Monday, October 30, 2017
RAMS NO MATCH FOR HILLTOPPER SERVING
Both levels took a 2-0 sweep over the Wardlaw-Hartridge Rams on Friday on their PINK OUT day. This event was to highlight the impact of breast cancer on the community and to raise funds for Memorial Sloan-Kettering breast cancer research. Nearly 120 people attended the event and the team raised approximately $1000 for the cause. This event replaced the Walk for the Cure event the Hilltoppers had been running for the past 3 years.
Nearly 1 in 8 women have a chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime according to MSK.
More than 300,000 will be diagnosed this year and over 40,000 are expected to die from the disease. In the gymnasium on Friday, nearly all of the players, coaches and fans stood up when asked if they knew someone in their family or social circle that had succumbed to the disease or was a survivor, a visual testament to the impact this disease has on communities across the country. In a somber moment, the audience was asked to reflect on the fact that if the statistics hold true in the near future, 8 of the players standing before the audience would be diagnosed with this disease in their lifetime.
The matches were competitive and provided a good showing of the sport as both teams demonstrated their skills to the crowd in attendance. JV won 25-13, 25-19 on the strength of their serving attack to earn their 13th win and Varsity notched its 6th win with a 25-16, 25-19 victory behind the near perfect offensive performance by Taylor Thompson who hit for 10 kills with a .714 hitting efficiency, accounting for nearly 50% of the team's offense.
Both squads will face off against Plainfield on the road on 11/2 and host Cranford (Senior Night) in a back end of the home and home match-up on 11/3. The teams will close out the season on Monday, 11/6, when they host Oak Knoll.
Nearly 1 in 8 women have a chance of developing breast cancer in their lifetime according to MSK.
More than 300,000 will be diagnosed this year and over 40,000 are expected to die from the disease. In the gymnasium on Friday, nearly all of the players, coaches and fans stood up when asked if they knew someone in their family or social circle that had succumbed to the disease or was a survivor, a visual testament to the impact this disease has on communities across the country. In a somber moment, the audience was asked to reflect on the fact that if the statistics hold true in the near future, 8 of the players standing before the audience would be diagnosed with this disease in their lifetime.
The matches were competitive and provided a good showing of the sport as both teams demonstrated their skills to the crowd in attendance. JV won 25-13, 25-19 on the strength of their serving attack to earn their 13th win and Varsity notched its 6th win with a 25-16, 25-19 victory behind the near perfect offensive performance by Taylor Thompson who hit for 10 kills with a .714 hitting efficiency, accounting for nearly 50% of the team's offense.
Both squads will face off against Plainfield on the road on 11/2 and host Cranford (Senior Night) in a back end of the home and home match-up on 11/3. The teams will close out the season on Monday, 11/6, when they host Oak Knoll.
Sunday, October 29, 2017
JV AND VAR GO DOWN TO THE WIRE VS. CRANFORD
Both squads end up 1W-1L for the week after 2 tight battles against the Cougars of Cranford and a serving centered battle against the Wardlaw-Hartridge Rams.
Summit finally took a set from Cranford for the first time since 2011 but could not finish the job dropping the following 2 sets by excruciating 25-27 scores. The evenly matched squads slugged it out early with neither team being able to muster much separation. An Alisha McDonnell serve led to an outside hitting error by the Cougars which had Summit all tied up at 11 on Cranford's Senior Night at rotation 7. A few rotations later, Summit got a kill from Kate MacPherson to tie the score at 17, followed it up with 2 Kiera Stocks aces and another tough serve that forced a Cranford error and suddenly SHS had a 20-17 lead late in set 1. Cranford stormed back to tie up the score at 21 but Taylor Thompson hit for a huge kill after a Tessa Pulgar dig to give the Hilltoppers a 22-21 lead they would not relinquish. Thompson and Micaela Nardino added two more kills in the 3-0 run that closed out set 1 25-21 for the first set win vs. Cranford since 2011.
Set 2 saw the Maroon and White continue on a roll, jumping out to a 4-0 lead behind McDonnell's serving (1 ace), a pair of kills by Nardino and Thompson and a block by Lauren Trindell and Thompson. Summit held on to that lead through the first half of the set as SHS led 13-9 after a Nardino kill. A few rotations later Cranford had taken control of the set with a 9-1 run fueled by Summit's inability to score and error filled attacks. Thompson stopped the run with a kill but Summit was still looking at a 16-19 deficit a couple of rotations later. A Trindell and MacPherson block sparked the Hilltoppers and after an Ava Williamson ace, the Hilltoppers had tied it up at 20. Trindell and MacPherson continued torturing the Cranford attack with another block that gave SHS a 20-19 lead but an untimely service error stopped that momentum. Despite the fact that the Cougars were able to take the lead at 24-23, a Williamson dig led to a McDonnell kill that surprised the Cougars and the Hilltoppers had staved off a Cougar set point. Carmel Barsh followed suit with a thunderous kill out of the middle to give the Maroon and White their first match point versus Cranford in 6 years but the team could not finish the job as a passing and hitting error gave Cranford all the chances it needed to seal the set after a long rally that ended, predictably enough, with a Summit hitting error.
The deciding set was a bit different in that the Cougars controlled most of the action. The set began predictably enough as both teams found themselves knotted at 6 early on but the Cougars went on a 4-0 run in which Cranford hit for only 1 kill to take a 10-6 lead. Summit responded down 13-9 with a 7-0 run of their own with 2 MacPherson kills, 1 by Thompson and a Williamson ace during that stretch which saw the Maroon and White take a 16-13 lead. Cranford then ripped off 5 straight points which again saw SHS trail 18-16 but true to form, a few rotations later, a MacPherson kill had the teams knotted up at 20. Summit led 23-21 after a Cougar error but a service error of their own erased that momentum and saw the Blue and Gold tie up the score after another Summit hitting error. A key Barsh kill in transition gave SHS another match point but a Cougar muffle attack had the score even once again. Stunningly, Cranford had a service error and Summit was given another match point but another key kill by Cranford knotted up the score. Summit could not handle the Cougar serve and gave up and ace and yielded a kill off a free ball that had the Hilltoppers down and out at 25-17.
Summit had a 35 kill performance on the night, led by MacPherson and Thompson who each hit for 9 kills apiece. McDonnell ran the offense to its most productive match of the year with 29 assists. Williamson led the team with 3 aces and passed 31/33 serves while also leading the team with 12 digs. Trindell was simply a wall, notching 5 blocks and chipping in 2 kills.
JV FIGHTS VALIANTLY BUT LOSES IN 2
JV was simply overwhelmed in set 1 by the Cougars as the squad's usually powerful serve attack was nullified by Cranford's serve receive and effective attack which out-performed SHS's offensive capabilities. Summit dropped set 1 13-25.
The second set was more of the same but the Cougars became human and missed a number of serves while the Summit serve attack, led by Abby Doyle, finally got on track and kept the team in it until Annabella Yorio and Sarah Maldonado got on track offensively and started moving the Maroon and White toward a set win at 22-22. But the last few points were decided by serve receive and Cranford won that battle as the JV squad couldn't quite make the key pass and dropped the set and match 25-23 for its 4th consecutive loss.
Summit finally took a set from Cranford for the first time since 2011 but could not finish the job dropping the following 2 sets by excruciating 25-27 scores. The evenly matched squads slugged it out early with neither team being able to muster much separation. An Alisha McDonnell serve led to an outside hitting error by the Cougars which had Summit all tied up at 11 on Cranford's Senior Night at rotation 7. A few rotations later, Summit got a kill from Kate MacPherson to tie the score at 17, followed it up with 2 Kiera Stocks aces and another tough serve that forced a Cranford error and suddenly SHS had a 20-17 lead late in set 1. Cranford stormed back to tie up the score at 21 but Taylor Thompson hit for a huge kill after a Tessa Pulgar dig to give the Hilltoppers a 22-21 lead they would not relinquish. Thompson and Micaela Nardino added two more kills in the 3-0 run that closed out set 1 25-21 for the first set win vs. Cranford since 2011.
Set 2 saw the Maroon and White continue on a roll, jumping out to a 4-0 lead behind McDonnell's serving (1 ace), a pair of kills by Nardino and Thompson and a block by Lauren Trindell and Thompson. Summit held on to that lead through the first half of the set as SHS led 13-9 after a Nardino kill. A few rotations later Cranford had taken control of the set with a 9-1 run fueled by Summit's inability to score and error filled attacks. Thompson stopped the run with a kill but Summit was still looking at a 16-19 deficit a couple of rotations later. A Trindell and MacPherson block sparked the Hilltoppers and after an Ava Williamson ace, the Hilltoppers had tied it up at 20. Trindell and MacPherson continued torturing the Cranford attack with another block that gave SHS a 20-19 lead but an untimely service error stopped that momentum. Despite the fact that the Cougars were able to take the lead at 24-23, a Williamson dig led to a McDonnell kill that surprised the Cougars and the Hilltoppers had staved off a Cougar set point. Carmel Barsh followed suit with a thunderous kill out of the middle to give the Maroon and White their first match point versus Cranford in 6 years but the team could not finish the job as a passing and hitting error gave Cranford all the chances it needed to seal the set after a long rally that ended, predictably enough, with a Summit hitting error.
The deciding set was a bit different in that the Cougars controlled most of the action. The set began predictably enough as both teams found themselves knotted at 6 early on but the Cougars went on a 4-0 run in which Cranford hit for only 1 kill to take a 10-6 lead. Summit responded down 13-9 with a 7-0 run of their own with 2 MacPherson kills, 1 by Thompson and a Williamson ace during that stretch which saw the Maroon and White take a 16-13 lead. Cranford then ripped off 5 straight points which again saw SHS trail 18-16 but true to form, a few rotations later, a MacPherson kill had the teams knotted up at 20. Summit led 23-21 after a Cougar error but a service error of their own erased that momentum and saw the Blue and Gold tie up the score after another Summit hitting error. A key Barsh kill in transition gave SHS another match point but a Cougar muffle attack had the score even once again. Stunningly, Cranford had a service error and Summit was given another match point but another key kill by Cranford knotted up the score. Summit could not handle the Cougar serve and gave up and ace and yielded a kill off a free ball that had the Hilltoppers down and out at 25-17.
Summit had a 35 kill performance on the night, led by MacPherson and Thompson who each hit for 9 kills apiece. McDonnell ran the offense to its most productive match of the year with 29 assists. Williamson led the team with 3 aces and passed 31/33 serves while also leading the team with 12 digs. Trindell was simply a wall, notching 5 blocks and chipping in 2 kills.
JV FIGHTS VALIANTLY BUT LOSES IN 2
JV was simply overwhelmed in set 1 by the Cougars as the squad's usually powerful serve attack was nullified by Cranford's serve receive and effective attack which out-performed SHS's offensive capabilities. Summit dropped set 1 13-25.
The second set was more of the same but the Cougars became human and missed a number of serves while the Summit serve attack, led by Abby Doyle, finally got on track and kept the team in it until Annabella Yorio and Sarah Maldonado got on track offensively and started moving the Maroon and White toward a set win at 22-22. But the last few points were decided by serve receive and Cranford won that battle as the JV squad couldn't quite make the key pass and dropped the set and match 25-23 for its 4th consecutive loss.
Sunday, October 22, 2017
HILLTOPPERS EARN HIGHEST FINISH AT MO BEARD FALL CLASSIC
The Hilltoppers traveled to Mo-Beard this past Saturday to compete in the Fall Classic, a tournament that SHS has not been better than a 5 seed in the playoffs in this tourney and have never reached higher than the semis in the last 4 years.
Summit played versus Wardlaw Hartridge, Mo Beard, Parsippany Hills and then Villa Walsh in the 8 team, 2 division Pool Play. The Hilltoppers met Wardlaw first in a preview of the match to come this Friday and came away with a decisive 25-19, 25-16 win where the serving attack was the difference in the match.
Game 2 saw the Hilltoppers go up against the host team, Morristown Beard and the match as decided early as the Crimson could not deal with the Hilltopper serve and the Maroon and White put away any opportunity it had on offense. Final score, 25-13, 25-12.
Game 3 had the Vikings of Parsippany Hills match up against the Hilltoppers in an old Iron Hills Conference match-up. Summit prevailed late thanks to key kills and consistent serving pressure by a 25-22, 25-16 score.
The final match up was against Villa Walsh, the #2 team in the other division who had taken the #1 Oak Knoll to the brink in its first match. Summit jumped out to an early lead but was not able to hold on to it late as key hitting errors and a couple of service errors turned the match to Villa's favor 25-21. The second match was a back and forth affair and a late Taylor Thompson kill was the difference as time expired to give SHS the win 19-18.
Summit finished pool play 7W-1L in sets but Oak Knoll was a bit better, finishing 7W-0L-1T, getting the #1 seed overall and SHS #2.
Summit had a bye in Round 1 but faced a re-match against the #3 Villa Walsh squad in the semis. The rubber match (a 30 point match) seemed to be going Summit's way early with the team holding a 26-21 lead late in the 20 minute cap match. Villa then stepped up its serving game and within a couple of minutes, the squad had knotted up the score at 26 after another key hitting error. But then the Summit defense woke up and a key dig by Ava Williamson led directly to a Summit kill that gave the Maroon and White a 27-26 lead with under 30 seconds to play. Summit served for the match and had an opportunity to win on a transition attack but failed to do so which allowed Villa to do it in return to knot up the score at 27 as time expired.
The final point was a microcosm of the entire season for the Hilltoppers, showing both the promise of the future and the lack of experience of the same youth. The pressure on the serve receive was enormous as Villa served its most dangerous server at the last point. Summit handled the serve well enough but couldn't generate a good offensive set and in transition dug up a great ball that led to an attack attempt that resulted in an error and ended the match 28-27.
Summit ended the day 7W-2L and 3rd place overall, the best finish at the tourney by a Summit team at the Fall Classic.
Summit played versus Wardlaw Hartridge, Mo Beard, Parsippany Hills and then Villa Walsh in the 8 team, 2 division Pool Play. The Hilltoppers met Wardlaw first in a preview of the match to come this Friday and came away with a decisive 25-19, 25-16 win where the serving attack was the difference in the match.
Game 2 saw the Hilltoppers go up against the host team, Morristown Beard and the match as decided early as the Crimson could not deal with the Hilltopper serve and the Maroon and White put away any opportunity it had on offense. Final score, 25-13, 25-12.
Game 3 had the Vikings of Parsippany Hills match up against the Hilltoppers in an old Iron Hills Conference match-up. Summit prevailed late thanks to key kills and consistent serving pressure by a 25-22, 25-16 score.
The final match up was against Villa Walsh, the #2 team in the other division who had taken the #1 Oak Knoll to the brink in its first match. Summit jumped out to an early lead but was not able to hold on to it late as key hitting errors and a couple of service errors turned the match to Villa's favor 25-21. The second match was a back and forth affair and a late Taylor Thompson kill was the difference as time expired to give SHS the win 19-18.
Summit finished pool play 7W-1L in sets but Oak Knoll was a bit better, finishing 7W-0L-1T, getting the #1 seed overall and SHS #2.
Summit had a bye in Round 1 but faced a re-match against the #3 Villa Walsh squad in the semis. The rubber match (a 30 point match) seemed to be going Summit's way early with the team holding a 26-21 lead late in the 20 minute cap match. Villa then stepped up its serving game and within a couple of minutes, the squad had knotted up the score at 26 after another key hitting error. But then the Summit defense woke up and a key dig by Ava Williamson led directly to a Summit kill that gave the Maroon and White a 27-26 lead with under 30 seconds to play. Summit served for the match and had an opportunity to win on a transition attack but failed to do so which allowed Villa to do it in return to knot up the score at 27 as time expired.
The final point was a microcosm of the entire season for the Hilltoppers, showing both the promise of the future and the lack of experience of the same youth. The pressure on the serve receive was enormous as Villa served its most dangerous server at the last point. Summit handled the serve well enough but couldn't generate a good offensive set and in transition dug up a great ball that led to an attack attempt that resulted in an error and ended the match 28-27.
Summit ended the day 7W-2L and 3rd place overall, the best finish at the tourney by a Summit team at the Fall Classic.
JV COUNTY RUN ENDS WITH LOSS VERSUS THE FARMERS
The 3rd time was the charm for the Union Farmer's as they came to Summit to take on the Hilltoppers in a #4 v #5 matchup in the Quarter-Finals of the Union County Tournament. Summit had beaten the Farmer's in 3 both of the other matchups in the regular season and were looking for the trifecta on Friday but as had been the theme all week, the serving accuracy and ace production that the team normally relies upon was thwarted by great Union passing and the Farmers out hit the Hilltoppers from the front row to seal the fate of the Maroon and White 25-19, 25-19.
Summit managed only 9 aces versus the Farmers, a normally good number but not on a day where the opponent hit for 13. The Union serve receive was exceptional, leading to many kill opportunities while the SHS receive was spotty, often surviving and yielding only free ball opportunities to the Farmers. Sara Maldonado was again the only bright spot for the Hilltoppers as she had 6 of the team's 8 total kills for the match, a stat that also explains the final scores as Union out-killed SHS 14-8.
The team's record now stands at 13W-4L after a 1W-3L week. The season record for wins and winning % was set last year at 16W-7L. Summit has 5 matches left and needs 4 wins to break the record.
SHORT-HANDED SUMMIT BATTLES LIONS FOR 3 BUT FALLS SHORT ; LIONS HAND JV 3RD LOSS
Summit traveled to Roselle Catholic looking for its first win of the week but the team was without the services of starters Lauren Trindell, Ava Williamson and its DS backup, Kiera Stocks.
SHS played a great match despite having to deal with new serve receive rotations and defensive alignments but fell short on the road by a 23-25, 25-23, 20-25.
The team found itself in a dog fight in set 1 as it trailed a very scrappy Lion team 16-14 through 6 rotations. But the Roselle Catholic crew exploited the Hilltopper nerves at this stage of the match and expanded the lead to 20-16 after the 8th rotation mainly due to Summit hitting errors. SHS did not buckle and Katie Samay dropped 2 aces to knot up the score at 23, forcing a Lion time-out. The time-out broke the Summit momentum and after a missed serve, RC served out the set and closed it out at 25-23. The difference in the match was, yer again, Summit's inability to get kills consistently. SHS managed only 8 kills but also had 6 errors. The Lions, on the other hand, scored 11 kills but only erred on 5 hits. In a set decided by 2 points, this was the difference between the teams.
Facing another tough loss, the short-handed Hilltoppers had to salvage the trip by being more efficient on offense and continuing their stellar defense as the team dug up a season high 22 balls in the first set.
The Maroon and White struggled to keep any momentum in the set after RC opened up the set with a 5-0 run in the very first rotation to take the lead 5-2. Summit couldn't overcome that bad start as it still trailed 14-11 after 6 rotations. Just as it has been all season, the team had to rely on a spark from the service line and that came, yet again, from one of the team's Captain, Slisha McDonnell. McDonnell ripped off an ace and force an errant pass on the next serve to square the score at 15. Summit then slowly took control with their offense and size, eliminating unnecessary errors and finding themselves up 19-18 late in the set. Samay was yet again instrumental in extending the SHS lead, hitting for another ace and forcing an errant Lion pass which led to a 22-18 lead. A Lion time-out broke momentum again and led to a service error which gave RCA the momentum it needed to go on a 5-1 run that had the teams tied up at 23, forcing a Hilltopper time-out. Yet again, the team had to find a way to score a kill if they were to survive and a perfect Tessa Pulgar pass led to a McDonnell set to Co-Captain Taylor Thompson who crushed a kill down to zone 1 to give the Hilltoppers a 24-23 lead. McDonnell then stepped up with the fate of the team on her shoulders and delivered a blistering serve to zone 5 that was mishandled and led to an RC error that sealed set 25-23 in favor of the Hilltoppers.
Summit dug up 24 balls in the set, a new season record, and hit for 10 kills. The key stat however was that SHS only yielded 2 hitting errors, for a .211 hitting efficiency while RC, although out-killed Summit by a 14-10 margin, it had 6 errors. That stat again was key in determining the winner of the set.
In the deciding set, SHS looked to carry the momentum of the previous set's win and capitalize on their offensive momentum they had generated at the end of the set. The set was, as expected, tight and had many long rallies early decided by either hitting errors or kills as both teams' passing game was on point. But in rotation 6, the Maroon and White stalled offensively and the Lions capitalized with a 4-1 run that gave Roselle Catholic a 10-7 lead. The lead expanded to 4 1 rotation later and by rotation 9 the match had become a side-out affair with neither team being able to go on any extended run. Although RC got the lead to 16-10 in rotation 9, Thompson rattled off an ace and added another tough serve that led to a Green and White error to get SHS to that 4 point deficit again. Hilltopper fans were not hopeful however as it was evident that although the team was playing an incredibly tight defensive game, the offense was not consistent enough to yield the points it needed to mount a comeback.
That became the reality of rotation 10 as the Lions ripped off 5 service points to take a commanding 22-13 lead. Summit could not get a kill to get out of the rotation despite many great passes and sets, a result of both Lion defensive prowess and lack of Hilltopper offensive answers. A service error managed to break the Lion run but Summit needed to outscore RC 12-3 to win the set, a statistically incredible comeback if it were to happen. Camille Della Piazza struck for 2 points and after a Lion kill SHS looked at a 23-15 deficit. A side-out and 2 more points later, thanks to Samay again, 23-18 was the deficit and Roselle Catholic called a time-out to settle the troops. The team lost the next point and, staring at match-point with a 24-18 deficit the comeback seemed impossible. Carmel Barsh then hit for a kill -her team high and team season best 11 kill performance- and ripped an ace to get Summit to within 4 at 24-20, forcing a Lion time-out. But that was to be as close as the team would get, losing in 3, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20.
Summit did get 11 kills in the set and yielded only 4 errors for a .206 but served only 85% in the set with only 1 ace. The Hilltoppers actually outscored RC from the front line but the difference in the match was the service line play by each team. Roselle Catholic went 23/25 with 2 aces while Summit went only 17/20 with only 1 ace.
The match was a season best for the team in terms of digs (69), kills (29), attack attempts (107) and service points (33) but as the summary highlights, the kill % was only 27%. The Hilltoppers will try to improve on its kills-per-attempt number of 3.69 in the Fall Classic Tournament at Morristown-Beard this upcoming Saturday.
JV FALTERS ON THE ROAD FOR 3RD LOSS
The Squad entered the Lion's den after only the 2nd loss of the season versus New Providence. The Hilltoppers continued to be a little less than consistent on the serve and the usually consistent attack yielded few kills as the Hilltoppers folded in 2, 25-23, 25-23 with serving errors and hitting errors being the difference in the match. Both set 1 and 2 ended for the Hilltoppers on a service error and a hitting error. Maldonado led the team in kills with 5 and Doyle hit for 3 aces but there wasn't much consistency from the squad to complement the team effort needed to win the crucial points down the stretch.
SHS played a great match despite having to deal with new serve receive rotations and defensive alignments but fell short on the road by a 23-25, 25-23, 20-25.
The team found itself in a dog fight in set 1 as it trailed a very scrappy Lion team 16-14 through 6 rotations. But the Roselle Catholic crew exploited the Hilltopper nerves at this stage of the match and expanded the lead to 20-16 after the 8th rotation mainly due to Summit hitting errors. SHS did not buckle and Katie Samay dropped 2 aces to knot up the score at 23, forcing a Lion time-out. The time-out broke the Summit momentum and after a missed serve, RC served out the set and closed it out at 25-23. The difference in the match was, yer again, Summit's inability to get kills consistently. SHS managed only 8 kills but also had 6 errors. The Lions, on the other hand, scored 11 kills but only erred on 5 hits. In a set decided by 2 points, this was the difference between the teams.
Facing another tough loss, the short-handed Hilltoppers had to salvage the trip by being more efficient on offense and continuing their stellar defense as the team dug up a season high 22 balls in the first set.
The Maroon and White struggled to keep any momentum in the set after RC opened up the set with a 5-0 run in the very first rotation to take the lead 5-2. Summit couldn't overcome that bad start as it still trailed 14-11 after 6 rotations. Just as it has been all season, the team had to rely on a spark from the service line and that came, yet again, from one of the team's Captain, Slisha McDonnell. McDonnell ripped off an ace and force an errant pass on the next serve to square the score at 15. Summit then slowly took control with their offense and size, eliminating unnecessary errors and finding themselves up 19-18 late in the set. Samay was yet again instrumental in extending the SHS lead, hitting for another ace and forcing an errant Lion pass which led to a 22-18 lead. A Lion time-out broke momentum again and led to a service error which gave RCA the momentum it needed to go on a 5-1 run that had the teams tied up at 23, forcing a Hilltopper time-out. Yet again, the team had to find a way to score a kill if they were to survive and a perfect Tessa Pulgar pass led to a McDonnell set to Co-Captain Taylor Thompson who crushed a kill down to zone 1 to give the Hilltoppers a 24-23 lead. McDonnell then stepped up with the fate of the team on her shoulders and delivered a blistering serve to zone 5 that was mishandled and led to an RC error that sealed set 25-23 in favor of the Hilltoppers.
Summit dug up 24 balls in the set, a new season record, and hit for 10 kills. The key stat however was that SHS only yielded 2 hitting errors, for a .211 hitting efficiency while RC, although out-killed Summit by a 14-10 margin, it had 6 errors. That stat again was key in determining the winner of the set.
In the deciding set, SHS looked to carry the momentum of the previous set's win and capitalize on their offensive momentum they had generated at the end of the set. The set was, as expected, tight and had many long rallies early decided by either hitting errors or kills as both teams' passing game was on point. But in rotation 6, the Maroon and White stalled offensively and the Lions capitalized with a 4-1 run that gave Roselle Catholic a 10-7 lead. The lead expanded to 4 1 rotation later and by rotation 9 the match had become a side-out affair with neither team being able to go on any extended run. Although RC got the lead to 16-10 in rotation 9, Thompson rattled off an ace and added another tough serve that led to a Green and White error to get SHS to that 4 point deficit again. Hilltopper fans were not hopeful however as it was evident that although the team was playing an incredibly tight defensive game, the offense was not consistent enough to yield the points it needed to mount a comeback.
That became the reality of rotation 10 as the Lions ripped off 5 service points to take a commanding 22-13 lead. Summit could not get a kill to get out of the rotation despite many great passes and sets, a result of both Lion defensive prowess and lack of Hilltopper offensive answers. A service error managed to break the Lion run but Summit needed to outscore RC 12-3 to win the set, a statistically incredible comeback if it were to happen. Camille Della Piazza struck for 2 points and after a Lion kill SHS looked at a 23-15 deficit. A side-out and 2 more points later, thanks to Samay again, 23-18 was the deficit and Roselle Catholic called a time-out to settle the troops. The team lost the next point and, staring at match-point with a 24-18 deficit the comeback seemed impossible. Carmel Barsh then hit for a kill -her team high and team season best 11 kill performance- and ripped an ace to get Summit to within 4 at 24-20, forcing a Lion time-out. But that was to be as close as the team would get, losing in 3, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20.
Summit did get 11 kills in the set and yielded only 4 errors for a .206 but served only 85% in the set with only 1 ace. The Hilltoppers actually outscored RC from the front line but the difference in the match was the service line play by each team. Roselle Catholic went 23/25 with 2 aces while Summit went only 17/20 with only 1 ace.
The match was a season best for the team in terms of digs (69), kills (29), attack attempts (107) and service points (33) but as the summary highlights, the kill % was only 27%. The Hilltoppers will try to improve on its kills-per-attempt number of 3.69 in the Fall Classic Tournament at Morristown-Beard this upcoming Saturday.
JV FALTERS ON THE ROAD FOR 3RD LOSS
The Squad entered the Lion's den after only the 2nd loss of the season versus New Providence. The Hilltoppers continued to be a little less than consistent on the serve and the usually consistent attack yielded few kills as the Hilltoppers folded in 2, 25-23, 25-23 with serving errors and hitting errors being the difference in the match. Both set 1 and 2 ended for the Hilltoppers on a service error and a hitting error. Maldonado led the team in kills with 5 and Doyle hit for 3 aces but there wasn't much consistency from the squad to complement the team effort needed to win the crucial points down the stretch.
Friday, October 20, 2017
NEW PROVIDENCE HANDS SHS LOSSES ON BOTH LEVELS
The Pioneers of New Providence stepped into the SHS gym fresh off their upset win over Scotch-Plains Fanwood while Summit was trying to right the ship after a tough loss to the Crusaders of GL.
Meanwhile at the JV level, SHS had beaten the Pioneers on their home court in a tight 2-1 victory and New Providence was looking for revenge this time around.
Despite the Maroon and White's best efforts, New Providence not only continued its dominance over the Hilltoppers (12-0 last 6 years) on the Varsity level but also upset the Summit JV squad to give the team only its 2nd loss of the season.
The JV Squad knew they were in for a battle in the first set as the Maroon and White got out to leads of 9-3 and 13-8 just to see the Pioneers fight back each time. The longest run of the match occurred in rotation 1 as both teams served for the 2nd time. The Pioneers, trailing 14-10, ran off 5 straight points to get the score knotted up at 15 after a service error. Abby Doyle then stepped up and returned the favor with 4 points of her own to give SHS an 18-16 lead after a Pioneer kill broke her serve.
Up 22-19 moments later, the Hilltoppers felt like they were in full control but another Pioneer surge tied up the game before an Annabella Yorio kill gave the ball to SHS with a 23-22 lead. Krista Ann Clapp finished off the Hilltoper set win with 2 service points for the 25-23 win.
Set 2 was quite different as the Pioneers controlled things early building a 13-6 lead by rotation 5. Luisa Esquivel brought the team back to within 3 at 13-10 and Abby Doyle had the game knotted at 14 2 rotations later. But the Pioneers went on an 11-4 run to close out the set and the lack of kill and ace production by the Hilltoppers was evident.
The decisive set started off phenomenally well for the Hilltoppers as the team jumped off to a 4-0 lead but within 2 rotations, the Pioneers had built up an 8-6 lead. Summit could not solve the Pioneer serve but Sarah Brennan single handedly brought the Hilltoppers back from the abyss with 2 aces that had SHS to within 1 at 12-11. Unfortunately, a Pioneer kill broke the momentum and New Providence sealed the deal 2 points later.
Meanwhile, the Varsity squad was looking to break a six year losing streak to New Providence but despite a tremendous effort, the Maroon and White fell short by a 25-22, 25-18 result. The match boiled down to specific moments late in each set.
In set 1, New Providence jumped out to a 17-12 lead after outscoring SHS 8-4 in rotations 5 and 6 and seemed to be in total control when the Pioneers got the best of Summit in rotation 1 to take a 20-13 lead. But true to the character of this year's squad, the team kept battling and Ava Williamson ripped off 2 aces and earned 4 service points to get the Hilltoppers to within 2 at 20-18. One rotation later the Maroon and White had crawled to within 1 at 21-20 after a Taylor Thompson ace but a Pioneer kill had restored the 2 point cushion. An ace later the lead was 3. A long rally that ended with a Sylvie Goudreau kill had SHS back in the conversation down only 2. But a service error deflated the Hilltoppers' comeback and seemed to put the set in the Pioneer pocket with the score 24-21. Carmel Barsh ripped off a huge kill to keep Summit alive. Katie Samay did her part with a high pressured serve that forced a New Providence error to get SHS to within 1 at 24-23. But the Pioneers got a kill of their own and sealed the set at 25-23.
In set 2, Summit trailed early again 10-6 but by the end of rotation 6 and Tessa Pulgar's serving rotation, SHS was only trailing by 1 at 13-12. New Providence regained a small cushion over the next few rotations and led 17-13 and seemed poised to pull away as in set 1 but the Hilltoppers relied on a Taylor Thompson kill and a Pioneer hitting error to close the gap to 2. But Summit couldn't keep the next serve in and New Providence got their 3 point cushion back. That turned out to be a huge point as Summit battled back in 2 long rallies to cut the lead back down to 1 at 18-17 and force a time-out but would not be able to get any closer as the Maroon and White had no kills, 2 errors and suffered 5 New Providence kills to seal the set at 25-17.
Meanwhile at the JV level, SHS had beaten the Pioneers on their home court in a tight 2-1 victory and New Providence was looking for revenge this time around.
Despite the Maroon and White's best efforts, New Providence not only continued its dominance over the Hilltoppers (12-0 last 6 years) on the Varsity level but also upset the Summit JV squad to give the team only its 2nd loss of the season.
The JV Squad knew they were in for a battle in the first set as the Maroon and White got out to leads of 9-3 and 13-8 just to see the Pioneers fight back each time. The longest run of the match occurred in rotation 1 as both teams served for the 2nd time. The Pioneers, trailing 14-10, ran off 5 straight points to get the score knotted up at 15 after a service error. Abby Doyle then stepped up and returned the favor with 4 points of her own to give SHS an 18-16 lead after a Pioneer kill broke her serve.
Up 22-19 moments later, the Hilltoppers felt like they were in full control but another Pioneer surge tied up the game before an Annabella Yorio kill gave the ball to SHS with a 23-22 lead. Krista Ann Clapp finished off the Hilltoper set win with 2 service points for the 25-23 win.
Set 2 was quite different as the Pioneers controlled things early building a 13-6 lead by rotation 5. Luisa Esquivel brought the team back to within 3 at 13-10 and Abby Doyle had the game knotted at 14 2 rotations later. But the Pioneers went on an 11-4 run to close out the set and the lack of kill and ace production by the Hilltoppers was evident.
The decisive set started off phenomenally well for the Hilltoppers as the team jumped off to a 4-0 lead but within 2 rotations, the Pioneers had built up an 8-6 lead. Summit could not solve the Pioneer serve but Sarah Brennan single handedly brought the Hilltoppers back from the abyss with 2 aces that had SHS to within 1 at 12-11. Unfortunately, a Pioneer kill broke the momentum and New Providence sealed the deal 2 points later.
Meanwhile, the Varsity squad was looking to break a six year losing streak to New Providence but despite a tremendous effort, the Maroon and White fell short by a 25-22, 25-18 result. The match boiled down to specific moments late in each set.
In set 1, New Providence jumped out to a 17-12 lead after outscoring SHS 8-4 in rotations 5 and 6 and seemed to be in total control when the Pioneers got the best of Summit in rotation 1 to take a 20-13 lead. But true to the character of this year's squad, the team kept battling and Ava Williamson ripped off 2 aces and earned 4 service points to get the Hilltoppers to within 2 at 20-18. One rotation later the Maroon and White had crawled to within 1 at 21-20 after a Taylor Thompson ace but a Pioneer kill had restored the 2 point cushion. An ace later the lead was 3. A long rally that ended with a Sylvie Goudreau kill had SHS back in the conversation down only 2. But a service error deflated the Hilltoppers' comeback and seemed to put the set in the Pioneer pocket with the score 24-21. Carmel Barsh ripped off a huge kill to keep Summit alive. Katie Samay did her part with a high pressured serve that forced a New Providence error to get SHS to within 1 at 24-23. But the Pioneers got a kill of their own and sealed the set at 25-23.
In set 2, Summit trailed early again 10-6 but by the end of rotation 6 and Tessa Pulgar's serving rotation, SHS was only trailing by 1 at 13-12. New Providence regained a small cushion over the next few rotations and led 17-13 and seemed poised to pull away as in set 1 but the Hilltoppers relied on a Taylor Thompson kill and a Pioneer hitting error to close the gap to 2. But Summit couldn't keep the next serve in and New Providence got their 3 point cushion back. That turned out to be a huge point as Summit battled back in 2 long rallies to cut the lead back down to 1 at 18-17 and force a time-out but would not be able to get any closer as the Maroon and White had no kills, 2 errors and suffered 5 New Providence kills to seal the set at 25-17.
Monday, October 16, 2017
UNION COUNTY TOURNEY RECAP ROUND 1
Both levels played on Monday in Round 1 of the Union County Tournament. On the Varsity level, the #8 Summit Hilltoppers took on the #9 Governor Livingston Crusaders while on the JV level, #4 Summit took on #13 Roselle Catholic.
Varsity lost both sets on late runs by the Crusaders by scores of 25-15, 25-17 while JV moves on with a hard fought 25-12, 25-23 win.
VARSITY
The Maroon and White knew that an 8v9 matchup was going to be a tough one but their recent history in the UCT has been a positive one and the team was energized for the match. Despite the fact that GL started off set 1 with a 6-2 lead, the Hilltoppers kept fighting back and after Taylor Thompson served up an ace and forced the Crusaders into a couple of forced errors, Summit found itself knotted up at 6.
SHS started swinging well and forced the Crusaders to take a time-out leading 9-7 but Camille Della Piazza came off that time-out and served up an ace to extend the lead to 10-7. But a service error opened the door for GL and the Crusaders outscored Summit 9-2 over the next 3 service rotations to take a commanding 16-12 lead. Alisha McDonnell stepped up then and ripped off 2 service points (1 ace) and pulled the Maroon and White back in the match, down only 2 at 15-17. Unfortunately, the wheels seemed to come off at that point in the match as GL went on an 8-0 run to close out the set 25-15. SHS had many opportunities to put balls away but key digs, unforced errors and missed opportunities on defense shut the door on any Hilltopper run.
The second set was unusually similar to the first. GL took a 6-2 lead again just to see it evaporate after Thompson again ran off 3 service points to tie the score at 6. The Crusaders held an 11-10 lead nearing the midpoint of the match but Katie Sammy stepped up and generated 3 points off her serve, helping her own cause with a dig in transition, to get SHS a 13-11 lead which forced a Crusader time-out. If you are feeling like you read this before, you have. Despite the fact that GL jumped out front after a 4-0 run by a 15-13 score, Summit again fought back to tie up the score at 16 behind an ace by Alisha McDonnell. But an uncharacteristic miss by McDonnell on her serve let GL take the ball and an 8-0 run later had Summit just about out at 24-16. Lauren Trindell kept the faint tournament hopes alive with a key block to pull SHS to a deficit of 17-24 but the Crusaders shut the door with a right-side kill to knock off the Hilltoppers out of the County Tournament.
Tessa Pulsar led the squad with 6 digs, Lauren Trindell played the wall with 2 solo blocks, and Taylor Thompson led the squad offensively with 4 kills. Camille Della Piazza and Alisha McDonnell chipped in with a team leading 2 aces apiece and Ava Williamson led the team with a 1.78 pass rating, passing 22/23 serves safely.
JV MOVES ON TO ROUND 2 WITH VICTORY OVER ROSELLE CATHOLIC
The JV Squad improved their record to 13W-1L after a 25-12, 25-23 win versus the Roselle Catholic Lions.
Despite a game Lions Squad that did not allow the Hilltoppers to score on their attack attempts, Summit's pressure serving did the damage on its own as the team hit for 6 aces in set 1 to pace an easy 25-12 first set victory.
Set 2 was a far more competitive set with the Lions getting aces of their own and not only thwarting repeated SHS attacks but effectively attacking themselves to pace RC to a 13-10 lead after 6 rotations. Summit looked to have the match in hand after 3 service points late in the match gave them a 20-16 lead but the Lions roared back with a 4-0 run to tie up the score at 20. With service errors on both sides, the teams couldn't find any offensive flow and found themselves knotted up at 23. But Summit did not commit any error after that and closed out the set and match with a 25-23 close fought victory.
Varsity lost both sets on late runs by the Crusaders by scores of 25-15, 25-17 while JV moves on with a hard fought 25-12, 25-23 win.
VARSITY
The Maroon and White knew that an 8v9 matchup was going to be a tough one but their recent history in the UCT has been a positive one and the team was energized for the match. Despite the fact that GL started off set 1 with a 6-2 lead, the Hilltoppers kept fighting back and after Taylor Thompson served up an ace and forced the Crusaders into a couple of forced errors, Summit found itself knotted up at 6.
SHS started swinging well and forced the Crusaders to take a time-out leading 9-7 but Camille Della Piazza came off that time-out and served up an ace to extend the lead to 10-7. But a service error opened the door for GL and the Crusaders outscored Summit 9-2 over the next 3 service rotations to take a commanding 16-12 lead. Alisha McDonnell stepped up then and ripped off 2 service points (1 ace) and pulled the Maroon and White back in the match, down only 2 at 15-17. Unfortunately, the wheels seemed to come off at that point in the match as GL went on an 8-0 run to close out the set 25-15. SHS had many opportunities to put balls away but key digs, unforced errors and missed opportunities on defense shut the door on any Hilltopper run.
The second set was unusually similar to the first. GL took a 6-2 lead again just to see it evaporate after Thompson again ran off 3 service points to tie the score at 6. The Crusaders held an 11-10 lead nearing the midpoint of the match but Katie Sammy stepped up and generated 3 points off her serve, helping her own cause with a dig in transition, to get SHS a 13-11 lead which forced a Crusader time-out. If you are feeling like you read this before, you have. Despite the fact that GL jumped out front after a 4-0 run by a 15-13 score, Summit again fought back to tie up the score at 16 behind an ace by Alisha McDonnell. But an uncharacteristic miss by McDonnell on her serve let GL take the ball and an 8-0 run later had Summit just about out at 24-16. Lauren Trindell kept the faint tournament hopes alive with a key block to pull SHS to a deficit of 17-24 but the Crusaders shut the door with a right-side kill to knock off the Hilltoppers out of the County Tournament.
Tessa Pulsar led the squad with 6 digs, Lauren Trindell played the wall with 2 solo blocks, and Taylor Thompson led the squad offensively with 4 kills. Camille Della Piazza and Alisha McDonnell chipped in with a team leading 2 aces apiece and Ava Williamson led the team with a 1.78 pass rating, passing 22/23 serves safely.
JV MOVES ON TO ROUND 2 WITH VICTORY OVER ROSELLE CATHOLIC
The JV Squad improved their record to 13W-1L after a 25-12, 25-23 win versus the Roselle Catholic Lions.
Despite a game Lions Squad that did not allow the Hilltoppers to score on their attack attempts, Summit's pressure serving did the damage on its own as the team hit for 6 aces in set 1 to pace an easy 25-12 first set victory.
Set 2 was a far more competitive set with the Lions getting aces of their own and not only thwarting repeated SHS attacks but effectively attacking themselves to pace RC to a 13-10 lead after 6 rotations. Summit looked to have the match in hand after 3 service points late in the match gave them a 20-16 lead but the Lions roared back with a 4-0 run to tie up the score at 20. With service errors on both sides, the teams couldn't find any offensive flow and found themselves knotted up at 23. But Summit did not commit any error after that and closed out the set and match with a 25-23 close fought victory.
Saturday, October 14, 2017
LINDEN AND KENT PLACE VARSITY HIGHLIGHTS
LINDEN
http://www.hudl.com/v/285xkn
KENT PLACE
http://www.hudl.com/v/2860Pe
http://www.hudl.com/v/285xkn
KENT PLACE
http://www.hudl.com/v/2860Pe
TOUGH WEEK YIELDS TOUGH LOSSES FOR VARSITY; JV KEEPS ON ROLLING WITH 2 MORE WINS
The Hilltoppers came into the week looking to improve its chances to make the state tournament and get a more favorable seed in the County Tournament.
First up for the Varsity Squad were the Linden Tigers. Linden had won a tough 3 set match at Summit earlier in the year and the Hilltoppers were looking to return the favor. Despite a phenomenal start by the Maroon and White in set 1 (7-1, 13-7 and 18-11 leads), the crew could not hold on to the lead late and found themselves tied 19-19 in the closing stages of the set. A Camille Della Piazza ace and kills by Carmel Barsh and Kate MacPherson had the Hilltoppers up 23-20 and seemingly back in control but the hitting errors that have plagued the squad lately resurfaced after the Tiger time-out and Summit was outscored 6-1 to yield the first set 26-24.
The second set was a tight one as the Tigers were desperately trying to shut the door on any Hilltopper comeback and Summit was fighting for its match life on every point. Neither team was able to get more than a 2 point lead at any point in the match until, with the score knotted up at 17, Della Piazza again stepped up with 8 consecutive service points (4 aces) to give the Hilltoppers a comfortable 25-17 2nd set win.
The final set played out much like the 3rd set in Summit unfortunately with the Hilltoppers getting numerous attack attempts but failing to convert early on which gave Linden the chance it needed to blow the game open early, jumping to a 9-3 lead. Summit could not chip into the lead at all, and trailed 15-8 in the latter part of the match. The team was looking to its usually offensive rotations to get on a run but that run never came and the Tigers closed out the match on a 10-4 run which featured 4 Summit hitting errors to Linden's 0, a statistic that fairly depicted the entire set.
Summit tied Linden 38-38 in total scoring for the match but lost the hitting error battle with Linden by committing 23 hitting errors to Linden's 9 which proved to be the difference in the match.
Summit hosted Kent Place in the last match that counted for county seeding looking to get its first win over its city neighbors in 6 years. Summit will have to wait another year for that win as the Dragons burned the Hilltoppers late in each set for a 25-18, 25-17 win over the Maroon and White.
Set 1 was a battle as neither team could get control. Through 6 rotations, KP held a slim 8-7 lead but the Hilltoppers felt pretty good about their play against the #4 seed in Union County. But the next 4 rotations saw the Dragons slowly increase that lead as they outscored the Hilltoppers 10-6 through that stretch to take an 18-13 lead. That's as close as the Maroon and White got for the rest of the match as Kent Place finished the set on a 7-5 run to close out the set 25-18.
The final set began as the first one had ended, with Summit not being able to connect on attacks and creating errors while KP keeping balls alive and getting key kills. Summit was fighting hard but found itself down 14-8 after 6 rotations and would need a big run to get back into the match. But the Green and White would not allow Summit to get into a rhythm and despite SHS cutting the lead down to 4 at 13-17, a service error stopped the momentum and led to a 2-0 Dragon run that re-established the 6 point bulge. KP outscored Summit 6-4 the rest of the way but the damage was done early as the Hilltoppers trailed 8-3 after 2 rotations and were just not able to generate enough offense to cut into that deficit.
Summit managed only 8 kills in the match but did improve in its errors by notching only 11. Kent Place hit for 19 and that offensive statistic proved to be a major factor in the match. Of note, Summit's defense was outstanding despite the loss. SHS had 3 blocks and dug up 33 balls (17 by Libero Ava Williamson) that led to many Hilltopper attacks.
Summit's record now stands at 5W-8L with 3 matches left before State Cut-Off. SUMMIT EARNED THE 8TH SEED IN THE UNION COUNTY TOURNEY, BEST SEED SINCE 2011!!!
Upcoming opponents for the Maroon and White are:
Monday, 10/16 - #9 Governor Livingston (H) 5:30pm - 1st Round Union County Playoffs
Wednesday, 10/17 - New Providence (H) 4:00pm
Thursday, 10/18 - Roselle Catholic (A) 4:00pm
Friday, 10/19 - TBD
Saturday, Morristown Beard Classic - 8:00am (A)
JV Rolls to 2 tough Victories to Improve to 12W-1L
JV faced off against the Linden TIgers on Tuesday and came away with a 26-24, 22-25, 15-9 hard fought win against a much improved opponent who did not allow the Hilltopper offense to get on a roll. Late serving heroics by Abby Doyle saved the day late in set 1 to pull out a late deficit to a 26-24 win.
Set 2 saw the Hilltoppers lose the set on serving errors as 6 of them sealed the fate of the team and contributed directly to the 22-25 loss.
The deciding set was the best one for the MAroon and White as the team hit for 4 aces, 1 kill (0 errors) and dug up 11 balls to tame the Tigers 15-9.
The Dragons were next and the team had dealt an easy 2-0 victory in the first meeting but the rematch was to be quite different. The 2 teams were deadlocked at 17 late in set 1 as the Dragons used key defensive digs and strong serving to frustrate the Hilltopper serve and attack offense.
Key kills by Annabella Yorio and the serving attack by the Maroon and White -Megan Gregory served up 2 aces late in relief) gave the Hilltoppers the room it needed to pull away late and take the set 25-21.
Set 2 went more to script as the Maroon and White hit for 5 kills and complemented that with 10 aces to easily take the set 25-12 and continue this record setting year with its 12th WIN.
Summit's record now stands at 12W-1L. SUMMIT EARNED THE 4TH SEED IN THE UNION COUNTY TOURNEY, BEST SEED IN PROGRAM HISTORY!!
Upcoming opponents for the Maroon and White are:
Monday, 10/16 - #13 Roselle Catholic (H) 4:30pm - 1st Round Union County Playoffs
Wednesday, 10/17 - New Providence (H) 4:00pm
Thursday, 10/18 - Roselle Catholic (A) TBD
Friday, 10/19 - TBD
First up for the Varsity Squad were the Linden Tigers. Linden had won a tough 3 set match at Summit earlier in the year and the Hilltoppers were looking to return the favor. Despite a phenomenal start by the Maroon and White in set 1 (7-1, 13-7 and 18-11 leads), the crew could not hold on to the lead late and found themselves tied 19-19 in the closing stages of the set. A Camille Della Piazza ace and kills by Carmel Barsh and Kate MacPherson had the Hilltoppers up 23-20 and seemingly back in control but the hitting errors that have plagued the squad lately resurfaced after the Tiger time-out and Summit was outscored 6-1 to yield the first set 26-24.
The second set was a tight one as the Tigers were desperately trying to shut the door on any Hilltopper comeback and Summit was fighting for its match life on every point. Neither team was able to get more than a 2 point lead at any point in the match until, with the score knotted up at 17, Della Piazza again stepped up with 8 consecutive service points (4 aces) to give the Hilltoppers a comfortable 25-17 2nd set win.
The final set played out much like the 3rd set in Summit unfortunately with the Hilltoppers getting numerous attack attempts but failing to convert early on which gave Linden the chance it needed to blow the game open early, jumping to a 9-3 lead. Summit could not chip into the lead at all, and trailed 15-8 in the latter part of the match. The team was looking to its usually offensive rotations to get on a run but that run never came and the Tigers closed out the match on a 10-4 run which featured 4 Summit hitting errors to Linden's 0, a statistic that fairly depicted the entire set.
Summit tied Linden 38-38 in total scoring for the match but lost the hitting error battle with Linden by committing 23 hitting errors to Linden's 9 which proved to be the difference in the match.
Summit hosted Kent Place in the last match that counted for county seeding looking to get its first win over its city neighbors in 6 years. Summit will have to wait another year for that win as the Dragons burned the Hilltoppers late in each set for a 25-18, 25-17 win over the Maroon and White.
Set 1 was a battle as neither team could get control. Through 6 rotations, KP held a slim 8-7 lead but the Hilltoppers felt pretty good about their play against the #4 seed in Union County. But the next 4 rotations saw the Dragons slowly increase that lead as they outscored the Hilltoppers 10-6 through that stretch to take an 18-13 lead. That's as close as the Maroon and White got for the rest of the match as Kent Place finished the set on a 7-5 run to close out the set 25-18.
The final set began as the first one had ended, with Summit not being able to connect on attacks and creating errors while KP keeping balls alive and getting key kills. Summit was fighting hard but found itself down 14-8 after 6 rotations and would need a big run to get back into the match. But the Green and White would not allow Summit to get into a rhythm and despite SHS cutting the lead down to 4 at 13-17, a service error stopped the momentum and led to a 2-0 Dragon run that re-established the 6 point bulge. KP outscored Summit 6-4 the rest of the way but the damage was done early as the Hilltoppers trailed 8-3 after 2 rotations and were just not able to generate enough offense to cut into that deficit.
Summit managed only 8 kills in the match but did improve in its errors by notching only 11. Kent Place hit for 19 and that offensive statistic proved to be a major factor in the match. Of note, Summit's defense was outstanding despite the loss. SHS had 3 blocks and dug up 33 balls (17 by Libero Ava Williamson) that led to many Hilltopper attacks.
Summit's record now stands at 5W-8L with 3 matches left before State Cut-Off. SUMMIT EARNED THE 8TH SEED IN THE UNION COUNTY TOURNEY, BEST SEED SINCE 2011!!!
Upcoming opponents for the Maroon and White are:
Monday, 10/16 - #9 Governor Livingston (H) 5:30pm - 1st Round Union County Playoffs
Wednesday, 10/17 - New Providence (H) 4:00pm
Thursday, 10/18 - Roselle Catholic (A) 4:00pm
Friday, 10/19 - TBD
Saturday, Morristown Beard Classic - 8:00am (A)
JV Rolls to 2 tough Victories to Improve to 12W-1L
JV faced off against the Linden TIgers on Tuesday and came away with a 26-24, 22-25, 15-9 hard fought win against a much improved opponent who did not allow the Hilltopper offense to get on a roll. Late serving heroics by Abby Doyle saved the day late in set 1 to pull out a late deficit to a 26-24 win.
Set 2 saw the Hilltoppers lose the set on serving errors as 6 of them sealed the fate of the team and contributed directly to the 22-25 loss.
The deciding set was the best one for the MAroon and White as the team hit for 4 aces, 1 kill (0 errors) and dug up 11 balls to tame the Tigers 15-9.
The Dragons were next and the team had dealt an easy 2-0 victory in the first meeting but the rematch was to be quite different. The 2 teams were deadlocked at 17 late in set 1 as the Dragons used key defensive digs and strong serving to frustrate the Hilltopper serve and attack offense.
Key kills by Annabella Yorio and the serving attack by the Maroon and White -Megan Gregory served up 2 aces late in relief) gave the Hilltoppers the room it needed to pull away late and take the set 25-21.
Set 2 went more to script as the Maroon and White hit for 5 kills and complemented that with 10 aces to easily take the set 25-12 and continue this record setting year with its 12th WIN.
Summit's record now stands at 12W-1L. SUMMIT EARNED THE 4TH SEED IN THE UNION COUNTY TOURNEY, BEST SEED IN PROGRAM HISTORY!!
Upcoming opponents for the Maroon and White are:
Monday, 10/16 - #13 Roselle Catholic (H) 4:30pm - 1st Round Union County Playoffs
Wednesday, 10/17 - New Providence (H) 4:00pm
Thursday, 10/18 - Roselle Catholic (A) TBD
Friday, 10/19 - TBD
Friday, October 6, 2017
SHS SWEEPS SEASON SERIES FROM RAHWAY FOR 5TH WIN; JV SUFFERS FIRST LOSS
The Hilltoppers traveled to Rahway to face off against conference rivals Rahway looking to improve to 5 wins and keep their state hopes alive. The team had split every season series since 2015 with Rahway and knew they were in for a tough match. That expectation was only 1/2 true as the Hilltoppers had a perfect start to the match taking Set 1 25-11 in an error free performance from the front line with Carmel Barsh getting 3 of the teams 6 total kills (.500 kill and hitting efficiency) to lead the way.
Set 2 was a tremendous fight as Rahway jumped out early to a 7-1 lead just to have the Hilltoppers fight back from a 24-22 deficit and take the set and match 26-24. Despite only hitting 4 kills in the set, the team had 5 stuff blocks and added 4 aces to score another 13 points in the set win.
All season long, rotations 1 through 3 have been the stalwarts of the Hilltopper point scoring offense. This did not change in this match. Alisha McDonnell, Ava Williamson and Taylor Thompson led those rotations to 2 aces, 1 block and 2 kills to jump out to a 9-2 lead. Rotations 4 through 6 held serve and tied Rahway 5-5, keeping Summit comfortably ahead 14-7. Summit's first three rotations won again the next round 5-2 and never looked back as the team closed out the set on a 6-2 run that sealed the set 1 battle 25-11.
The team hit .400 in the set, served at 94% clip with 6 aces and added 1 team block to outscore Rahway 13-7.
The second set was a completely different story. Rahway jumped out to a 6-1 lead and seemed to be in full control. Summit only managed 4 kills in the set but its blocking rattled the Rahway faithful as they saw Summit stop 5 Rahway attacks. After trailing 6-1, a Micaela Nardino and Lauren Trindell block gave the ball back to Summit down 6-2 but more importantly, it got the team in rotation 1. After the first 3 rotaions clicked through, Summit was only down by 3 at 8-5 but a free ball error had Rahway up again by 4 at 9-5. Rahway kept Summit at bay throughout the set, always maintaining a 3 point advantage. But the Hilltoppers kept chipping away at the lead and finally tied it at 19-19 after a Nardino and Thompson block.
Two successful attacks and a service error later, Rahway had Summit 21-20 up. Despite a block that extended the lead to 22-20, Rahway gave it right back with another service error that put SHS back on the line. Down 24-22, Williamson passed a perfect ball to McDonnell who set the attack up to McPherson who did not disappoint and hit a kill down the line for a 24-23 deficit. Camille Della Piazza then brought it home with 3 consecutive aces to give Summit the set and match win,
The team ended up hitting .229 with 10 kills, gave up only 1 ace but hit for 10 of their own. But most importantly, the squad had 6 team blocks that turned the game around after the slow start the team experienced.
The team will travel to Linden on Tuesday to attempt to avenge an earlier 3 set loss at home.
JV LOSES FOR 1st TIME THIS CAMPAIGN
The streak is over. After opening the 2017 campaign with a 10W-0L record, the Hilltoppers finally had an off day from the service line and passing defense that led to Rahway pressure and points.
Summit dropped a 25-16, 25-17 decision, trailing by as much as 12 in set 1 before cutting the lead to 5 at 21-16 and despite having a closer matchup in set 2, the team never controlled its opponent, suffering multiple aces and yielding the ball on service errors that caused a 2 point lead to evaporate (12-10) and fuel a 15-5 run that Rahway used to pull away late and seal the 25-17 set and match victory.
Some players had their usual contributions and helped the team keep hope alive during the match. Sarah Brennan had 3 aces and Abby Doyle chipped in another 2 of her own. Maddie Murphy and Annabella Yorio dropped 3 kills apiece to pace the offense in the losing cause.
Set 2 was a tremendous fight as Rahway jumped out early to a 7-1 lead just to have the Hilltoppers fight back from a 24-22 deficit and take the set and match 26-24. Despite only hitting 4 kills in the set, the team had 5 stuff blocks and added 4 aces to score another 13 points in the set win.
All season long, rotations 1 through 3 have been the stalwarts of the Hilltopper point scoring offense. This did not change in this match. Alisha McDonnell, Ava Williamson and Taylor Thompson led those rotations to 2 aces, 1 block and 2 kills to jump out to a 9-2 lead. Rotations 4 through 6 held serve and tied Rahway 5-5, keeping Summit comfortably ahead 14-7. Summit's first three rotations won again the next round 5-2 and never looked back as the team closed out the set on a 6-2 run that sealed the set 1 battle 25-11.
The team hit .400 in the set, served at 94% clip with 6 aces and added 1 team block to outscore Rahway 13-7.
The second set was a completely different story. Rahway jumped out to a 6-1 lead and seemed to be in full control. Summit only managed 4 kills in the set but its blocking rattled the Rahway faithful as they saw Summit stop 5 Rahway attacks. After trailing 6-1, a Micaela Nardino and Lauren Trindell block gave the ball back to Summit down 6-2 but more importantly, it got the team in rotation 1. After the first 3 rotaions clicked through, Summit was only down by 3 at 8-5 but a free ball error had Rahway up again by 4 at 9-5. Rahway kept Summit at bay throughout the set, always maintaining a 3 point advantage. But the Hilltoppers kept chipping away at the lead and finally tied it at 19-19 after a Nardino and Thompson block.
Two successful attacks and a service error later, Rahway had Summit 21-20 up. Despite a block that extended the lead to 22-20, Rahway gave it right back with another service error that put SHS back on the line. Down 24-22, Williamson passed a perfect ball to McDonnell who set the attack up to McPherson who did not disappoint and hit a kill down the line for a 24-23 deficit. Camille Della Piazza then brought it home with 3 consecutive aces to give Summit the set and match win,
The team ended up hitting .229 with 10 kills, gave up only 1 ace but hit for 10 of their own. But most importantly, the squad had 6 team blocks that turned the game around after the slow start the team experienced.
The team will travel to Linden on Tuesday to attempt to avenge an earlier 3 set loss at home.
JV LOSES FOR 1st TIME THIS CAMPAIGN
The streak is over. After opening the 2017 campaign with a 10W-0L record, the Hilltoppers finally had an off day from the service line and passing defense that led to Rahway pressure and points.
Summit dropped a 25-16, 25-17 decision, trailing by as much as 12 in set 1 before cutting the lead to 5 at 21-16 and despite having a closer matchup in set 2, the team never controlled its opponent, suffering multiple aces and yielding the ball on service errors that caused a 2 point lead to evaporate (12-10) and fuel a 15-5 run that Rahway used to pull away late and seal the 25-17 set and match victory.
Some players had their usual contributions and helped the team keep hope alive during the match. Sarah Brennan had 3 aces and Abby Doyle chipped in another 2 of her own. Maddie Murphy and Annabella Yorio dropped 3 kills apiece to pace the offense in the losing cause.
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
FARMERS COMPLETE SEASON SWEEP OF HILLTOPPERS; JV COMEBACK SEALS #10
The Hilltoppers were up against the #1 team in the division, the Union Farmers, yesterday but, coming off the big HTC Tourney win on Saturday, the team felt good about their game. The squad would have to enter the match however without the services of Ava Williamson who had developed strep throat and was unavailable.
Much to the chagrin of the fans and team, the match played out similarly to their first match at Union High where late errors decided set 1 in favor of the Farmers (21-25) and set 2 saw the Hilltoppers lose the serve receive battle and get overwhelmed by the Union offense (9-25).
In the space of 2 minutes, SHS was down 0-4 to Union after 2 aces, 1 hitting error and 1 blocking error by the Hilltoppers. Coach Martins called a quick time-out to settle the troops but another kill by Union saw Summit staring at a 0-5 hole. That 5 point deficit remained fairly static as the Hilltoppers got their footing and began to play fairly evenly with the Farmers. Summit had cut the lead down to 3 at 13-16 after a Union service error but aquick attack out of the middle and another ace seemed to kill any chance the Hilltoppers had for a comeback. But the team has shown a steely resolve in the face of adversity and has continued to fight through difficult situations. Summit went on a 6-3 run that was punctuated by a Camille Della Piazza ace to knot the score at 19. Despite a Union block giving the Farmers a 19-20 lead, Katie McPherson followed up with a kill to square the set up again.
But then the mistakes came. SHS committed 2 attacking errors and 1 service error that allowed Union the room it needed to close out the set 21-25 after a 5-1 run.
Summit managed only 5 kills (McPherson 3), had 1 team block and 3 aces (2 McDonnell) for 9 total points. Union got 17 points, 6 of them on aces, that proved to be a factor at the end of the set.
The Hilltoppers were on the ropes again early at the onset of set 2. The Farmers opened up a 2-7 lead behind their serving that resulted in poor offensive options for the Hilltoppers. But similar to set 1, Summit fought back to within 3 at 6-9 after a Farmer serving error. Unfortunately, this time, Union would not relent in its serving pressure and the Farmers went on an 8-1 run fueled by 2 aces and 2 kills by UH to get the lead up to 7-17. Carmel Barsh gve Summit a brief glimmer of hope with a timely block but Union got right back on offense, generating another 7-2 run to close out the set and match.
Summit managed only 2 kills and 1 ace in the set, a major reason the team could not sustain any momentum.
That was only SHS's 2nd loss at Summit (4W-2L).
JV Squad was trying to push their record setting start of the season forward as the team took on Union in a rematch of the young Hilltopper's first match. Somebody forgot to tell Union that they were supposed to give up.
Union had a 14-4 lead after only 3 rotations as the Hilltoppers could not get their serve receive in sync. The fate of the first set was set but the squad kept fighting and actually ended the set on a 12-11 run that, despite the loss by a 16-25 score, gave SHS hope that they hadn't yet hit their stride.
Summit flipped the script in set 2 and SHS got out really well in the set and held a 15-9 lead at the midway point and never relinquished it, closing out the set 25-18 behind the serving and the defensive efforts of the team.
The deciding set was a close affair throughout until rotation 7 when Cassandra Hrehorovich ripped off 2 aces and 4 service points to get the team a 16-11 lead. Annabella Yorio continued her offensive production with a match leading 4 kills in set 3 that propelled Summit to a come-from-behind 25-16 win.
Yorio led all front row players with 7 kills. Ava Calabrese anchored a solid team defense with 4 digs and Abby Doyle led all players with 9 digs and 8 assists while also scoring with 4 aces.
The team will look to go undefeated before county seeding for JV Championships against Rahway on Thursday.
Much to the chagrin of the fans and team, the match played out similarly to their first match at Union High where late errors decided set 1 in favor of the Farmers (21-25) and set 2 saw the Hilltoppers lose the serve receive battle and get overwhelmed by the Union offense (9-25).
In the space of 2 minutes, SHS was down 0-4 to Union after 2 aces, 1 hitting error and 1 blocking error by the Hilltoppers. Coach Martins called a quick time-out to settle the troops but another kill by Union saw Summit staring at a 0-5 hole. That 5 point deficit remained fairly static as the Hilltoppers got their footing and began to play fairly evenly with the Farmers. Summit had cut the lead down to 3 at 13-16 after a Union service error but aquick attack out of the middle and another ace seemed to kill any chance the Hilltoppers had for a comeback. But the team has shown a steely resolve in the face of adversity and has continued to fight through difficult situations. Summit went on a 6-3 run that was punctuated by a Camille Della Piazza ace to knot the score at 19. Despite a Union block giving the Farmers a 19-20 lead, Katie McPherson followed up with a kill to square the set up again.
But then the mistakes came. SHS committed 2 attacking errors and 1 service error that allowed Union the room it needed to close out the set 21-25 after a 5-1 run.
Summit managed only 5 kills (McPherson 3), had 1 team block and 3 aces (2 McDonnell) for 9 total points. Union got 17 points, 6 of them on aces, that proved to be a factor at the end of the set.
The Hilltoppers were on the ropes again early at the onset of set 2. The Farmers opened up a 2-7 lead behind their serving that resulted in poor offensive options for the Hilltoppers. But similar to set 1, Summit fought back to within 3 at 6-9 after a Farmer serving error. Unfortunately, this time, Union would not relent in its serving pressure and the Farmers went on an 8-1 run fueled by 2 aces and 2 kills by UH to get the lead up to 7-17. Carmel Barsh gve Summit a brief glimmer of hope with a timely block but Union got right back on offense, generating another 7-2 run to close out the set and match.
Summit managed only 2 kills and 1 ace in the set, a major reason the team could not sustain any momentum.
That was only SHS's 2nd loss at Summit (4W-2L).
JV Squad was trying to push their record setting start of the season forward as the team took on Union in a rematch of the young Hilltopper's first match. Somebody forgot to tell Union that they were supposed to give up.
Union had a 14-4 lead after only 3 rotations as the Hilltoppers could not get their serve receive in sync. The fate of the first set was set but the squad kept fighting and actually ended the set on a 12-11 run that, despite the loss by a 16-25 score, gave SHS hope that they hadn't yet hit their stride.
Summit flipped the script in set 2 and SHS got out really well in the set and held a 15-9 lead at the midway point and never relinquished it, closing out the set 25-18 behind the serving and the defensive efforts of the team.
The deciding set was a close affair throughout until rotation 7 when Cassandra Hrehorovich ripped off 2 aces and 4 service points to get the team a 16-11 lead. Annabella Yorio continued her offensive production with a match leading 4 kills in set 3 that propelled Summit to a come-from-behind 25-16 win.
Yorio led all front row players with 7 kills. Ava Calabrese anchored a solid team defense with 4 digs and Abby Doyle led all players with 9 digs and 8 assists while also scoring with 4 aces.
The team will look to go undefeated before county seeding for JV Championships against Rahway on Thursday.
Sunday, October 1, 2017
HILLTOPPER VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS V. OAK KNOLL AND ROSELLE PARK
ROSELLE PARK
http://www.hudl.com/video/2/287534/59d0f4db32ddbb0ab05e7f23
OAK KNOLL
http://www.hudl.com/video/2/287534/59d057e0c11b450b7818454d
http://www.hudl.com/video/2/287534/59d0f4db32ddbb0ab05e7f23
OAK KNOLL
http://www.hudl.com/video/2/287534/59d057e0c11b450b7818454d
HEAL THE CHILDREN TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS!
Summit traveled to Rahway to participate in the 13th Annual Heal the Children tournament this past Saturday. The squad has entered this tournament annually in recent history and has used it as a training opportunity and a measuring stick of performance against good competition near the midpoint of the season. In 2014, the squad got to the finals of the Bronze Bracket despite missing starters due to a standardized testing day conflict. 2015 was the year the team made the Silver Bracket but lost in the semis. This however had been the furthest a SHS squad had gotten in the tourney. In 2016, the squad played exceptionally well but failed to win enough matches and did not make any of the playoff brackets.
The 2017 tournament will hopefully prove to be a sign of things to come as the Maroon and White finished the round robin phase with a 4W-2L record and a point differential of +20 which was good enough to give the Hilltoppers the #1 seed in the Gold Bracket.
Round Robin
Match 1 - Opponent: Scotch Plains-Fanwood
25-16 and 25-20 (2W-0L)
Summit made it 4 sets in a row versus SPF in 2017 with 2 very solid set wins.
Match 2 - Opponent: Rahway
23-25 and 25-16 (1W-1L)
6 hitting errors derailed an otherwise good set 1 performance but eliminating those gave SHS an easy 2nd set victory
Match 3 - Opponent: Bishop Ahr
21-25 and 25-22 (1W-1L)
Summit needed a split versus the #1 Divisional Seed and then a favorable point differential to secure a Gold Bracket spot. SHS did not disappoint despite a 21-25 loss in set 1. Key errors that have plagued the squad late in sets came back again but the team fixed those errors in set 2 as the serve attack picked up pace and helped the Maroon and White to a 25-22 victory.
Summit, Bishop Ahr and Rahway were all tied with 4W-2L record after round robin play but the Hilltoppers and Bishop Ahr took the Gold Bracket spots on point differential. Summit was seeded 1 and would face off against the #2 in the other division, Oak Knoll, in a classic cross-town match-up.
In the other semi-final, Piscataway, the other #1 seed, would face off versus Bishop-Ahr.
Semi-Finals: SUMMIT 25 - OAK KNOLL 21
Erasing the memories of 2 leads the team let slip away on Thursday versus the Royals, Summit got key kills and serves from its players to pull away late in the set and hold off a late Oak Knoll charge for a big win versus their city rival.
In the other semi-final, Piscataway took control midway through the set and dispatched of Bishop Ahr to set up a final between the two #1 seeds.
Finals: SUMMIT 29 - PISCATAWAY 27
SHS could not have asked for a better start to the finals of the Gold Bracket. The team dominated Piscataway in the early going and had a 16-7 lead past the midpoint in the match. The lead had dwindled to 19-15 after numerous key errors by the Maroon and White. After the squad exchanged a few points to get the lead to 22-17, Piscataway ran off 6 consecutive points to take a 23-22 lead. Summit tied it at 23 but a service error gave Piscataway, amazingly, a match point. Summit got a gift on a Piscataway service error and the game was again tied at 24. Summit got a serve in but the Piscataway offense had a side-out that gave them their second match point. Summit got a perfect reception by Williamson that allowed Summit to keep the ball in play and force a Piscataway offensive error to knot the score at 25. Feeling the nerves and stress of the situation, both teams, unbelievably, traded service errors and SHS had avoided the 2nd match point but now faced their 3rd. This time, a key kill by the SHS offense fought off another Piscataway match point. Tied at 26, Piscataway got another key kill to get their 4th match point which they squandered with another error, this time from the outside as the Hilltopper defense was not giving Piscataway much to target. That error put Williamson on the line whose serving pressure yielded a point for Summit's first match point at 28-27 and 1 serve later, the Hilltoppers had completed the unlikely and unbelievable 29-27 win.
The 2017 tournament will hopefully prove to be a sign of things to come as the Maroon and White finished the round robin phase with a 4W-2L record and a point differential of +20 which was good enough to give the Hilltoppers the #1 seed in the Gold Bracket.
Round Robin
Match 1 - Opponent: Scotch Plains-Fanwood
25-16 and 25-20 (2W-0L)
Summit made it 4 sets in a row versus SPF in 2017 with 2 very solid set wins.
Match 2 - Opponent: Rahway
23-25 and 25-16 (1W-1L)
6 hitting errors derailed an otherwise good set 1 performance but eliminating those gave SHS an easy 2nd set victory
Match 3 - Opponent: Bishop Ahr
21-25 and 25-22 (1W-1L)
Summit needed a split versus the #1 Divisional Seed and then a favorable point differential to secure a Gold Bracket spot. SHS did not disappoint despite a 21-25 loss in set 1. Key errors that have plagued the squad late in sets came back again but the team fixed those errors in set 2 as the serve attack picked up pace and helped the Maroon and White to a 25-22 victory.
Summit, Bishop Ahr and Rahway were all tied with 4W-2L record after round robin play but the Hilltoppers and Bishop Ahr took the Gold Bracket spots on point differential. Summit was seeded 1 and would face off against the #2 in the other division, Oak Knoll, in a classic cross-town match-up.
In the other semi-final, Piscataway, the other #1 seed, would face off versus Bishop-Ahr.
Semi-Finals: SUMMIT 25 - OAK KNOLL 21
Erasing the memories of 2 leads the team let slip away on Thursday versus the Royals, Summit got key kills and serves from its players to pull away late in the set and hold off a late Oak Knoll charge for a big win versus their city rival.
In the other semi-final, Piscataway took control midway through the set and dispatched of Bishop Ahr to set up a final between the two #1 seeds.
Finals: SUMMIT 29 - PISCATAWAY 27
SHS could not have asked for a better start to the finals of the Gold Bracket. The team dominated Piscataway in the early going and had a 16-7 lead past the midpoint in the match. The lead had dwindled to 19-15 after numerous key errors by the Maroon and White. After the squad exchanged a few points to get the lead to 22-17, Piscataway ran off 6 consecutive points to take a 23-22 lead. Summit tied it at 23 but a service error gave Piscataway, amazingly, a match point. Summit got a gift on a Piscataway service error and the game was again tied at 24. Summit got a serve in but the Piscataway offense had a side-out that gave them their second match point. Summit got a perfect reception by Williamson that allowed Summit to keep the ball in play and force a Piscataway offensive error to knot the score at 25. Feeling the nerves and stress of the situation, both teams, unbelievably, traded service errors and SHS had avoided the 2nd match point but now faced their 3rd. This time, a key kill by the SHS offense fought off another Piscataway match point. Tied at 26, Piscataway got another key kill to get their 4th match point which they squandered with another error, this time from the outside as the Hilltopper defense was not giving Piscataway much to target. That error put Williamson on the line whose serving pressure yielded a point for Summit's first match point at 28-27 and 1 serve later, the Hilltoppers had completed the unlikely and unbelievable 29-27 win.
HILLTOPPERS GET 4TH WIN V. ROSELLE PARK; JV IN NAIL BITER GET 9TH VICTORY
Summit entered the match versus the Roselle Park Panthers knowing that the match was a must win if the team was to have a realistic shot at qualifying for states in late October. The Panthers and Hilltoppers had 2 highly competitive matches last year with the teams splitting the games, one a SHS regular season loss at Roselle Park by a 2-1 score and the other a first round win by SHS at Roselle Park by a 2-0 result. The squad has been outstanding at home so far with a 3W-1L record and that dominance at home continued with a 25-17, 25-12 win over the Panthers to earn their 4th victory of the season.
SHS had all three phases of their game going to earn the win with their serving % getting to 91.8%, their offense scoring on 19 balls (.180 hitting efficiency and a .311 kill %) and their defense digging up 24 balls, yielding only 1 ace for the match and getting 2 total blocks.
Micaela Nardino was an offensive force in the match, hitting for 5 kills with a .500 kill % and a .400 efficiency. Alisha McDonnell, Ava Williamson and Taylor Thompson combined for 30 of the team's 49 service attempts and hit for 3 of the 4 team aces to pace the serving attack. Nardino, Carmel Barsh and Olivia Skrobala had a block party, tallying 4 individual blocks. McDonnell, Williamson and Thompson were all over the court defensively as well, digging up 15 of the 24 team digs for the match. In all phases of the game, the Hilltoppers won the battle and came away with a dominant victory.
The squad will play tomorrow in the Heal the Children Tournament at the Rahway Rec Center. Summit is ranked 2 in the division they will play in tomorrow (#1 Bishop Ahr, #2 SHS, #3 Rahway, #4 Scotch Plains-Fanwood). The other division is #1 Benedictine Academy, #2 Oak Knoll, #3 Piscataway, #4 Wardlaw-Hardridge. Top 2 in both divisions in round robin play will move to playoffs in Gold Bracket, bottom 2 will be in Silver Bracket.
JV OVERCOMES PANTHERS IN NAIL BITER FOR 9TH CONSECUTIVE WIN
The Hilltoppers used their usual formula of a consistent, powerful serving attack and a size advantage out of the front row to get kills to power themselves to a 25-9 first set win. The match looked like it was going to be a typical one for the young squad but the 2nd set produced a much different story as the Panthers of Roselle Park staved off the Hilltopper serving attack while producing pressure of their own to soundly defeat the Maroon and White 25-12. The pressure was squarely on SHS after having such a dominant first set win but the young squad stuck to what it does best and the eventual serving pressure and offensive attack slowly wore down the Roselle Park squad in the 3rd set and the Hilltoppers took the match 15-10 in the deciding set.
Kasey Walsh (3), Abby Doyle (4) and Cassandra Hrehorovich (3) led the serving attack with 10 of the team's 14 aces, 5 of them in the final set. Annabella Yorio, Isabel Berkeley and Sarah Maldonado were the only multi-kill scorers on the team, getting a combined 7 kills out of the team's 11. Gabby Guidetti was outstanding in defense, digging up a team leading 5 balls to contribute to the Hilltopper win.
The team will go for their unbelievable 10th win in a row next Tuesday versus their toughest opponent of the season thus far, the Union farmers.
VARSITY HIGHLIGHT PACKAGE WILL BE IN ANOTHER POST.
SHS had all three phases of their game going to earn the win with their serving % getting to 91.8%, their offense scoring on 19 balls (.180 hitting efficiency and a .311 kill %) and their defense digging up 24 balls, yielding only 1 ace for the match and getting 2 total blocks.
Micaela Nardino was an offensive force in the match, hitting for 5 kills with a .500 kill % and a .400 efficiency. Alisha McDonnell, Ava Williamson and Taylor Thompson combined for 30 of the team's 49 service attempts and hit for 3 of the 4 team aces to pace the serving attack. Nardino, Carmel Barsh and Olivia Skrobala had a block party, tallying 4 individual blocks. McDonnell, Williamson and Thompson were all over the court defensively as well, digging up 15 of the 24 team digs for the match. In all phases of the game, the Hilltoppers won the battle and came away with a dominant victory.
The squad will play tomorrow in the Heal the Children Tournament at the Rahway Rec Center. Summit is ranked 2 in the division they will play in tomorrow (#1 Bishop Ahr, #2 SHS, #3 Rahway, #4 Scotch Plains-Fanwood). The other division is #1 Benedictine Academy, #2 Oak Knoll, #3 Piscataway, #4 Wardlaw-Hardridge. Top 2 in both divisions in round robin play will move to playoffs in Gold Bracket, bottom 2 will be in Silver Bracket.
JV OVERCOMES PANTHERS IN NAIL BITER FOR 9TH CONSECUTIVE WIN
The Hilltoppers used their usual formula of a consistent, powerful serving attack and a size advantage out of the front row to get kills to power themselves to a 25-9 first set win. The match looked like it was going to be a typical one for the young squad but the 2nd set produced a much different story as the Panthers of Roselle Park staved off the Hilltopper serving attack while producing pressure of their own to soundly defeat the Maroon and White 25-12. The pressure was squarely on SHS after having such a dominant first set win but the young squad stuck to what it does best and the eventual serving pressure and offensive attack slowly wore down the Roselle Park squad in the 3rd set and the Hilltoppers took the match 15-10 in the deciding set.
Kasey Walsh (3), Abby Doyle (4) and Cassandra Hrehorovich (3) led the serving attack with 10 of the team's 14 aces, 5 of them in the final set. Annabella Yorio, Isabel Berkeley and Sarah Maldonado were the only multi-kill scorers on the team, getting a combined 7 kills out of the team's 11. Gabby Guidetti was outstanding in defense, digging up a team leading 5 balls to contribute to the Hilltopper win.
The team will go for their unbelievable 10th win in a row next Tuesday versus their toughest opponent of the season thus far, the Union farmers.
VARSITY HIGHLIGHT PACKAGE WILL BE IN ANOTHER POST.
ROYALS SQUEEZE BY HILLTOPPERS; JV ROLLS TO 8W-0L
Summit split last year's matchups with Oak Knoll, winning away by a 2-1 score in a tightly contested matchup. SHS expected more of the same and it played out as expected with both sets decided late in a 22-25 and 21-25 loss to the Royals of Oak Knoll.
In a match that the Maroon and White only managed 12 kills, the name of the game was defense and serve reception and the team was outstanding on that front, thwarting 41 Royal attacks led by the efforts of Ava Williamson who dug up 14 balls and Alisha McDonnell who added 12. The team only gave up 2 aces in the entire match (38 total attempts) with Williamson and Taylor Thompson passing safely a combined 23 of 24 reception attempts.
From an offensive standpoint, the team hit for for only a .016 hitting efficiency and that lack of production cost the Hilltoppers late in each set as the squad couldn't find the hits that would've pushed them to the set wins. Kate McPherson was the bright spot on offense, hitting for 3 kills on 8 attempts with 0 errors (.375 hit and kill %) in the 1 set she played in.
Summit held a 20-19 lead after a Royal error in set 1 but an Oak Knoll kill and a SHS free ball error gave the Royals a quick 21-20 lead. After a long rally that saw Williamson, McDonnell, Tessa Pulgar and Katie Samay all have crucial digs on defense, the team finally forced a hitting error out of Oak Knoll and knotted things up at 21. A Thompson kill out of the back row had Summit in control at 22-21 but an untimely service error turned the momentum to the Blue and White and the team couldn't recover, getting blocked on the subsequent play, dig error on the next and closing out the set allowing an Oak Knoll ace.
The Hilltoppers started off like a rocket in set 2, jumping out to a 6-1 lead behind the serving of McDonnell who once again set the tone for the team with 13/13 serving performance (1 ace) in the match. Summit held that lead through 4 rotations (11-6) but by the end of rotation 6 the team found itself down 17-13, the 11-2 run by Oak Knoll stopped only by a Micaela Nardino block that got the team back to McDonnell serving. Despite numerous attack attempts, the Hilltoppers could not convert or committed unforced hitting errors that led to Oak Knoll taking a seemingly unsurmountable lead at 20-14. McPherson stepped up then with 2 kills in a row and teamed up with Lauren Trindell for a stuff block to cut that lead down to 3 at 20-17 in a matter of seconds. Momentum seemed to have shifted again but the Royals responded with a kill of their own to regain momentum at 21-17. The teams traded a couple of points at this juncture which had the Maroon and White against the ropes at 23-19 but the squad kept fighting for points scoring on a Carmel Barsh kill. Despite a service error by the Royals, the Blue and White did what the Hilltoppers could not and hit for 2 kills late to seal the deal at 25-21.
With a 3W-5L record, the squad has to win versus Roselle Park to have a chance to make states in October.
JV ROLLS TO 8th WIN IN A ROW!
Relying on its superior service game, the JV Squad dominated the Royals in a 2-0 win that saw Summit hit for 12 aces in the match in route to a 25-16, 25-13 victory. Ava Calabrese was again a catalyst from the service line, hitting for a team leading 4 aces, joined by the #2 ace server Gabbie Guidetti who hit for 3 aces of her own. The offense was effective, contributing 11 kills led by the 3 put-aways by Annabella Yorio. The setter trio of Abby Doyle, Kyra Guenther and Daniela Esposito managed the offense effectively and Doyle was again a point scoring factor, assisting in 5 kills, hitting for 2 aces and chipping in a kill of her own.
The squad will look to continue its roll against Roselle Park, looking for 9 in a row.
VARSITY HIGHLIGHTS PACKAGE IN LATER POST
In a match that the Maroon and White only managed 12 kills, the name of the game was defense and serve reception and the team was outstanding on that front, thwarting 41 Royal attacks led by the efforts of Ava Williamson who dug up 14 balls and Alisha McDonnell who added 12. The team only gave up 2 aces in the entire match (38 total attempts) with Williamson and Taylor Thompson passing safely a combined 23 of 24 reception attempts.
From an offensive standpoint, the team hit for for only a .016 hitting efficiency and that lack of production cost the Hilltoppers late in each set as the squad couldn't find the hits that would've pushed them to the set wins. Kate McPherson was the bright spot on offense, hitting for 3 kills on 8 attempts with 0 errors (.375 hit and kill %) in the 1 set she played in.
Summit held a 20-19 lead after a Royal error in set 1 but an Oak Knoll kill and a SHS free ball error gave the Royals a quick 21-20 lead. After a long rally that saw Williamson, McDonnell, Tessa Pulgar and Katie Samay all have crucial digs on defense, the team finally forced a hitting error out of Oak Knoll and knotted things up at 21. A Thompson kill out of the back row had Summit in control at 22-21 but an untimely service error turned the momentum to the Blue and White and the team couldn't recover, getting blocked on the subsequent play, dig error on the next and closing out the set allowing an Oak Knoll ace.
The Hilltoppers started off like a rocket in set 2, jumping out to a 6-1 lead behind the serving of McDonnell who once again set the tone for the team with 13/13 serving performance (1 ace) in the match. Summit held that lead through 4 rotations (11-6) but by the end of rotation 6 the team found itself down 17-13, the 11-2 run by Oak Knoll stopped only by a Micaela Nardino block that got the team back to McDonnell serving. Despite numerous attack attempts, the Hilltoppers could not convert or committed unforced hitting errors that led to Oak Knoll taking a seemingly unsurmountable lead at 20-14. McPherson stepped up then with 2 kills in a row and teamed up with Lauren Trindell for a stuff block to cut that lead down to 3 at 20-17 in a matter of seconds. Momentum seemed to have shifted again but the Royals responded with a kill of their own to regain momentum at 21-17. The teams traded a couple of points at this juncture which had the Maroon and White against the ropes at 23-19 but the squad kept fighting for points scoring on a Carmel Barsh kill. Despite a service error by the Royals, the Blue and White did what the Hilltoppers could not and hit for 2 kills late to seal the deal at 25-21.
With a 3W-5L record, the squad has to win versus Roselle Park to have a chance to make states in October.
JV ROLLS TO 8th WIN IN A ROW!
Relying on its superior service game, the JV Squad dominated the Royals in a 2-0 win that saw Summit hit for 12 aces in the match in route to a 25-16, 25-13 victory. Ava Calabrese was again a catalyst from the service line, hitting for a team leading 4 aces, joined by the #2 ace server Gabbie Guidetti who hit for 3 aces of her own. The offense was effective, contributing 11 kills led by the 3 put-aways by Annabella Yorio. The setter trio of Abby Doyle, Kyra Guenther and Daniela Esposito managed the offense effectively and Doyle was again a point scoring factor, assisting in 5 kills, hitting for 2 aces and chipping in a kill of her own.
The squad will look to continue its roll against Roselle Park, looking for 9 in a row.
VARSITY HIGHLIGHTS PACKAGE IN LATER POST
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