The Hilltoppers traveled to Plainfield to take on the Cardinals but the squad was without the services of OH/DS Katie Samay, L Ava Williamson, DS Kiera Stocks and lost the other DS Cheryl Liu at game time, all with various illnesses. This forced SHS to man the back line with a skeleton crew of defensive specialists (Tessa Pulgar and Camille Della Piazza) and force some front row players to take on serve receive and defensive responsabilities. Under the stress of playing with a completely new lineup, the team was also welcoming back Georgia Inggs who was playing in her first game since early September due to a hand fracture. The character of this team was in full display as the communication and support among the young ladies overcame all the obstacles in this game to get them their 6th win of the season.
Coach Martins knew that the team had to rely on its serving production and could not yield errors on offense as the team defense was going to be less than reliable. The team stuck to the game plan and delivered a 6 aces and 9 kills in set 1, but more importantly, the team served at an 88% clip with an ace % of 24% and scored 9 kills with a 38% kill % and a hitting efficiency of .208. Alisha McDonnell set the tone early and led the serving barrage with 4 aces with an 11/11 serving performance and Taylor Thompson led the squad with 4 kills and a .250 hitting efficiency (.500 kill %) to lead Summit to a 25-14 set 1 win.
The squad jumped out to a 13-5 lead after 6 rotations but a Cardinal 7-1 run shaved the lead down to 2 and the Hilltoppers had to rely on a Plainfield service error to turn the tide as Captain McDonnell then went on a service run that included 4 consecutive aces to blow the game open and give SHS a 21-12 lead that the Cardinals could not overcome as the Hilltoppers took set 1 25-14.
Set 2 was a much more stressful affair as the 25-21 eventual set and match score reflected. Sylvie Goudreau was the catalyst for the win, hitting for 4 of the 10 team kills in the set with a .375 efficiency and a .500 kill %.
Summit had taken hold of the set after 6 rotations at 12-8 but Plainfield had cut the lead down to 3 at 17-14 but could not get any closer as both teams basically traded points the rest of the way, SHS not being able to put the Cardinals away and Plainfield fighting all the way to the last point.
The Maroon and White will look to earn its 7th win versus Cranford on Senior Night as the team will attempt to beat Cranford for the first time in 6 years and will try to avenge a tight 3 set loss a week ago.
JV FALTERS VS. THE CARDINALS
After an easy victory over the Cardinals early in the season, the Hilltoppers were looking to duplicate the effort relying on its service and timely hitting. However, the team was only able to generate 3 aces for the match that featured the inaugural match for the members of the Practice Squad who fought hard versus the Cardinals, hit for 2 of the team's total 3 aces and lost a heartbreaker 26-24. The
JV Hilltoppers took over in set 2 but failed to capitalize on its serving opportunities, missing 8 serves in the set while only hitting for 1 ace, and committing numerous passing and hitting gaffes that allowed the Cardinals to close the set late and take the match 25-23.
Annabella Yorio led the team with 4 kills and Abby Doyle and Megan Tarashuk combined for 7 digs but the entire team was not consistent enough and suffered its 6th loss of the season. The squad will look to turn around its fortunes versus Cranford, a team they lost to 2-0 about a week ago. SHS has yet to defeat Cranford at the JV level in its history.
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