Tuesday, September 22, 2015

SHS, DIFFERENT SCRIPT, SAME RESULT, KEY ERRORS FUEL LOSS

Summit traveled to Parsippany to take on the Red Hawks in an attempt to even out their record to 3W-3L after yesterday's tough loss to the Crusaders of ALJ.  Although the team passed at a rating higher than any match of the season, key serving and attacking errors cost the team dearly as SHS dropped a 2-0 decision (14-25, 23-25) to Parsippany.

In game 1, both teams looked pretty evenly matched as no one could gain any momentum and both sides just traded points.  At 7-7, Casey Nardino struck for an ace that ignited the Hilltopper team but Parsippany rattled off 3 points to take the lead 7-10.  A service error returned the ball to SHS and Rau Soares scored 3 aces and Val Guzman  added a kill to get SHS a 12-10 lead.  The Red Hawks reacted and went on a 15-2 run punctuated by many long rallies that SHS just could never win at the moment of truth.  The Hilltoppers changed sides after dropping a 25-14 decision and the team pointed to not finishing 5 straight long rallies as a point of emphasis to game 2.
Parsippany out-aced the Hilltoppers 6-4, out-killed SHS 9-5 and outscored the team 15-9 in the set win.

SHS couldn't have started any worse in a must win situation, falling behind 7-1 before a Red Hawk error gave the ball back to Summit.  Casey Nardino scored a kill and then went to the service line where she added an ace to pull within 4 at 9-5.  Parsippany responded with a couple of kills and had the Hilltoppers on the ropes at 18-10.  Summit then forced a few Parsippany errors, had Val Guzman add another kill and rotated around to see Casey Nardino hit for 3 aces as the Red Hawks were barely hanging on to a 22-20 lead.  But then, a key service error by the Hilltoppers ended the run.  With a 23-20 lead, Parsippany then had trouble dealing with a Guzman attack and saw SHS get 21-23.  But another attack error destroyed the Hilltoppers' comeback even though Gabby Mejia surprised the Red Hawks for a kill (22-24) and Angela Scott hit for an ace (23-24).  Summit would not get any closer as Summit missed another serve and ended the game there at 23-25.

Angela Scott led the team with 5 kills and 6 points while Casey Nardino did her damage from the service area with 4 aces and chipped in 2 kills. Val Guzman led the way defensively with 7 digs.

The team will take on city rival Kent Place on Thursday.

JV, meanwhile, was trying to fix the serve receive and serving miscues that had plagued them since last week.  Although the team showed some signs of improvement, the overriding problem still remained and the team could not get on track versus Parsippany.

Early on, Summit trailed but was hanging tough against a much harder hitting squad.  With the score 13-10, SHS missed another serve and the Red Hawks struck for an ace and had the Hilltoppers on the ropes at 15-10.  Summit then rattled off a few aces of their own to cut into the lead at 16-14.  Parsippany extended the lead back up to 19-16 and after another switch of serve, the Parsippany hit for 3 aces in a 9-2 run that finished off the Hilltoppers 25-16.

In game 2, SHS's 9th graders centered a squad that rattled off the first 2 points before Parsippany could react.  After a break of serve, the Red Hawks went on a 6-0 run (2 aces) that gave them a cushion they'd never relinquish.  Parsippany kept pressuring SHS with consistent and difficult serving and within 10 minutes the team trailed 21-11.  The squad fought hard but serving errors stalled any momentum the team had garnered and Parsippany closed out the set and match with a 25-12 score.


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