Linden defense that prevented easy points by the Hilltoppers. Linden outscored Summit 16-10 in game 2.
Despite the result, the team was highly competitive and bounced back emotionally rather well from the ALJ match, a trait that will be highly tested as the team looks to overcome a 0W-4L start. The Hilltoppers will take on the Pioneers of New Providence at home this Friday after the JV match, approximately at 5:30pm.
JV Wins Tough Match For 3rd Win
The JV Squad pulled out an unlikely win at Linden for its 3rd win and first on the road 27-25, 25-23. Olivia Elko's serving was key in game 1 as Elko hit for 9 service points total (3 aces) and Kate McPhearson hit for 4 kills to pace the Hilltoppers in the win. However, the game was far from simple as SHS had an 11-4 lead after 3 rotations (Elko serving) and 17-9 after Blakely McCann was through in rotation 5 which included 2 aces. Despite the lead, Summit's serve receive fell apart in rotation 7 and 8 and the Tigers went on a 13-3 run to take the lead 23-21. Cheryl Liu gave Summit hope with an ace and McPhearson hit for a kill to knot the score at 24 but Linden had the ball serving for the match at 24-25. A service error gave Elko the opportunity to put game 1 away with 2 service points (1 ace) to take game 1.
Game 2 was a more even affair through the first 6 rotations as SHS held a 15-12 lead but most of the damage for the Hilltoppers was done by Elko again (1 ace, 1 kill) and Micaela Nardino (4 service points, 2 aces) from the service line. Yet again, later rotations became the problem for the Hilltoppers. The Tigers outscored the Hilltoppers 11-8 between rotations 7-9 to knot the score at 23. This included a 6-0 run that brought Linden from a 23-17 deficit to a 23-23 score due to numerous SHS miscues on receiving and hitting. Cheryl Liu yet again came through under pressure with 2 key serves, one of which yielded a free ball that Summit put away and the other caused a hitting error by the Tigers, to seal the game and match 25-23.
Olivia Elko led the squad in scoring with 7 points (5 aces, 2 kills). Next up for SHS are the Pioneers of New Providence as the team looks to improve to 4W-1L.
Monday, September 12, 2016
ANOTHER LATE 3RD GAME STUMBLE THWARTS AN OTHERWISE SOLID HILLTOPPER MATCH; JV IMPROVES ON 3 GAME THRILLER
Summit took on ALJ today looking to get their first win of the season. The 25-20, 14-25, 24-26 loss was another blow to the Lady Hilltoppers who saw 6 match points evaporate after the team fought back from an early deficit to control the remainder of the 3rd game.
Summit did not start off well in the first game, falling behind 8-3 and 13-5 after a mere 4 rotations. Val Guzman started rotation 5 with an ace and before she was done, Guzman had pulled SHS to within 1 at 13-12. After Katie Samay served in rotation 6, the Lady Hilltoppers had knotted the score at 15 and never looked back as the team outscored ALJ 10-5 the rest of the way to earn a 25-20 game 1 win.
The second game was more of the same as a slow start by the Hilltoppers had SHS down by 7 at 18-11 after 6 rotations. Summit just never got on track and fell to ALJ 25-14.
SHS faced yet another 3rd game match this season and the 2nd time the team had a less than stellar 2nd game after winning game 1. The deciding game was tight throughout with the score being 11-10 ALJ after 6 rotations. Gabby Mejia took SHS to a lead near the midpoint of the game at 14-13. Although ALJ regained the lead at 16-15, Casey Nardino re-established the Hilltopper lead with 3 service points, seemingly putting Summit in control at 19-17. After Grace Galuppo and Val Guzman put the team in control at 24-19, the game seemed well in hand and the first win a mere kill away. But the kill never came and SHS could not stop the ALJ serve as the Crusaders scored the last 6 points to steal the victory from the Hilltoppers at 26-24.
Summit hit for 20 kills but also had 21 errors. The team continued its torrid serving pace with another double digit performance with 13 aces while serving at nearly 92%. Summit also played outstanding defense digging up 36 attacks, 22 of which came from Jocelyn Mendez and Val Guzman.
Summit will look to turn their fortunes around on the road tomorrow at Linden.
JV COMES BACK FROM 0-1 DOWN TO TAKE THEIR 2ND WIN OF THE SEASON
The JV Squad had an early lead after 6 rotations at 10-6 but both squads struggled to keep the ball in play from the service line. SHS continued to hold the lead after Olivia Skrobola served the team to a 14-10 lead after 7 rotations. ALJ responded though and rattled off 5 service points to take the lead at 16-14. Game 1 seemed all but lost when ALJ ran off 6 straight points by rotation 11 and took a 24-20 lead. Blakely McCann then brought the team back to knot the score at 24 but a service error opened the door for ALJ and they ran right through it, taking the age 26-24.
Game 2 was far less competitive with SHS jumping on top early behind the serving of Camille Della Piazza, 11-7. Olivia Elko took control after rotation 6 and pushed the Hilltopper lead to 16-10, a lead the team would not relinquish. Summit would outscore ALJ 9-6 the rest of the way to seal the game 2 win.
In game 3, SHS came out very tight and found themselves down 9-3 in the deciding 15 point game 3. After Coach Ross called a time-out, the Hilltoppers relaxed and Olivia Elko's serving was yet again a factor, providing the team with 6 service points and giving the team a 10-9 lead. ALJ took the lead at 14-13 and had a match point after Camille Della Piazza had pulled SHS even at 13 but the Hilltoppers broke serve and Juliana Fiore got SHS to the brink of victory at 15-14 but ALJ was able to fight that match point off and knot the score at 15. After both teams missed opportunities to take charge of the match, Olivia Skrobola stepped up and closed out the match behind her serving and defense.
SHS improved to 2W-1L and will face off vs. Linden tomorrow, looking for their 3rd win of the season.
Summit did not start off well in the first game, falling behind 8-3 and 13-5 after a mere 4 rotations. Val Guzman started rotation 5 with an ace and before she was done, Guzman had pulled SHS to within 1 at 13-12. After Katie Samay served in rotation 6, the Lady Hilltoppers had knotted the score at 15 and never looked back as the team outscored ALJ 10-5 the rest of the way to earn a 25-20 game 1 win.
The second game was more of the same as a slow start by the Hilltoppers had SHS down by 7 at 18-11 after 6 rotations. Summit just never got on track and fell to ALJ 25-14.
SHS faced yet another 3rd game match this season and the 2nd time the team had a less than stellar 2nd game after winning game 1. The deciding game was tight throughout with the score being 11-10 ALJ after 6 rotations. Gabby Mejia took SHS to a lead near the midpoint of the game at 14-13. Although ALJ regained the lead at 16-15, Casey Nardino re-established the Hilltopper lead with 3 service points, seemingly putting Summit in control at 19-17. After Grace Galuppo and Val Guzman put the team in control at 24-19, the game seemed well in hand and the first win a mere kill away. But the kill never came and SHS could not stop the ALJ serve as the Crusaders scored the last 6 points to steal the victory from the Hilltoppers at 26-24.
Summit hit for 20 kills but also had 21 errors. The team continued its torrid serving pace with another double digit performance with 13 aces while serving at nearly 92%. Summit also played outstanding defense digging up 36 attacks, 22 of which came from Jocelyn Mendez and Val Guzman.
Summit will look to turn their fortunes around on the road tomorrow at Linden.
JV COMES BACK FROM 0-1 DOWN TO TAKE THEIR 2ND WIN OF THE SEASON
The JV Squad had an early lead after 6 rotations at 10-6 but both squads struggled to keep the ball in play from the service line. SHS continued to hold the lead after Olivia Skrobola served the team to a 14-10 lead after 7 rotations. ALJ responded though and rattled off 5 service points to take the lead at 16-14. Game 1 seemed all but lost when ALJ ran off 6 straight points by rotation 11 and took a 24-20 lead. Blakely McCann then brought the team back to knot the score at 24 but a service error opened the door for ALJ and they ran right through it, taking the age 26-24.
Game 2 was far less competitive with SHS jumping on top early behind the serving of Camille Della Piazza, 11-7. Olivia Elko took control after rotation 6 and pushed the Hilltopper lead to 16-10, a lead the team would not relinquish. Summit would outscore ALJ 9-6 the rest of the way to seal the game 2 win.
In game 3, SHS came out very tight and found themselves down 9-3 in the deciding 15 point game 3. After Coach Ross called a time-out, the Hilltoppers relaxed and Olivia Elko's serving was yet again a factor, providing the team with 6 service points and giving the team a 10-9 lead. ALJ took the lead at 14-13 and had a match point after Camille Della Piazza had pulled SHS even at 13 but the Hilltoppers broke serve and Juliana Fiore got SHS to the brink of victory at 15-14 but ALJ was able to fight that match point off and knot the score at 15. After both teams missed opportunities to take charge of the match, Olivia Skrobola stepped up and closed out the match behind her serving and defense.
SHS improved to 2W-1L and will face off vs. Linden tomorrow, looking for their 3rd win of the season.
Friday, September 9, 2016
ANOTHER 3 GAME LOSS TO OPEN HILLTOPPER SEASON ; JV BUCKLES UNDER SERVING PRESSURE
Summit traveled to Rahway High School in search of their first win but saw another set of spectacular efforts fall short as key errors submarined the Hilltopper effort. In game 1, SHS trailed 4-8 early but inconsistent hitting (4 hitting errors out of first 6 attempts) became the undoing of the squad as Rahway held a 16-9 lead after the first 6 rotations. Trailing 18-10, Captain Jocelyn Mendez's serving yielded an ace and got 3 total points to bring back SHS to within 5 at 18-13. Rahway responded with a 3-0 run of their own and the Hilltoppers just could not get on track the rest of the game and fell to the Indians 25-19.
Game 2 was a serving masterpiece by the Hilltoppers as the team continued to struggle for hitting consistency. Summit only had 6 kills in the game but pounded out 10 aces to help take the match to 3 games. Down 10-7, Summit's ace leader from 2015, Captain Val Guzman rattled off 8 service points including 5 aces to give the team a 15-10 lead they would never relinquish. The Hilltoppers outlasted Rahway 25-21 in game 2 to earn a deciding game 3.
Game 3 however was not to be kind for the Summit squad as the serving errors crept up at the key moments of the game to swing momentum to the home team. SHS managed only 2 aces to 4 errors and despite hitting for a game high 9 kills in game 3, the team also saw 4 of their 6 hitting errors in the game come late in the match. Summit held a 13-10 lead after the first 6 rotations and looked to be in control but after a missed serve gave the ball to the Indians down 11-14, Rahway rattled off 6 more points to turn the game on its head. SHS went from 13-10 up to trailing 14-16 in 1 rotation.
SHS responded with Katie Samay, getting the team back to within 1 at 15-16. But this is when Summit's errors reared up and what had been anyone's match turned into a Rahway rout in game 3 with the Indians going on a 6-0 run that had the Hilltoppers down 15-22 after another rotation. Summit got no closer than 5 at 17-22 before bowing out 17-25 to Rahway.
Despite the disappointing finish, Summit hit for another 23 kills led by Nardino's 9 kills (.222 hitting %, .500 kill %) and Guzman's 6 kills. Guzman was stellar from behind the service line, especially in the second set, as the Captain hit for 9 aces on 17 attempts to pace the 16 ace barrage by the Summit squad. Captain Gabby Mejia was also solid, getting 20 assists and scoring with 2 aces and 1 kill. Captain Jocelyn Mendez had a team leading 10 digs and Guzman chipped in with 8 to lead the team as Summit racked up 31 digs on the afternoon. More impressively, Mendez passed at a 2.53 rating off 13 serve receptions.
The team will continue its tough opening of the season with ALJ at home on Monday after participating in the Raider Tournament this Saturday.
JV Stumbles and drops a match to Rahway 16-25, 17-25
Despite the efforts of KAte McPherson (5 kills) and Olivia Elko (4 aces), Summit just had no answers for the defense and serving of the Indians. Summit trailed 22-10 after 6 rotations in game 1 but showed some life with a 6-3 run that gave the team hope for game 2.
The team bounced back and seemed energized in game 2 as the first 6 rotations had SHS up 13-10 but the team ran into a serving buzzsaw the 2nd time through the rotation and Rahway went on 2 separate runs of 5-0 to take command of the game and match, finishing Summit off by a 25-17 score.
Thursday, September 8, 2016
SUMMIT LATE HEROICS FALL SHORT AGAINST UNION; JV ROLLS PAST UNION BEHIND NEWCOMER OFFENSE
Summit drops a heartbreaking 25-9, 14-25, 26-28 decision to the Farmers of Union in a 3 game thriller. Despite a 23 kill effort by the Hilltoppers and a 13 ace performance, Summit's errors at key times derail outstanding home opening performance by the squad. Captain Jocelyn Mendez had 15 service points, 3 aces, 5 kills and 7 digs to pace the Hilltoppers and keep them in the match late in game 3. Captain Val Guzman's team leading 8 kills set the tone for a consistent offensive effort while Casey Nardino added 6 kills and a team leading 4 aces and 1 block to lead all scorers in the match. Gabby Mejia quarterbacked the offense to a 21 assist effort -a career high- and gave SHS an opportunity to make a comeback in set 3.
Summit jumped out to a 13-3 lead behind Grace Galuppo's serving in game 1 and never looked back as the squad took game 1 by a 25-9 tally. Game 2 was a mirror image of game 1 except that the Farmers of Union took a 15-2 lead this time and Summit could not get closer than 14-25 to close out game 2. Game 3 was a highly competitive affair with SHS jumping out in front 8-3 early. Union went on a 6-0 run after a timeout to jump ahead 10-8 and extended the lead to 21-17 late. Gabby Mejia brought the team back to within 1 at 20-21 with her effort from the service line but Union responded with a 3-0 run to push SHS to the brink at 20-24. Kills by Val Guzman and Casey Nardino brought the team back to 24-22 behind the serving of Jocelyn Mendez who also hit for 1 ace during the 4-0 run that has Summit and Union knotted at 24. Union served for the match at 25-24 and was stymied by a Nardino kill who then stepped up with an ace to give Summit the lead at 26-25. SHS could not get that last point however and Union ran off the last 3 points to take game 3 and the match 28-26.
SHS takes on the Rahway Indians tomorrow at Rahway High School at 4pm looking to even their record at 1-1.
The JV Squad followed up Varsity's exciting match with one of their own. Union jumped out to a 9-4 lead early as the early jitters were evident on both teams. Down 12-6, Lharyssa Viana served 3 service points (2 aces) to bring the team to within 3 at 12-9. Olivia Skrobola followed up with 5 points to give Summit its first lead at 14-13. Union responded however and went on a 9-5 run that saw the Hilltopper lead evaporate.
It was then that Viana stepped up again and proceeded to serve Summit into a first game win after serving 6 straight points (3 aces) to bring the Hilltoppers all the way back from a 22-18 deficit to a 25-22 win.
The second game was far less dramatic as the 10th grade newcomers Carmel Barsh, Kate McPhearson and Micaela Nardino took over the front court and helped the Hilltoppers dominate offensively. Summit led 11-7 after the first 6 rotations and never looked uncomfortable as the team maintained that 4 point cushion (21-17) after 12 rotations behind solid serving and timely kills by the aforementioned sophomores. Viana was again key on the serving line as she led the team with 6 service points (2 aces) and pushed the Hilltopper lead late from a 21-17 cushion to 24-17. That run pretty much sealed the deal as SHS closed out game 2 and the match 25-19.
JV will look to improve to 2-0 tomorrow versus Rahway.
Monday, September 5, 2016
JV AND VARSITY FACE TOUGH EARLY SEASON MATCHUPS TO KICK OFF 2016
The Lady Hilltoppers will face off versus the Union Farmers on their home opener on the 8th and will travel to Rahway to face the Indians on the 9th for their first 2 regular season games.
Both JV and Varsity are looking at tough tests this early on as both Union and Rahway gave both squads all they could handle last year. JV split with Union and went 2W-1L with Rahway and played 3 of the 5 matches to 3 games. Varsity dropped both matches in 2 games to Union (25-8/25-21 and 25-15/25-8) and split with Rahway (25-21/25-16 and 25-23/20-25/25-21), winning their match on the road in 3 sets at the end of the season.
Against Union, Summit managed only 20 kills in 4 games. That production must improve drastically for the team to experience success against the Farmers. Over the last 2 years, SHS has gone 1W-3L against Union, its only win in 2014, a 3 set victory at home (25-11/17-25/25-19). Summit gave up only 7 aces while hitting for 18 kills and 13 aces. Captain Margot Reigle had a season and career high 8 kills for the match and hit for an amazing .533 kill % and a .333 hitting % to lead Summit to a victory.
Against Rahway, SHS has gone 2W-2L over the last 2 years with 3 of the 4 matches going 3 games. Last year, Summit was out-killed 15-11, out-aced 8-3 and out-blocked 6-1 in their 2 game loss at home. In their 3 game win at Rahway, Summit had a 29-19 edge in kills and a 10-3 edge in aces despite being edged heavily in digs 70-44 but it also reflected the advantage the team had in offensive production. Captains Casey Nardino and Val Guzman had 16 of the team's kills (8 apiece) last year in the 3 game win.
The early portion of the season continues with ALJ at home on the 12th, Linden away on the 13th and New Providence at home on the 16th to round out week 2. ALJ took care of Summit 2-1 (25-23/21-25/21-25) in last year's match-up. Summit beat Linden 2-1 away (25-22/21-25/25-20) but lost 2-1 at home (23-25/25-18/16-25) later in the season and lost twice in 2 games versus New Providence (10-25/20-25 and 9-25/17-25).
In 2015, Summit eclipsed 20 kills 7 times and came away with a 4W-3L record with only 1 of those matches being a 2 game match (Roselle Catholic - 24 kills). More importantly, the Hilltoppers earned 3 Wins to only 1 Loss if the squad hit the 9 kill per game mark. In addition, Summit had a 5W - 1L record when hitting for more than 10 aces in a match and had an ace % of over 20%. Summit's success over the first 5 matches will spell out the potential success the 2016 Hilltoppers will attain this year.
Both JV and Varsity are looking at tough tests this early on as both Union and Rahway gave both squads all they could handle last year. JV split with Union and went 2W-1L with Rahway and played 3 of the 5 matches to 3 games. Varsity dropped both matches in 2 games to Union (25-8/25-21 and 25-15/25-8) and split with Rahway (25-21/25-16 and 25-23/20-25/25-21), winning their match on the road in 3 sets at the end of the season.
Against Union, Summit managed only 20 kills in 4 games. That production must improve drastically for the team to experience success against the Farmers. Over the last 2 years, SHS has gone 1W-3L against Union, its only win in 2014, a 3 set victory at home (25-11/17-25/25-19). Summit gave up only 7 aces while hitting for 18 kills and 13 aces. Captain Margot Reigle had a season and career high 8 kills for the match and hit for an amazing .533 kill % and a .333 hitting % to lead Summit to a victory.
Against Rahway, SHS has gone 2W-2L over the last 2 years with 3 of the 4 matches going 3 games. Last year, Summit was out-killed 15-11, out-aced 8-3 and out-blocked 6-1 in their 2 game loss at home. In their 3 game win at Rahway, Summit had a 29-19 edge in kills and a 10-3 edge in aces despite being edged heavily in digs 70-44 but it also reflected the advantage the team had in offensive production. Captains Casey Nardino and Val Guzman had 16 of the team's kills (8 apiece) last year in the 3 game win.
The early portion of the season continues with ALJ at home on the 12th, Linden away on the 13th and New Providence at home on the 16th to round out week 2. ALJ took care of Summit 2-1 (25-23/21-25/21-25) in last year's match-up. Summit beat Linden 2-1 away (25-22/21-25/25-20) but lost 2-1 at home (23-25/25-18/16-25) later in the season and lost twice in 2 games versus New Providence (10-25/20-25 and 9-25/17-25).
In 2015, Summit eclipsed 20 kills 7 times and came away with a 4W-3L record with only 1 of those matches being a 2 game match (Roselle Catholic - 24 kills). More importantly, the Hilltoppers earned 3 Wins to only 1 Loss if the squad hit the 9 kill per game mark. In addition, Summit had a 5W - 1L record when hitting for more than 10 aces in a match and had an ace % of over 20%. Summit's success over the first 5 matches will spell out the potential success the 2016 Hilltoppers will attain this year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)