Summit got Casey Nardino back for the match versus Rahway and the team responded with their best performance of the season, beating Rahway 25-6, 25-19 to earn their 2nd victory of the season. JV cruised past the Indians with a straight game sweep of 25-18, 25-16.
Varsity had just come off one of their worst matches versus Union earlier in the week, having played without Casey Nardino and without Sammy Auerbach due to illness. Getting Nardino back gave the team a boost and with contributions from the rest of the squad, Summit looked like the dominant team they expected to be all season. Summit hit for 19 kills and a dominant .292 hitting efficiency while also ripping 11 aces and adding 2 blocks for a season high 32 points in a 2 game match.
In game 1, SHS started off fast and never took their foot off the gas in a 25-6 victory. Val Guzman ran off 7 consecutive service points (3 aces) in rotation 2 and the team jumped out to a 10-1 lead. Casey Nardino took over in the next rotation and proceeded to rip off 6 service points (3 aces) and by the time she was done serving, Summit held a 17-2 lead. The Hilltoppers had the game wrapped up in 6 rotations as Jocelyn Mendez served it out in rotation 6. The Maroon and White hit for .300 with 8 kills led by Guzman with 3 and Katie Samay with 4. The team also dominated from the service line with 9 aces in the game led by Guzman and Nardino who hit for 3 apiece.
Game 2 was a much tighter affair and the Hilltoppers held a slim 10-8 lead after 6 rotations although they trailed early 5-2 before Samay stepped up with 3 service points to push SHS to the lead at 9-6. Two rotations later, Gabby Mejia extended the lead to 14-8 with 3 key service points and the team never looked back. Grace Galuppo pretty much shut the door on any Rahway comeback hopes with a an ace and 2 service points as the squad extended the lead to 22-13. The Indians got as close as 24-19 but a well placed Jocelyn Mendez serve led to an India error that ended the match.
Summit nailed 11 kills while hitting .286 to pace their scoring. Guzman led the squad with 4 kills in the set and Nardino chipped in 3 kills. Taylor Thompson and Grace Galuppo combined for 2 aces and a perfect 6/6 from the service line. Lauren Trindell and Casey Nardino had 1 block apiece and were a factor on defense the entire match.
Summit gave up only 2 aces the entire match and passed at a 2.00 with Guzman passing at a 2.28 and Jocelyn Mendez at a near perfect 2.75. Summit dug up 28 balls led by Guzman´s 12 who also led the team with 7 kills followed by Nardino´s 6 kills.
The team will face off against Linden on Friday in another heated conference battle.
JV SERVING ATTACK KEY TO 25-18, 25-16 VICTORY OVER RAHWAY
The JV Squad was looking to avenge a road loss to the Rahway team earlier in September and the squad came through with flying colors as the team got 11 aces and 14 kills for the match to outgun the Indians on this afternoon.
Game 1 was the close at 9-8 SHS through 5 rotations but Blakely McCann stepped up to the service line and pounded out 8 service points (2 aces) to blow the game open at 18-9. Rahway made a comeback and closed to within 4 at 18-14 but a kill by Katie McPhearson stopped the momentum and gave Summit the room it needed to regain control of the game. The Hilltoppers played even the rest of the way and Olivia Elko finished the game off with 2 service points (1 ace) to give SHS the win at 25-18.
Lharyssa Viana and Olivia Skrobala led the team with a combined 9 digs and 5 different players had at least 1 kill on the offeensive side of the ball. The spotlight was, however, on Cheryl Liu who dominated from the service line as she hit for 4 aces out of 5 attempts to set the tone for the squad.
Game 2 was more of the same as both teams were knotted at 10 through 6 rotations when Elko got to the service line and proceeded to nail 5 aces out of 6 service attempts to blow the game open at 16-10. Summit never looked back and outscored Rahway 9-6 the rest of the way to close out the game and match.
Six different players had at least 1 kill and Elko led the way with 3 kills and was the top scorer in the game with 8 points (5 aces-3 kills). Micaela Nardino and Camille Della Piazza combined for 7 assists and Della Piazza combined with Carmel Barsh for a key block in the game.
JV improves to 7W-3L on the year and has its sights set on County Tournament and breaking last year´s 15W mark and best winning %.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
SHORT-HANDED SUMMIT FADED LATE VS THE FARMERS; JV IMPROVES TO 6W-3L
Summit had high hopes for the week coming off another good Saturday tournament performance this past weekend but this time, the team´s undoing came at the hand of an illness. Summit lost both Sammy Auerbach (DS/SS) and starting MB Casey Nardino to illness for this match (future matches day-to-day) and despite the team´s best efforts, the offense just was not there on a consistent basis. The Hilltoppers fell 25-17 and 25-15 in very different ways in each game but the constant theme was the lack of offensive production.
Summit held the fort in game 1 until the last third of the game when the Maroon and White trailed only 13-16. In rotation 11, Summit allowed a 3-0 run that extended Union´s lead to 20-13 and SHS could only cut it back to 15-20 before the next loss of serve. That was as close as the Hilltoppers would get as the Farmers outscored SHS 5-2 to close out the game.
Val Guzman and Lauren Trindell got 2 kills apiece to account for the entire offense and Summit's serving, usually a source of strength, yielded only 1 ace to 4 errors. The team passed at an effective rate (1.95) with Jocelyn Mendez leading the way with a 2.25 rating handling almost 50% of the serves sent over the net. Mendez and Guzman also led the team in the game with 5 digs apiece and team dug up 17 balls in the game.
In game 2, the suspense was over within 6 rotations but the team seemed to be in a good place after 3 rotations, up 6-3 and looking like a much more inspired squad. However, a Union kill stopped any momentum the team had and the Farmers regained the lead 12-8 by rotation 6. After Summit could not generate anything off rotations 4, 5 and 6, Union ran off 5 straight service points to take a commanding 18-9 lead that the Farmers would not relinquish. Summit was outscored 7-6from that point on but could not muster any consistent offensive output that would threaten the Union defense.
Lauren Trindell and Katie Samay led the team with 2 kills apiece and the team hit for 2 aces (Guzman and Alisha McDonnell) while committing only 1 error. Summit passed at an amazing 2.05 led again by Mendez who tallied a 2.27, handling 11 of the 18 Union serves.
Lauren Trindell was the woman of the match for SHS in the absence of both Auerbach and Nardino as she scored 4 points with 4 kills, leading the SHS offense for the day. More impressively, Trindell hit for a .429 efficiency and was very active on defense getting a team leading 6 block touches.
The team hopes to be healthier for Rahway on Thursday at home as they search for that elusive 2nd win.
JV GETS 6TH VICTORY IN 3 GAME BATTLE
The Hilltoppers improved to 6W-3L with a 2-1 victory over the Farmers (25-21, 18-25, 25-14) . Summit turned a sloppy game 1 performance into a win despite only scoring 9 points in the game behind Olivia ElkoĊ serving that netted 4 service points and opened up the game for the Hilltoppers with an 8-3 lead. That lead was never really challenged as both teams traded points fairly evenly throughout the next 8 rotations before Summit took it 25-21.
The second game saw SHS go from an 8-8 score to trailing by 16-11 within 2 rotations (5 and 6) as the Farmers pressured the Hilltopper serve receive with each and every serve. Despite SHS cutting into the lead late behind Elko´s serving (16-18), Union outscored Summit 7-2 the rest of the way to seal game 2.
The decisive game 3 was a great display of volleyball for the fans as both teams dug and hit with aggression as neither team wanted to give in to the other. Summit found itself ahead 8-2 after Micaela Nardino ran off 4 service points and 2 rotations later, behind Elko´s serving again, SHS went on a 6-0 run that put away any doubts that the team would win as the Hilltoppers held a 16-5 lead. Summit and Union each scored 9 points apiece the rest of the way but the Farmers never threatened due to Katie McPhearson´s offense and Caitlin Thompson´s defense in key points in the game.
Nardino scored 7 points in the match all on kills and Eloko led the squad from the service line with 4 aces. Olivia Skrobala notched 4 points as well with 3 kills and 1 block and tallied 6 digs and 5 assists. McPhearson was a menace in the front row as she hit for 7 kills (4 in the 3rd game) to lead the team offensively. Caitlin Thompson was the key defensive performer in game 3 as she dug up 5 balls in the game to lead her team and was perfect on serve receive.
The team hopes to avenge an earlier loss to Rahway on Thursday.
Summit held the fort in game 1 until the last third of the game when the Maroon and White trailed only 13-16. In rotation 11, Summit allowed a 3-0 run that extended Union´s lead to 20-13 and SHS could only cut it back to 15-20 before the next loss of serve. That was as close as the Hilltoppers would get as the Farmers outscored SHS 5-2 to close out the game.
Val Guzman and Lauren Trindell got 2 kills apiece to account for the entire offense and Summit's serving, usually a source of strength, yielded only 1 ace to 4 errors. The team passed at an effective rate (1.95) with Jocelyn Mendez leading the way with a 2.25 rating handling almost 50% of the serves sent over the net. Mendez and Guzman also led the team in the game with 5 digs apiece and team dug up 17 balls in the game.
In game 2, the suspense was over within 6 rotations but the team seemed to be in a good place after 3 rotations, up 6-3 and looking like a much more inspired squad. However, a Union kill stopped any momentum the team had and the Farmers regained the lead 12-8 by rotation 6. After Summit could not generate anything off rotations 4, 5 and 6, Union ran off 5 straight service points to take a commanding 18-9 lead that the Farmers would not relinquish. Summit was outscored 7-6from that point on but could not muster any consistent offensive output that would threaten the Union defense.
Lauren Trindell and Katie Samay led the team with 2 kills apiece and the team hit for 2 aces (Guzman and Alisha McDonnell) while committing only 1 error. Summit passed at an amazing 2.05 led again by Mendez who tallied a 2.27, handling 11 of the 18 Union serves.
Lauren Trindell was the woman of the match for SHS in the absence of both Auerbach and Nardino as she scored 4 points with 4 kills, leading the SHS offense for the day. More impressively, Trindell hit for a .429 efficiency and was very active on defense getting a team leading 6 block touches.
The team hopes to be healthier for Rahway on Thursday at home as they search for that elusive 2nd win.
JV GETS 6TH VICTORY IN 3 GAME BATTLE
The Hilltoppers improved to 6W-3L with a 2-1 victory over the Farmers (25-21, 18-25, 25-14) . Summit turned a sloppy game 1 performance into a win despite only scoring 9 points in the game behind Olivia ElkoĊ serving that netted 4 service points and opened up the game for the Hilltoppers with an 8-3 lead. That lead was never really challenged as both teams traded points fairly evenly throughout the next 8 rotations before Summit took it 25-21.
The second game saw SHS go from an 8-8 score to trailing by 16-11 within 2 rotations (5 and 6) as the Farmers pressured the Hilltopper serve receive with each and every serve. Despite SHS cutting into the lead late behind Elko´s serving (16-18), Union outscored Summit 7-2 the rest of the way to seal game 2.
The decisive game 3 was a great display of volleyball for the fans as both teams dug and hit with aggression as neither team wanted to give in to the other. Summit found itself ahead 8-2 after Micaela Nardino ran off 4 service points and 2 rotations later, behind Elko´s serving again, SHS went on a 6-0 run that put away any doubts that the team would win as the Hilltoppers held a 16-5 lead. Summit and Union each scored 9 points apiece the rest of the way but the Farmers never threatened due to Katie McPhearson´s offense and Caitlin Thompson´s defense in key points in the game.
Nardino scored 7 points in the match all on kills and Eloko led the squad from the service line with 4 aces. Olivia Skrobala notched 4 points as well with 3 kills and 1 block and tallied 6 digs and 5 assists. McPhearson was a menace in the front row as she hit for 7 kills (4 in the 3rd game) to lead the team offensively. Caitlin Thompson was the key defensive performer in game 3 as she dug up 5 balls in the game to lead her team and was perfect on serve receive.
The team hopes to avenge an earlier loss to Rahway on Thursday.
Sunday, September 25, 2016
MORRISTOWN-BEARD FALL CLASSIC TOURNAMENT REVEALS PRESENT AND FUTURE STARS
The Lady Hilltoppers traveled to nearby Morristown to participate in the Morristown-Beard Fall Classic. The team featured 2 different lineup versus 3 different teams in their pool (Morris Tech, North 13th Tech and Piscataway).
Summit opened with Piscataway and split 25-21 and 17-25. The next matchup was versus North 13th Tech and SHS lost both games 14-25 and 16-25. Summit closed out pool play with Morris Tech and the Maroon and White split with Morris Tech 25-21, 21-24.
The team was ranked 10th after pool play and played Lacordaire in the first round. SHS started off slow and lost the first game 25-20 but came back in the 2nd game and won 25-18. Summit moved on to face Oak Knoll in the second round due to point differential.
Oak Knoll had just beaten SHS in 3 games in comeback fashion after the Hilltoppers looked to have the 3rd game in hand at 22-19. Oak Knoll came in as a top 5 seed in the tourney and heavy favorites. Summit did not have top OH sub Madison Young due to illness and starting Setter Gabby Mejia was away at a family function but the team did not miss a beat with backup Setter Alisha McDonnell running the show.
Summit took control early and did not Oak Knoll get control at any point in the single game elimination match. SHS led 10-6 and extended the lead to 15-11 after Oak Knoll had closed to within 1. The Royals made another run to get close to the Lady Hilltoppers at 16-17 but yet again the Maroon and White responded with a 4-1 run to take a commanding 21-17 lead. The Royals called a time out and the Hilltoppers could sense the victory.
SHS saw its lead evaporate in a matter of seconds and Coach Martins called a time-out to settle the squad. Summit came out of the time-out with a sense of purpose and won 2 of the next 3 points to take a 23-21 lead. With top Middle Blocker Casey Nardino and top OH Val Guzman in the front row at this point, the Hilltoppers should have been very confident but yet nervous errors cost the team at this critical junction as they have all season long. The Royals closed out a 4-0 run with an ace to win the match 25-23 as SHS could not muster the kills that mattered.
STARS OF THE TOURNAMENT:
Alisha McDonnell took over the reigns of the offense and had an outstanding day. McDonnell had a 2 kill 3 ace day to contribute offensively but had 27 assists (3.0/game) to lead the Hilltoppers in Mejia's absence. With Mejia graduating this year, McDonnell's role and performance becomes more vital to the team's success in 2017.
Casey Nardino led again all scorers with 24 points with 11 kills, a team leading 6 aces and was a blocking machine with 7 blocks on the day.
Val Guzman was the offensive star for the Hilltoppers with 15 kills to lead the team and tied for 2nd with 5 aces. Guzman was also 2nd on the team with 17 digs and yielded only 2 aces during the entire tournament. Guzman scored 20 points total, 2nd on the team.
Grace Galuppo was brilliant in the tournament, scoring the 3rd highest amount of points with 11 off a 6 kill, 5 ace performance. Galuppo also chipped in 4 assists and 3 digs.
Katie Samay keeps solidifying her OH status for this season and the future with performances like she had versus the Royals earlier this week (team leading 8 kills) and followed up with a 10 point performance at the MBS tournament with 6 kills and 4 aces. Samay also had 3 digs and 1 assist. With the bulk of the offense graduating this year, key performances by Samay and others this year will go a long way to setting up next year's offense.
Jocelyn Mendez, the most versatile player on the Hilltopper roster, started the season as an OH and now has moved to Libero to strengthen up the passing defense. Mendez had 1 kill and an ace but handled almost 70% of the serve receive and allowed only 2 aces. Mendez was also all over the court defensively, digging up a team leading 22 balls.
The squad faces off against conference foes Union on the road on Tuesday and host Rahway and Linden Thursday and Friday.
Summit opened with Piscataway and split 25-21 and 17-25. The next matchup was versus North 13th Tech and SHS lost both games 14-25 and 16-25. Summit closed out pool play with Morris Tech and the Maroon and White split with Morris Tech 25-21, 21-24.
The team was ranked 10th after pool play and played Lacordaire in the first round. SHS started off slow and lost the first game 25-20 but came back in the 2nd game and won 25-18. Summit moved on to face Oak Knoll in the second round due to point differential.
Oak Knoll had just beaten SHS in 3 games in comeback fashion after the Hilltoppers looked to have the 3rd game in hand at 22-19. Oak Knoll came in as a top 5 seed in the tourney and heavy favorites. Summit did not have top OH sub Madison Young due to illness and starting Setter Gabby Mejia was away at a family function but the team did not miss a beat with backup Setter Alisha McDonnell running the show.
Summit took control early and did not Oak Knoll get control at any point in the single game elimination match. SHS led 10-6 and extended the lead to 15-11 after Oak Knoll had closed to within 1. The Royals made another run to get close to the Lady Hilltoppers at 16-17 but yet again the Maroon and White responded with a 4-1 run to take a commanding 21-17 lead. The Royals called a time out and the Hilltoppers could sense the victory.
SHS saw its lead evaporate in a matter of seconds and Coach Martins called a time-out to settle the squad. Summit came out of the time-out with a sense of purpose and won 2 of the next 3 points to take a 23-21 lead. With top Middle Blocker Casey Nardino and top OH Val Guzman in the front row at this point, the Hilltoppers should have been very confident but yet nervous errors cost the team at this critical junction as they have all season long. The Royals closed out a 4-0 run with an ace to win the match 25-23 as SHS could not muster the kills that mattered.
STARS OF THE TOURNAMENT:
Alisha McDonnell took over the reigns of the offense and had an outstanding day. McDonnell had a 2 kill 3 ace day to contribute offensively but had 27 assists (3.0/game) to lead the Hilltoppers in Mejia's absence. With Mejia graduating this year, McDonnell's role and performance becomes more vital to the team's success in 2017.
Casey Nardino led again all scorers with 24 points with 11 kills, a team leading 6 aces and was a blocking machine with 7 blocks on the day.
Val Guzman was the offensive star for the Hilltoppers with 15 kills to lead the team and tied for 2nd with 5 aces. Guzman was also 2nd on the team with 17 digs and yielded only 2 aces during the entire tournament. Guzman scored 20 points total, 2nd on the team.
Grace Galuppo was brilliant in the tournament, scoring the 3rd highest amount of points with 11 off a 6 kill, 5 ace performance. Galuppo also chipped in 4 assists and 3 digs.
Katie Samay keeps solidifying her OH status for this season and the future with performances like she had versus the Royals earlier this week (team leading 8 kills) and followed up with a 10 point performance at the MBS tournament with 6 kills and 4 aces. Samay also had 3 digs and 1 assist. With the bulk of the offense graduating this year, key performances by Samay and others this year will go a long way to setting up next year's offense.
Jocelyn Mendez, the most versatile player on the Hilltopper roster, started the season as an OH and now has moved to Libero to strengthen up the passing defense. Mendez had 1 kill and an ace but handled almost 70% of the serve receive and allowed only 2 aces. Mendez was also all over the court defensively, digging up a team leading 22 balls.
The squad faces off against conference foes Union on the road on Tuesday and host Rahway and Linden Thursday and Friday.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
HILLTOPPERS NEARLY TOPPLE ROYALS - SERVICE ERRORS DOOM JV BID FOR 6th WIN
The Hilltoppers came off their first win versus the Plainfield Cardinals and were looking to start a winning streak against the conference leading and town rival Oak Knoll Royals. Despite an amazing 2nd and 3rd game performance, Summit lost in 3, 11-25, 25-22, 23-25, in a match that the Hilltoppers looked like they had in their hand in game 3 with a 20-17 lead and the serve.
Game 1 saw the Royals get out to an early lead and never really be challenged as the Hilltoppers tentative attacks were no match for the aggression of Oak Knoll's offense. The team was down 21-7 after 6 rotations and despite committing very few errors, Summit could not get closer than 25-11. SHS hit for only 3 kills, went 11/12 from the service line and had 10 digs in a lackluster offensive game.
Game 2 proved to be more of what Coach Martins was looking for as the Maroon and White tallied 8 kills, 7 aces and 1 block to pace a 25-22 game 2 victory. Summit trailed early again (6-3 and 8-4) but Casey Nardino ripped 7 service points ( 4 aces) to bring the Hilltoppers to their first lead at 11-9. But the lead as short lived however as the Royals struck for 4 points and had SHS down 13-12 after 4 rotations. After rotation 6, Oak Knoll led 18-17 as both teams were siding out pretty efficiently. After a Casey Nardino kill had Summit within 1 at 19-18, Gabby Mejia provided another classic service run that sealed the fate of Oak Knoll in game 2. Mejia went 4/4 with 1 ace to spot SHS a 22-20 lead. Oak Knoll got to within 1 at 21-22 but a Val Guzman kill gave the team its 2 point cushion at 23-21. Guzman followed up with a tough serve that caused a hitting error by the Royals and Summit was 24-21 up. Despite an Oak Knoll kill, Summit closed out the tough game 25-22 after another Nardino serve.
The scene was set for one of the biggest wins in recent history for the SHS program or another heartbreaking loss in the 2016 season. Summit and Oak Knoll were tied after rotation 3 (8-8) as both teams threw everything they had at each other in every facet of the game. After Grace Galuppo was done serving in rotation 4, SHS looked like it had a slight edge in play with an 11-9 lead. Despite a mini Royal run in rotation 5 that had the game knotted at 11 again, Katie Samay hit for 4 service points, including 2 aces, to give the Hilltoppers the momentum and the lead at 16-11. Summit had the crowd, the momentum and were applying all the pressure on Oak Knoll.
To the Royals' credit, the team did not wilt and key kills had the Royals within 1 at 17-18 by rotation 7. Val Guzman fired off an ace to get SHS a 20-17 lead after a Royal missed serve which forced Oak Knoll to call a time-out to break the Maroon and White's momentum. Summit came off the time-out poised to finish the match but a key missed serve stunted the momentum and gave the Royals some hope at 20-18. Three service points later (1 ace and 2 hitting errors later), Summit was staring at the wrong end of a 21-20 score. A Samay kill brought the team even at 21 But Oak Knoll had a side-out to rip the lead back at 22-21. SHS got a Guzman kill to tie the score at 22 and another tough serve later that led to a free ball error by the Royals seemingly turned the game on its head as the Hilltoppers had stormed back to a 23-22 lead. But that was to be the last point the team would score as SHS hit for 2 errors and allowed an ace on match point to fall to the Royals 25-23.
Summit hit for a game high 10 kills in game 3, added 5 aces in a 21/23 serving performance and had 10 digs while only giving up 2 aces. Captain Val Guzman tried to lead the team by example as she had 4 kills in the game and hit a .429 for the deciding game. Katie Samay dug up a team leading 4 balls in game 3 to keep the Hilltoppers alive and joined teammate Grace Galuppo as the team leaders with 4 service points apiece.
For the match, Guzman and Jocelyn Mendez led the way defensively with 9 and 6 digs respectively. They also received 41 of the team's 59 serve receptions and scored a 1.93 rating. Summit only gave up 4 aces for the match and had 2 blocks (Nardino and Galuppo). The team's leading scorer was KAtie Samay with 12 points off of a team leading 8 kills (.238 hitting %) and 4 aces (40% ace% and a serve % of 90%). Casey Nardino had a quiet 5 kills from the front row but ripped a team leading 6 aces (ace % 35%, serve % 88%).
The team will next compete at the Morristown-Beard Tournament on Saturday.
JV Service Miscues Result in Loss to Royals
Coming off their 5th win versus the Cardinals, Summit felt ready to take on the Royals as they continue their assault on the 15 win record set last year. Despite the win versus the Cardinals, a disturbing trend of multiple rotations missing serves was starting to emerge. Unfortunately for the Hilltoppers, not even the comeback of Bella D'Ambrosi could fix this problem on this day.
Summit missed 10 serves in route to a 25-19 loss in game 1 versus the Royals. Despite a very productive defense and offense, Summit could not gain any momentum as the team continuously missed a big serve at the wrong time. Oak Knoll had a 20-14 lead after 11 rotations and Summit got to within 3 at 21-18 by rotation 12 but the Maroon and White commited its 9th service error then to give the Royals the ball. Oak Knoll pushed Summit to the wall with 3 service points at 24-19 and Summit ended the game as it had begun, with a service error to close out game 1.
Game 2 was much of the same as both teams found themselves deadlocked at 11 with Summit producing another 3 service errors in 6 rotations. SHS cleaned up its serving though and found themselves in a 19-19 tie by rotation 11 as Kate McPhearson, Olivia Elko and Bela D'Ambrosi pounded out 7 kills combined to keep the Maroon and White's hopes alive. But another missed serve and a Royal kill gave Oak Knoll the lead at 21-19 and they never looked back as the Hilltoppers gave up an ace, committed 2 hitting errors and had a free ball error with a Royal missed serve in between to finish with a 25-20 loss.
Summit missed a combined 15 serves in the match but hit for 12 kills, 8 aces and 13 digs in the loss, all of which are season highs for a 2 game match.
Game 1 saw the Royals get out to an early lead and never really be challenged as the Hilltoppers tentative attacks were no match for the aggression of Oak Knoll's offense. The team was down 21-7 after 6 rotations and despite committing very few errors, Summit could not get closer than 25-11. SHS hit for only 3 kills, went 11/12 from the service line and had 10 digs in a lackluster offensive game.
Game 2 proved to be more of what Coach Martins was looking for as the Maroon and White tallied 8 kills, 7 aces and 1 block to pace a 25-22 game 2 victory. Summit trailed early again (6-3 and 8-4) but Casey Nardino ripped 7 service points ( 4 aces) to bring the Hilltoppers to their first lead at 11-9. But the lead as short lived however as the Royals struck for 4 points and had SHS down 13-12 after 4 rotations. After rotation 6, Oak Knoll led 18-17 as both teams were siding out pretty efficiently. After a Casey Nardino kill had Summit within 1 at 19-18, Gabby Mejia provided another classic service run that sealed the fate of Oak Knoll in game 2. Mejia went 4/4 with 1 ace to spot SHS a 22-20 lead. Oak Knoll got to within 1 at 21-22 but a Val Guzman kill gave the team its 2 point cushion at 23-21. Guzman followed up with a tough serve that caused a hitting error by the Royals and Summit was 24-21 up. Despite an Oak Knoll kill, Summit closed out the tough game 25-22 after another Nardino serve.
The scene was set for one of the biggest wins in recent history for the SHS program or another heartbreaking loss in the 2016 season. Summit and Oak Knoll were tied after rotation 3 (8-8) as both teams threw everything they had at each other in every facet of the game. After Grace Galuppo was done serving in rotation 4, SHS looked like it had a slight edge in play with an 11-9 lead. Despite a mini Royal run in rotation 5 that had the game knotted at 11 again, Katie Samay hit for 4 service points, including 2 aces, to give the Hilltoppers the momentum and the lead at 16-11. Summit had the crowd, the momentum and were applying all the pressure on Oak Knoll.
To the Royals' credit, the team did not wilt and key kills had the Royals within 1 at 17-18 by rotation 7. Val Guzman fired off an ace to get SHS a 20-17 lead after a Royal missed serve which forced Oak Knoll to call a time-out to break the Maroon and White's momentum. Summit came off the time-out poised to finish the match but a key missed serve stunted the momentum and gave the Royals some hope at 20-18. Three service points later (1 ace and 2 hitting errors later), Summit was staring at the wrong end of a 21-20 score. A Samay kill brought the team even at 21 But Oak Knoll had a side-out to rip the lead back at 22-21. SHS got a Guzman kill to tie the score at 22 and another tough serve later that led to a free ball error by the Royals seemingly turned the game on its head as the Hilltoppers had stormed back to a 23-22 lead. But that was to be the last point the team would score as SHS hit for 2 errors and allowed an ace on match point to fall to the Royals 25-23.
Summit hit for a game high 10 kills in game 3, added 5 aces in a 21/23 serving performance and had 10 digs while only giving up 2 aces. Captain Val Guzman tried to lead the team by example as she had 4 kills in the game and hit a .429 for the deciding game. Katie Samay dug up a team leading 4 balls in game 3 to keep the Hilltoppers alive and joined teammate Grace Galuppo as the team leaders with 4 service points apiece.
For the match, Guzman and Jocelyn Mendez led the way defensively with 9 and 6 digs respectively. They also received 41 of the team's 59 serve receptions and scored a 1.93 rating. Summit only gave up 4 aces for the match and had 2 blocks (Nardino and Galuppo). The team's leading scorer was KAtie Samay with 12 points off of a team leading 8 kills (.238 hitting %) and 4 aces (40% ace% and a serve % of 90%). Casey Nardino had a quiet 5 kills from the front row but ripped a team leading 6 aces (ace % 35%, serve % 88%).
The team will next compete at the Morristown-Beard Tournament on Saturday.
JV Service Miscues Result in Loss to Royals
Coming off their 5th win versus the Cardinals, Summit felt ready to take on the Royals as they continue their assault on the 15 win record set last year. Despite the win versus the Cardinals, a disturbing trend of multiple rotations missing serves was starting to emerge. Unfortunately for the Hilltoppers, not even the comeback of Bella D'Ambrosi could fix this problem on this day.
Summit missed 10 serves in route to a 25-19 loss in game 1 versus the Royals. Despite a very productive defense and offense, Summit could not gain any momentum as the team continuously missed a big serve at the wrong time. Oak Knoll had a 20-14 lead after 11 rotations and Summit got to within 3 at 21-18 by rotation 12 but the Maroon and White commited its 9th service error then to give the Royals the ball. Oak Knoll pushed Summit to the wall with 3 service points at 24-19 and Summit ended the game as it had begun, with a service error to close out game 1.
Game 2 was much of the same as both teams found themselves deadlocked at 11 with Summit producing another 3 service errors in 6 rotations. SHS cleaned up its serving though and found themselves in a 19-19 tie by rotation 11 as Kate McPhearson, Olivia Elko and Bela D'Ambrosi pounded out 7 kills combined to keep the Maroon and White's hopes alive. But another missed serve and a Royal kill gave Oak Knoll the lead at 21-19 and they never looked back as the Hilltoppers gave up an ace, committed 2 hitting errors and had a free ball error with a Royal missed serve in between to finish with a 25-20 loss.
Summit missed a combined 15 serves in the match but hit for 12 kills, 8 aces and 13 digs in the loss, all of which are season highs for a 2 game match.
Tuesday, September 20, 2016
CARDINALS GET WINGS CLIPPED BY THE HILLTOPPERS
The Summit Volleyball Team was looking to get a taste of victory as the squad traveled to Plainfield to take on the Cardinals. After less than one game, SHS had lost its Libero, Co-Captain Jocelyn Mendez, to illness and had to finish game 1 and play game 2 without its best defensive player and top rated passer. In a season of near wins and key mistakes, this just seemed like destiny's wheel turning against Summit. The team, however, showed great resiliency and determination, got key performances from its bench players and walked out of the Cardinal gym with a 26-24, 25-23 victory.
Coach Martins knew that his Libero was on borrowed time and he had hoped the team could roll through the first set using its superior passing and hitting attack but, as has been the case many times this season, the best laid plans were not going to come to fruition. Summit led 11-5 after its 4th rotation but could not hold the lead as the team gave up a 4-0 run to see its lead shrink to 11-9 on a series of hitting errors and mis-communication gaffes. Although Summit regained control after Mendez's serving put the team up 16-11, a free ball mistake opened the door for a 3-0 run in the seventh rotation that had the Cardinals within 2 at 15-17. It was at this point that Mendez retired from the match, unable to continue due to illness. Plainfield took advantage and a few rotations later were looking at 3 game points leading 24-21. Summit rallied behind a Madison Young kill to pull to within 2 at 22-24 and regain serve. Young stepped up and delivered 5 pressure packed quality serves (1 ace) to give the Hilltoppers the win at 26-24. Val Guzman also contributed with a kill during the defining run.
Summit ended with 9 kills but also 9 errors and served 24/26 (92.3%) and hit for 5 aces 19%) while passing at a 1.82 rating, led by Val Guzman who passed 10/23 receptions at a 2.20 rating.
Game 2 was another tight affair and Summit used 11 players in an effort to secure a game 2 win despite the loss of Mendez. Summit trailed briefly 13-12 entering the 6th rotation but key serving by Gabby Mejia brought the lead back to 15-12 in rotation 7. The lead seemed safe because of the quality of play of the squad but unfortunately, the Cardinals began to target an area normally covered by Mendez and the team just could not handle it cleanly. Within 2 rotations, Summit had seen a 3 point lead evaporate and morph into a 17-18 deficit despite the team being nearly perfect with a 9 kill, 1 error offensive effort and a perfect 17/17 from the service line with 1 ace. Taylor Thompson stepped up though and ripped a quick ace and earned 2 other service points to get SHS a 21-19 lead late in the match. After a couple of SHS errors got the Cardinals knotted at 21-21, a Val Guzman kill settled the team and got the Hilltoppers closer to the victory at 22-21. After the Cardinals tied it back up at 22, Sammy Auerbach took the ball from the service line and ripped 3 consecutive pressure serves to lead Summit to its first win at 25-23.
Val Guzman was outstanding in the game, hitting on 5 of 11 attack attempts with 0 errors. The other OHs -Katie Samay and Maddie Young- combined for 4 kills on 11 attempts with 3 errors. The team also went a perfect 24/24 from the service line with 2 aces. For the match, Mendez and Guzman combined for 24 of the team's reception attempts and passed at an outstanding 2.31 pass rating. Guzman also led the team in digs with 9 and was by far the best hitter with 8 kills and an outstanding 30% hitting % and a 40% kill %. Katie Samay nailed 5 kills in the match for a 12.5% hitting % and a 31.2% kill %. Lauren Trindell had an outstanding day putting down 2 kills with 0 errors and adding 2 blocks. Taylor Thompson led the way from the service line with 3 aces (.250) and a 92% serving %. Thompson and Guzman combined for 15 of the team's 26 digs.
JV SWEEPS PLAINFIELD DESPITE POOR SERVING START
If the Hilltoppers get far in the County Tournament, it will be in no small part to their lethal serving attack. However, if they don't get too far, it will also be their undoing. Summit missed 9 of its first 12 serves and miraculously, thanks to Plainfield errors and Summit's own receiving game, SHS actually led 10-8 after 7 rotations. It wasn't until Olivia Elko ripped 12 service points (4 aces) and the Maroon and White defense got 3 kills from Katie McPhearson that the team settled down and began to look more like itself. The 25-13 score was reflective of the serving Hilltopper dominance.
Game 2 showed the promise of a more competitive match until Juliana Fiore ripped 7 straight service points (4 aces) to blow the game open at 15-9. The Cardinals could get no closer than 3 points at 14-17. Summit kept Plainfield at bay with key kills and serving pressure and at 22-19, SHS looked to be in total control. The Hilltoppers finished the match off with an ace by Olivia Elko, her 5th of the match, after a Cardinal error opened the door for the defining point of the game.
Katie McPhearson led the way offensively with 5 kills and Camille Della Piazza distributed an effective offense with 5 assists. Olivia Elko's 5 aces led the squad and she added 1 kill to her match total. Juliana Fiore had the best serving day of her career with 4 aces. Tessa Pulgar had 2 digs to lead the pack defensively.
JV sits at 5W-2L
Coach Martins knew that his Libero was on borrowed time and he had hoped the team could roll through the first set using its superior passing and hitting attack but, as has been the case many times this season, the best laid plans were not going to come to fruition. Summit led 11-5 after its 4th rotation but could not hold the lead as the team gave up a 4-0 run to see its lead shrink to 11-9 on a series of hitting errors and mis-communication gaffes. Although Summit regained control after Mendez's serving put the team up 16-11, a free ball mistake opened the door for a 3-0 run in the seventh rotation that had the Cardinals within 2 at 15-17. It was at this point that Mendez retired from the match, unable to continue due to illness. Plainfield took advantage and a few rotations later were looking at 3 game points leading 24-21. Summit rallied behind a Madison Young kill to pull to within 2 at 22-24 and regain serve. Young stepped up and delivered 5 pressure packed quality serves (1 ace) to give the Hilltoppers the win at 26-24. Val Guzman also contributed with a kill during the defining run.
Summit ended with 9 kills but also 9 errors and served 24/26 (92.3%) and hit for 5 aces 19%) while passing at a 1.82 rating, led by Val Guzman who passed 10/23 receptions at a 2.20 rating.
Game 2 was another tight affair and Summit used 11 players in an effort to secure a game 2 win despite the loss of Mendez. Summit trailed briefly 13-12 entering the 6th rotation but key serving by Gabby Mejia brought the lead back to 15-12 in rotation 7. The lead seemed safe because of the quality of play of the squad but unfortunately, the Cardinals began to target an area normally covered by Mendez and the team just could not handle it cleanly. Within 2 rotations, Summit had seen a 3 point lead evaporate and morph into a 17-18 deficit despite the team being nearly perfect with a 9 kill, 1 error offensive effort and a perfect 17/17 from the service line with 1 ace. Taylor Thompson stepped up though and ripped a quick ace and earned 2 other service points to get SHS a 21-19 lead late in the match. After a couple of SHS errors got the Cardinals knotted at 21-21, a Val Guzman kill settled the team and got the Hilltoppers closer to the victory at 22-21. After the Cardinals tied it back up at 22, Sammy Auerbach took the ball from the service line and ripped 3 consecutive pressure serves to lead Summit to its first win at 25-23.
Val Guzman was outstanding in the game, hitting on 5 of 11 attack attempts with 0 errors. The other OHs -Katie Samay and Maddie Young- combined for 4 kills on 11 attempts with 3 errors. The team also went a perfect 24/24 from the service line with 2 aces. For the match, Mendez and Guzman combined for 24 of the team's reception attempts and passed at an outstanding 2.31 pass rating. Guzman also led the team in digs with 9 and was by far the best hitter with 8 kills and an outstanding 30% hitting % and a 40% kill %. Katie Samay nailed 5 kills in the match for a 12.5% hitting % and a 31.2% kill %. Lauren Trindell had an outstanding day putting down 2 kills with 0 errors and adding 2 blocks. Taylor Thompson led the way from the service line with 3 aces (.250) and a 92% serving %. Thompson and Guzman combined for 15 of the team's 26 digs.
JV SWEEPS PLAINFIELD DESPITE POOR SERVING START
If the Hilltoppers get far in the County Tournament, it will be in no small part to their lethal serving attack. However, if they don't get too far, it will also be their undoing. Summit missed 9 of its first 12 serves and miraculously, thanks to Plainfield errors and Summit's own receiving game, SHS actually led 10-8 after 7 rotations. It wasn't until Olivia Elko ripped 12 service points (4 aces) and the Maroon and White defense got 3 kills from Katie McPhearson that the team settled down and began to look more like itself. The 25-13 score was reflective of the serving Hilltopper dominance.
Game 2 showed the promise of a more competitive match until Juliana Fiore ripped 7 straight service points (4 aces) to blow the game open at 15-9. The Cardinals could get no closer than 3 points at 14-17. Summit kept Plainfield at bay with key kills and serving pressure and at 22-19, SHS looked to be in total control. The Hilltoppers finished the match off with an ace by Olivia Elko, her 5th of the match, after a Cardinal error opened the door for the defining point of the game.
Katie McPhearson led the way offensively with 5 kills and Camille Della Piazza distributed an effective offense with 5 assists. Olivia Elko's 5 aces led the squad and she added 1 kill to her match total. Juliana Fiore had the best serving day of her career with 4 aces. Tessa Pulgar had 2 digs to lead the pack defensively.
JV sits at 5W-2L
HILLTOPPERS ARE SWEPT BY RAIDERS ON BOTH LEVELS
After opening the year 0W-5L, the Lady Hilltoppers traveled to Scotch Plains to take on the Raiders in a non league match-up. Summit suffered a 2 game sweep with scores of 25-10 and 25-17 in a match that saw the Raiders make key plays out of less than perfect situations and the Hilltoppers not be able to do the same out of a stellar passing game.
Despite being down 5-1 early in game 1, the Hilltoppers serve receive, featuring for the first time Jocelyn Mendez as Libero, was putting quality balls up for the offense to attack. Entering rotation 6, SHS trailed 15-6 but the Hilltoppers pulled closer after Mendez's serve brought the team back to within 6 at 15-9. But then the wheels came off of the receive and attack game as the team could not get out of rotation 7 and trailed 22-9 before the rotation was done. Another 3-1 Raider run closed out the game 25-10 in a game that saw the Hilltoppers pass very well for most of the game -Mendez 2.50, Val Guzman 2.80- at 1.85 but could not convert on any attacking opportunities with the team hitting for only 4 kills and only 1 ace in the game.
Game 2 proved to be a bit more competitive with Summit finding themselves in a 13-13 tie by the end of a mere 3 rotations behind the serving prowess of Guzman who hit for 2 aces in 6 service point effort. Knotted at 15, Scotch Plains went on a 6-0 run that had the Raiders up for good 21-15. A 4-2 Raider run closed out the game and match 25-17. Yet again, the team passed at an outstanding rate -2.12- with Guzman and Mendez leading the way with 15 of the 24 serving receptions at a 2.41 rating. Despite the season best passing, the team could not generate more than 5 kills in the game, a big reason for the loss (5 K/ 5 Err).
Summit was led by Guzman and Mendez in serve reception (2.60 and 2.26 respectively). Guzman led all Hilltoppers with 5 digs, 3 kills and 2 aces while Casey Nardino led the offense with 4 kills and 2 blocks.
Summit was 24/27 (89%) from the service line but had only 3 aces for the match (11%).
JV SQUAD SWEPT IN 2
The JV Squad were handled by the Raiders 25-16, 25-15 in a match that saw the Hilltoppers miss many serves and attack opportunities. The Raiders held a 9-4 lead by rotation 3 and 18-8 by rotation 6. The writing was on the wall. Summit played fairly even from there on out (8-7 score) but could not muster much consistency against the Raider defense.
Game 2 was much of the same with the JV Squad missing serves and not being able to stop the Raider serving game. With the score 4-3 in favor of Summit, the Raiders went on a 10-0 run to blow the match open at 13-4. Yet again, the Maroon and White played even from that point on (11-12) but could not put a dent in that lead.
Summit was paced by Micaela Nardino who had 2 kills, 2 assists and 1 block in the loss and Cheryl Liu who led the team with 4 digs and 2 aces.
Despite being down 5-1 early in game 1, the Hilltoppers serve receive, featuring for the first time Jocelyn Mendez as Libero, was putting quality balls up for the offense to attack. Entering rotation 6, SHS trailed 15-6 but the Hilltoppers pulled closer after Mendez's serve brought the team back to within 6 at 15-9. But then the wheels came off of the receive and attack game as the team could not get out of rotation 7 and trailed 22-9 before the rotation was done. Another 3-1 Raider run closed out the game 25-10 in a game that saw the Hilltoppers pass very well for most of the game -Mendez 2.50, Val Guzman 2.80- at 1.85 but could not convert on any attacking opportunities with the team hitting for only 4 kills and only 1 ace in the game.
Game 2 proved to be a bit more competitive with Summit finding themselves in a 13-13 tie by the end of a mere 3 rotations behind the serving prowess of Guzman who hit for 2 aces in 6 service point effort. Knotted at 15, Scotch Plains went on a 6-0 run that had the Raiders up for good 21-15. A 4-2 Raider run closed out the game and match 25-17. Yet again, the team passed at an outstanding rate -2.12- with Guzman and Mendez leading the way with 15 of the 24 serving receptions at a 2.41 rating. Despite the season best passing, the team could not generate more than 5 kills in the game, a big reason for the loss (5 K/ 5 Err).
Summit was led by Guzman and Mendez in serve reception (2.60 and 2.26 respectively). Guzman led all Hilltoppers with 5 digs, 3 kills and 2 aces while Casey Nardino led the offense with 4 kills and 2 blocks.
Summit was 24/27 (89%) from the service line but had only 3 aces for the match (11%).
JV SQUAD SWEPT IN 2
The JV Squad were handled by the Raiders 25-16, 25-15 in a match that saw the Hilltoppers miss many serves and attack opportunities. The Raiders held a 9-4 lead by rotation 3 and 18-8 by rotation 6. The writing was on the wall. Summit played fairly even from there on out (8-7 score) but could not muster much consistency against the Raider defense.
Game 2 was much of the same with the JV Squad missing serves and not being able to stop the Raider serving game. With the score 4-3 in favor of Summit, the Raiders went on a 10-0 run to blow the match open at 13-4. Yet again, the Maroon and White played even from that point on (11-12) but could not put a dent in that lead.
Summit was paced by Micaela Nardino who had 2 kills, 2 assists and 1 block in the loss and Cheryl Liu who led the team with 4 digs and 2 aces.
Sunday, September 18, 2016
HEAL THE CHILDREN TOURNEY SCRAMBLES DEPTH CHART
The Lady Hilltoppers went into the weekend with the purpose to improve their point scoring and passing. With that in mind, Coach Martins gave all players an opportunity to get on the starting lineups for this week based on their performance at the tournament with 8 different combinations of lineups. The following were the top results and top scorers as tabulated by the team based on the following criteria:
Kills/Aces/Blocks/Assists/Digs=1 point
0 Pass = -1 per pass
Top Kill Production: Guzman 14, Nardino 8, Samay 7
Top Ace Production: Thompson 7, Guzman 5, Young/Samay/Mejia 4
Top Block Production: Trindell 3, Nardino 2, Thompson/Inggs 1
Top Assist Production: Mejia 24, McDonnell 10
Top Dig Production: Guzmas 17, Mendez 15, McDonnell 10
Top Scorers (K+B+A)
Guzman 19
Nardino 13
Samay 11
Young/ Thompson 10
Top Contributors { (K+B+A+D+Ast) - 0 Pass} above 10 points
Guzman 34
Mejia 32
Mcdonnell 22
Galuppo 21
Mendez 18
Thompson 17
Nardino 15
Samay 14
Young 11
Kills/Aces/Blocks/Assists/Digs=1 point
0 Pass = -1 per pass
Top Kill Production: Guzman 14, Nardino 8, Samay 7
Top Ace Production: Thompson 7, Guzman 5, Young/Samay/Mejia 4
Top Block Production: Trindell 3, Nardino 2, Thompson/Inggs 1
Top Assist Production: Mejia 24, McDonnell 10
Top Dig Production: Guzmas 17, Mendez 15, McDonnell 10
Top Scorers (K+B+A)
Guzman 19
Nardino 13
Samay 11
Young/ Thompson 10
Top Contributors { (K+B+A+D+Ast) - 0 Pass} above 10 points
Guzman 34
Mejia 32
Mcdonnell 22
Galuppo 21
Mendez 18
Thompson 17
Nardino 15
Samay 14
Young 11
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