9th GRADERS DOWN CRANFORD COUGARS 2-1 AT HOME; JV GETS A TOUGH MATCH BUT SURVIVE THE COUGAR DEN 2-1

 9th GRADE

9th Graders get their sternest test of the season as they faced off against the Cranford Cougars at Summit earlier today.  The Hilltoppers came away with a 23-25, 25-23, 25-17 victory improving to 7W-0L on the season with one match to go.  This is the best start by a 9th grade team in either its first inaugural seasons or its re-inaugural season.  

Game 1 was a tight affair throughout and the Hilltoppers had fought to a 23-22 lead late but a service break led to a 3-0 run by the Cougars that saw the 9th grade team go down 25-23.

Game 2 was a different animal as SHS held a slight lead throughout which held late for the Maroon and White as they fought off a late Cranford surge to take the game 25-23.

The deciding Game 3 stood out because the Maroon and White trailed early (8-5) in rotation 3 but by rotation 6 the Top had reversed that deficit to a 17-13 lead.  The lead held and was extended to 20-13 by rotation 7 and 23-16 by rotation 9 which all but sealed the fate of the Cougars as the 25-17 final result indicated.

It was a total team effort by the Hilltoppers but Anna Joseph, Cammie Carino and Abby Thompson were key contributors to the victory today.  With one match to go on the season,  this young talented group is fighting to maintain its unblemished record and end on a perfect 8W-0L year on the road with a match versus the Governor Livingston Lancers.

JUNIOR VARSITY

With a perfect record on the line entering the Union County Tournament seeding day,  SHS faced off against rival Cranford who was also 6W-0L on the year.  The battle of the unbeatens would determine the placement of the two teams in the county tournament field and would knock one team off the undefeated perch.  

The first game saw the Hilltoppers contain the Cougars serving attack as the Cranford team could only muster 9 points through 6 rotations while the Maroon and White opened up a 16-9 lead as Jaclyn Szabados ripped 4 service points in rotation 6 to take SHS from a 12-8 lead to a 16-8 lead.  Things looked to be just about over but Cranford cut the lead down to 19-15 when Torie MacArthur engineered a 5-0 run to close out the Cougars 25-15.  

Cranford served first Game 2 but the result was a familiar one, with SHS holding a 10-9 lead after 6 rotations.  However, this time,  the Cougars rattled off a mini-run of their own and opened a slight lead of 13-11 by end of rotation 7 which had extended to 17-14 (Rot. 3) and 20-15 (Rot. 4).  If SHS was going to get back in the game they needed a spark and they did manage to cut the lead down to 20-17 but could only score twice more in the next 2 rotations and Cranford was able to establish a 23-19 lead by rotation 12.  Final score, 25-19 Cranford.  

Game 3 saw Summit serve first and again, MacArthur rattled off 4 service points to give the Hilltoppers an 8-4 lead.  Hope Basaman followed up and had SHS up 11-5 and the icing on the cake was Szabados who rattled off 3 service points to give the Top a 15-9 lead.  Things seemed under control and the team was pumped up but the Cougar squad did not wilt and quit, rather, they hung on and fought back.  With the score at 19-13 after 9 rotations,  the Cougars went to their best server who proceeded to rip 3 service points and get Cranford to within three at 19-16.  Summit serve was broken on the very next ball and the Cougars took advantage, taking a 20-17 deficit into a 21-21 tie by the end of rotation 10 despite a time-out by Coach Ross.  And it was again Basaman who kept every serve in play during this crucial time that saw SHS take control of the game and match with a 3-0 run.  But Basaman was no THE key to the match.  That belonged to OH Jessica Clark who went 6/6 on kill attempts in the crucial moments of games, especially the deciding one,  which propelled the Maroon and White to a 25-21 victory to stay unbeaten on the year and earn a #2 seed in the upcoming JV County Tournament.  

JV will look to stay unbeaten on Wednesday when they face off against the ALJ squad they have just defeated at home this past week.  The squad has a first round bye in the upcoming County Tournament.  JV now owns a 6W-0L record.

VARSITY HILLTOPPERS DEFEAT COUGARS BY A 2-1 SCORE TO CONTINUE UNBEATEN STREAK

Varsity out-scores Cranford 39-30 in a match that saw Summit lose a game for the first time in the season and out-scored by a 14-10 margin for the first time in a game all year.  But SHS held a 29-16 lead in the games they won which was the difference in the match.  

Despite the fact that the Hilltoppers barely out-killed Cranford 8-7 in game 1 (14-11 point advantage Summit),  it was the relentless pressure of the Summit attack that was the difference as it forced Cranford into many errors while SHS just kept attacking.  Summit sided-out (received serve) at a 50% rate but made up for it with a 64% point-scoring rate (serving) that kept the Cougar offense at bay (Cranford 36% Side-out, 50% Point-Scoring)

Summit trailed 2-4 early but Catherine Eldridge hit a ball out of the middle which sparked 6-0 run (Erin Vostal kill,  Meghan Tarashuk ace) which settled the squad down.  With the score 8-6,  a Cougar hitting error sparked a 4-0 run which saw Gabbie Guidetti hit for 2 aces and put the Cranford team in dire straits.  At 12-6,  this looked like another Summit moment to pull away and take control of the game and 4-0 run sparked by a Vivian Roberts kill which led to an Eldridge block and another Roberts kill to push the Summit lead to 18-8.  A 4-0 run by Cranford cut the lead to 18-12 but a down ball kill by Kiera Stocks pushed the lead back up to 20-12 but the Cougars ripped another 5-0 run (4 Cougar kills) before an Eldridge kill stopped the point bleed and soon the Top had their lead back up to 22-17.  Summit finished the game with a 3-0 run (Eldridge kill,  Tarashuk ace) to wrap up the game 25-18.  Despite the game win,  Summit had its warning,  as Cranford had out-scored SHS 10-7 (7-3 actual earned points) down the stretch.

Game 2 opened up with a Summit 4-0 run sparked by Kasey Walsh´s serving (1 ace) and despite a hitting error to break her serve,  SHS got a kill from Roberts to regain control at 5-1.  Cranford went on a 4-0 run to knot the score but a service error had the Hilltoppers up 6-5 but yet again the Cougars bounced back and the Top was tied at 7 after a Vostal kill.  Cranford put the Summit serve receive under pressure and held a 9-11 lead and SHS reacted with a 4-0 run (Roberts kill) that seemed to settle the troops but Cranford received another unforced error gift from the Top and the score was 14-14 before the Maroon and White could enjoy their run.  SHS then responded with a 3-0 run but it was all fueled by Cougar missteps but at 17-15,  Sarah Maldonado ripped a kill to zone 5-6 seam followed by a Stocks ace which seemed to get the ball rolling to a Summit win in 2 as usual.  And,  with the score 20-16 SHS,  it seemed like everything was going according to plan but someone forgot to send the Cougars the memo.  Cranford out-scored SHS 9-1 to be the first team to take a game from the Hilltoppers this season.  Summit now knew what it felt like to be the hunted and not the hunter.  SHS scored only 10 points in Game 2 and Cranford 14 which was the difference in the final score.

In deciding game 3,  SHS found its killer instinct and out-scored the Cougars 15-5,  establishing its dominance in the front row.  SHS had an incredible side-out rate of 80% and point-scored at a 54% rate while keeping the Cougars at 20% for point scoring and a mere 45.8% for side-out.  Although Cranford served first,  the Hilltoppers turned that serve into a Roberts kill and Walsh hit for an ace in a 3-0 run that had the Top in control early.  The teams traded points back and forth and failed to establish any momentum and the 7-6 Summit lead was reflective of that reality.  But then a sequence of events unleashed what would be a predictor for what SHS would bring in Game 3.  Stocks passed up a ball from a tough Cougar server that was attacked by Maldonado.  Cranford defended it but could only manage a free ball back that was set up for a Vostal swing that was dug up but the second contact was forced and errant giving the Hilltoppers an 8-6 lead.  Guidetti then nailed another ace (44% ace for the match) and forced another errant pass that caused a ball handling error which then she followed up with another ace to force a Cougar time-out at 11-7.  The match hung in the balance.

Off the time-out,  Cranford earned a service break but the teams again were just jabbing at each other without being able to gain any momentum.  Receiving serve at 13-10,  Guidetti put up a perfect pass to Walsh who found Roberts for a screamer of a kill off a Cranford DS to ignite the Summit bench.  Sarah Brennan then put up a key serve that forced the Cougars into the net and SHS held a firm 15-10 lead.  Although Cranford got a tip kill to get the score to 15-11,  the Hilltoppers then responded with a 5-0 run (Maldonado kill, Brennan kill, Eldridge block) to wrest control of the match at 20-11.  A service error gave the Cougars the ball back but it seemed academic and the Top had gotten over the shock of losing a game, there was no panic in their movement and communication was evident.  Maldonado broke serve immediately with a kill and SHS pushed another 3 points on the board with Tarashuk hitting another ace.  Maldonado was key down the stretch and hit another kill for a 24-13 lead and Annabella Yorio wrapped up the festivities with an outside kill into the middle of the court for the 25-14 final score.  

Five different players had at least 1 kill in the deciding game as Walsh again ran a great offense and tallied 24 assists for the match.  Guidetti was unstoppable from the service line, going 8/9 with 4 aces (44% ace) to lead all players.

Summit will move on to the away portion of a home and home with ALJ on Wednesday at 4pm.

SENIORS HONORED ON SENIOR NIGHT --- PIONEERS FALL FOR 2nd TIME TO SUMMIT

The Summit Lady Hilltpoppers stayed unbeaten on Senior Night against their New Providence neighboors on Friday afternoon.  The team was relentless from point 1 to point 50 and held a final kill advantage of 15-5,  a block advantage of 2-0 and a 13-4 ace advantage for the match,  out-scoring the Pioneers 30-9 for a 2-0 win of 25-11, 25-16.

Game 1 saw SHS jump out to a 5-0 as Captain Kasey Walsh ht for 3 aces and Vivian Roberts got the offense rolling with a kill from the outside.  The Pioneers went on a 8-1 run to take the lead back but a service error by New Providence and a Kiera Stocks ace had the squads locked in an 8-8 tie that seemed to indicate that this was going to be a tight match.  But Stocks went on a 4-0 run (Stocks ace, Sarah Maldonado kill) which had the Hilltoppers up 12-8.  The teams traded service breaks and then Meghan Tarashuk did what she does best and blew open the game from the service line with a 4-0 run that saw ¨Smush¨ hit for an ace and put the New Prov serve receive in tremendous pressure allowing the Hilltoppers to run their best offense on free passes which allowed newly named Captain Erin Vostal to get in the scoresheet with a kill.  Despite a service break,  Summit got the ball back and got Annabella Yorio in the action with 2 tip kills and Gabbie Guidetti ripped a service ace to get the Maroon and White to a 20-10 lead that was not in doubt.  SHS finished the game off on a 5-1 run for the final score of 25-11.

New Prov opened up the second game with a 4-1 run but after a Pioneer hitting error, yet again Roberts got the offense going with a kill that sparked a 6-0 run (Catherine Eldridge and Maldonado kills) that had the Top up 7-4.  Another 3-1 run in which Maldonado hit for a kill and had a block sandwiched around another Stocks ace that saw the lead expand to 10-5.  One could sense the game was hanging in the balance and the Pioneers responded with a 3-0 run that had them back in the match but Summit reponded with an Eldridge kill which brought Tarashuk up to serve and before she was taken out late in game 2, she had led the Hilltoppers to a 6-0 run blowing open Game 2 (Smush ace, Maldonado kill) .  With the score 17-11 Summit,  a block by Maldonado led to 2 more kills by Vostal to see the Hilltoppers go up to again an insurmountable 20-11 lead.  The teams split the next 10 points for the 25-16 final tally that have the Top at 6W-0L (best start ever), top 10 ranking in Group 3,  top 10 in Union County and #1 in the N2G3 section.

The Hilltoppers have a busy week ahead with the county tournament in the horizon and a huge rivalry match-up with Cranford on Monday morning with the seeding meeting on Monday night.  A 7W-0L record may just propel Summit to a top 5 ranking for the tournament.

Wednesday,  SHS travel to ALJ to attempt to duplicate their win at home and are looking to a first round match on Thursday.  

Gabbie Guidetti - Team Lead 4 aces, Team lead 3.38 serve rating

Sarah Maldonado - Team Lead 4 kills,  Team Lead Efficiency .333, Team Lead 2 Blocks

Kiera Stocks - Team Lead 8 digs, Team Lead Reception Attempts 9,  #2 Pass Rating 2.11

JV DROP A SET BUT TAKE WIN #5; VARSITY CONTINUES TO ROLL TO 5th WIN IN A ROW

 The Crusaders of ALJ came to Summit to take on the red hot JV and Varsity squads and they did manage to take a bite out of the JV invincibility but were unable to put a dent in the Varsity squad´s confidence.

VARSITY:

In Game 1,  Senior Setter and Captain Kasey Walsh opened up with a 4-0 run (1 ace) which was fueled by Vivian Roberts and Catherine Eldridges´s kills.  A block by Eldridge  had the place buzzing and when Sarah Maldonado nailed a kill for an 8-5 lead, it seemed to deflate the Crusaders.  Four more service points by Stocks (1 ace) which saw Roberts and Maldonado hit for 1 kill apiece as well to keep the pressure on the ALJ squad and give SHS a 12-5 lead.  Meghan Tarahuk took control with the score 12-6 and put the pressure on as ¨Smush¨ rattled off 5 service points (2 aces) and found 3 other players with at least 1 kill to essentially put the game out of reach at 16-6.  

ALJ did not start to show life until the score was 20-9 SHS and by that point they were going to need a lot of help.  ALJ got to within 7 at one point after some timely serving and opportunistic front row play but the Hilltoppers handled it well especially when ALJ got to their strongest rotaton down 20-9 and came out of it with a more aggressive stand, going on a 6-2 run that had ALJ down 22-15.  Summit earned a service break off a Maldonado kill and a point later the Hilltoppers were within 1 point of a game 1 victory but not before the Crusaders lit up the Maroon and White for 4 consecutinve points before a final Maldonado  kill off the blockers´ handes ended the game.

Game 2 had the Crusaders within one at 3-2 early but then the wheels started to come off as the Hilltoppers got a dump kill by  Eldridge, an ace by Stocks and another kill by Maldonado to open up a 6-2 lead.  Tarashuk was next on line and did not disappoint, going on a 10-0 run which blew the game wide open (6 aces and 2 kills by Maldonado) and sealed the ALJ fate in the match as the Top led 17-3.  It was Rebecca Thompson who closed it out with a 7-0 service run after Olivia Lawlor notched a kill to break serve.  Final score Game 2, 25-5.

Tarashuk  8 aces, 14 service points, 4 digs

Maldonado   7 kills,  1 error, .545 efficiency

Eldridge   4 kills,  2 blocks

Walsh   15 assists,  7 Service Points,  1 ace,  served at 100%

JV DROP A SET BUT TAKE THE WIN

The JV Squad finally tasted some adversity after cruising through a game 1 victory at 25-6 as their normal serving prowess was negated by some great passing and hitting errors of their own doing.  The team dropped the second game 25-19 and then came roaring back in the deciding Game 3 to win the game and match,  25-6, 19-25, 25-6.  Hope Basaman,  Jessica Clark,  Allison Wauters and Tori MacArthur led the massive comeback and sealed the victory, the team´s 5th in a row!  

SHS JV MOVE TO 5W-0L on the year

FABULOUS FROSH FIND WIN #5

 The Mount Lions of Mt. Saint Mary visited the Hilltoppers and this was the first matchup between the schools at the 9th grade level. At the lower levels, the error rate tends to be high so the team that produces less serving and passing errors generally wins the match.  And so it was on this rainy Wednesday that the SHS squad hit for more aces, committed less attacking errors and had more successful dig attempts in a 2-0 sweep of the Mount by a 25-12, 25-17 tally.

The first game had a slow start until Emily Griffith ran off 6 service points (3 aces) to give the Maroon and White an 8-2 lead.  After a service break by the Lions,  Summit struggled to regain control and their opposition crawled to within 3 at 8-5.  The team needed a good offensive play and Maeve Keegan provided that spark with a timely kill that broke the Lion momentum and gave the Hilltoppers a 9-5 lead.  However, the comfort level was back and when Abby Thompson got to the service line and ripped off two aces to get the team to a 13-7 lead,  everyone in the gym knew it would take a major collapse for Summit to drop the game.  Keegan followed up with a 4 ace barrage of her own and before you knew it, SHS was staring at an 18-8 lead.  Thompson punctuated game 1 with a dig which led to a set for her attack which she put down for a kill and Anna Joseph terminated game 1 with an ace to finish the Lions 25-12.

Game 2 was almost a carbon copy of the opening game with respect to what the team relied upon to succeed.  Emily Demm opened up with 2 aces and Julia Nardino followed up with 2 of her own to give the Hilltoppers an early 6-2 lead.  Joseph got a great kill off a reception pass by Camille Carino and the Top was starting to pull away at 7-3.  The confidence of this young team was on display on that play.  The kill was a result of an errant serve reception to the net.  Normally that would be an automatic point for the opposition but Elizabeth Walsh dropped to the ground and scopped the ball up to be played by Joseph  who put the ball away.  Despite those good feelings,  Summit slid back into committing errors on the serve and soon saw Mt. St. Mary´s get to within 3 at 11-8.  Luckily,  Nardino  ripped a kill to get the serve back and Charlotte Hendra followed up with a 3-1 run (3 straight aces) to give Summit a 14-9 lead.  

Despite a mini run by the Lions,  SHS was able to keep the pressure up from the service line with Nardino hitting for 2 aces in a 4-1 run to get the score to 19-11.  Kristen Reilley was active at the net in the closing points, pressuring the defense,  eventually finding the floor for a kill to get Summit to 21-11 and the rest became academic.  However, to the Lions´ credit,  they did not stop fighting and battled through a 5-0 run that got them to 24-17 but there was too much real estate to make up and a service error later gave Summit the 25-17 game 2 win for their fifth victory of the season.

Hilltoppers are now 5W-0L with New Providence on the road looming on Friday, senior day.

9TH GRADERS, JUNIOR VARSITY AND VARSITY GO 3W-0L VERSUS LINDEN

 The 9th Graders sweep Linden 2-0 at home for 4th straight win!!!

The JV Squad struggled early with serving but quickly changed their fortunes as Victoria MacArthur went to serve trailing 7-5.  MacArthur proceeded to rattle off 8 service points which gave the Maroon and White a solid 13-7 lead before a break of serve got the Tigers back to within striking distance at 8-13.  But then,  up by a 14-9,  Hope Basaman went on a 9-0 serving spree which all but erased any Linden ¨hope¨ with the score 23-10.  The game was essentially over and the 25-13 final game 1 score was reflective of the serving dominance of the team.  

Game 2 was much of the same.  Linden tied up early at 4 before Abby Wells stepped up and rattled off 7 service points to give SHS an 11-4 lead.  Linden tried to fight back but just could not solve the JV defense and,  with the score 13-6,  the Hilltoppers saw Isabelle Meltzer  kill the game with an 11-0 run that sealed the deal at 25-6.  

JV has a 4W-0L record now.

Varsity out-scored Linden 35-12 in a 25-12, 25-21 sweep but it looked like, at certain points, that the score could turn at any moment against the Hilltoppers.  Summit jumped out to an 8-2 lead, notching 3 aces and 2 kills by Kiera Stocks,  Vivian Roberts and Catherine Eldrige.   That run forced a time-out from the Indians and it seemed to work initially as a short but intense rally ensued that the RHS squad celebrated when they won the point but another 6-0 run by the Top which pushed the lead to 14-4.  Two hitting errors later and the Summit faithful saw the team only lead 14-7 but Erin Vostal  put a stop to any hopes of a comeback with a kill and an ace to wrest control of the match.  

At 16-8,  Summit went on a 5-0 run (Eva Oberhuber 2 kills,  Eldridge 1 block) and the game was essentially over at 21-8.  SHS had massive advantages in game 1, in any metric, which helped their dominance today.  (Summit 9 kills - Linden 2 , Summit 6 aces - Linden 1...)

The Hilltoppers played everyone in game 2 and still saw SHS beat Linden 11-7 in kills and earn an 8-1 advantage in blocks and aces combined over their opponent.  Sarah Brennan again leads the team in service points and serve rating this match which helped the squad jump out again to an early lead (8-3).  This lead lasted right through the 1/2 way point of the match when Annabela Yorio dropped 2 kills and Erin Vostal  added an ace to balloon the lead to 15-7.  It looked all but over with the score at 17-8 but the Tigers kept trying to claw their way back and finally hit a 5-1 mini run which got them to within 5 at 18-13.  Despite a break of serve,  SHS struggled to regain control and saw their lead shrink to 20-18 on a 5-2 run.  A lucky service error by the Tigers gave the ball to Summit and with a little breathing room,  Summit reacted aggressively and gave the team a 23-18 lead before losing serve but the damage was done and the result was a 25-21 second victory for the Hilltoppers.

  Varsity is now 4W-0L and sit alone on top of the Mountain Division.

VARSITY GETS THIRD WIN, GET PUSHED BY RAHWAY

 The Varsity squad entered the Monday matchup with their old rivals buyoed by the fact that their serving and multi-pronged attack had sustained them in the first two matches of the young season.  The squad, however, forgot to check with Rahway if they had been impressed, and the Indians let SHS know from the beginning they were there to play for an upset.  

Game 1 started very auspiciously for the Maroon and White with Rahway opening up a 3-0 lead behind 2 aces by the RHS squad.  A kill by Vivian Roberts had the squad on the board and the teams were knotted up at 3 before too long.  The Indians showed resilience and fought back to a 6-3 lead but the Hilltoppers had already been responsible for 4 of those 6 points.  The rash of errors continued with a dig error, 2 hitting errors and an ace gave Rahway an 11-4 lead.  The Summit faithfulere nervous and were justified in feeling that way as the Maroon and White had played 15 points and were literally responsible for 11 of them!!!  Captain Sarah Maldonado made her return to the floor and quickly put down a kill which led to a couple of more points and the Top was only down by 4 at 7-11.  An Indian kill and another SHS error seemed to mute the enthusiasm of the team as the lead was back up to 13-7 but Erin Vostal ripped a kill and Meghan Tarashukl got an ace to begin to pull the squad up at 13-9 but, yet again,  3 consecutive attack errors had seemingly given Rahway the final momentum with a 16-9 lead.  Time-out Martins.

Coming off the time-out,  Maldonado hit for a kill from the outside which broke the momentum but a service error and an errant attack had RHS at the doorstep of a victory at 18-10.  But then Vostal stepped up and nailed a kill, hit for an ace and Summit had cut the lead to 6 at 19-13.  This time, the Rahway nerves were palpable and 2 errors by the Indians had Summit within 4 at 19-14.  Another break of serve appeared to be the calming influence for the Indians but things were not at all what they seemed as the team proceeded to go on a 3-0 run which saw Roberts put down a kill for the 20-18 deficit.  Time-out Rahway.

After the time-out, Summit outscored their opponent 7-3, a run which featured 2 kills, 1 ace and 1 block.  Summit out-scored the Indians 14-8 in the game with a 9-3 advantage on kills.

Game 2 saw the Hilltoppers opened up with an 11-2 run that had the Hilltoppers comfortably ahead 12-2 behind 5 kills and 3 aces by Sarah Brennan.  Rahway began to make the effort to take the road less traveled and scored on a 4-0 run that had the squad down 12-6.  Summit responded well though and extended that lead to 18-8 behind the key blocking of Annabella Yorio  and crucial kills by Maldonado.  The game and match seemed to be in order and indeed that was not the case as Rahway continued to fight, first a 5 out 6 run which got the Indians to within 6 at 20-14.  A Catherine Eldridge kill and a Brennan ace destroyed any hope left for the RHS faithful as the lead ballooned again to 22-14.  After a couple of hitting errors saw Rahway get to within 5 at 22-17,  Coach Martins called a time-out which did little to stem the tide as the RHS squad got another point off a Summit error  but then Maldonado and Eldridge combined for 2 key kills to put the game out of reach at 24-19.

Summit out-killed Rahway 21-10, out-paced the Indians with a 3-1 blocking advantage and hit for 7 aces to win the scoring battle 31-16.  The team was a little more inconsistent from the service line, serving at 85.7% but also saw the team hit for aces at a 14.3% clip.  

Kiera Stocks notched 11 digs in the loss and passed at an incredible 2.67, giving up no aces for the match.