Despite the Varsity's 5W-10L record the team has earned, the team finds itself in a situation where the end of the season could provide a great close to 2015. After opening up 2W-8L, the Hilltoppers have now gone 3W-2L in the last 5 matches with the opposition being, among other teams, #1 team in their division and #3 team in the county.
Summit won again a round in the county tournament -this year versus the Crusaders of GL- and will face #2 Westfield next Tuesday. The squad earned wins versus Plainfield (season sweep), GL and Roselle (4 wins over last 5 meetings) in the last 5 matches. This is the first time the team won back to back county matches since the 2010-11 seasons. In addition, SHS will be looking to get to double digits in wins for only the 6th time in program history and first time since the 2011 season.
In the last 5 matches, the fortunes of the team have ridden on the serving and hitting of Casey Nardino who has led the team in scoring in the last 3 matches. As Nardino's scoring has improved, so has the performance of the Hilltoppers. In the last 5 matches, Nardino hit for 24 kills and a 32.12 kill % while her hitting efficiency was .156 and hit for 2.1 kills/set during this stretch. The last 2 matches Nardino had season highs in efficiency (.263 v. Linden and .333 v. GL) and a .298 efficiency over the last 2 matches.
Nardino has also shone from the service line over the last 5 matches, serving at an outstanding ace % of 35.98 with 17 aces (1.46 aces/set) and an 87.48 Serving %. Nardino has led the Hilltopper squad with 6.8 points/match over the last 5 matches and it is not a coincidence that the team has earned more wins in the last 5 matches than in the prior 10.
Of equal significance is the serve receive prowess of the team in the last 5 matches. Val Guzman is one of the primary receivers and has only suffered 4 aces in the last 5 matches but only 1 in the 3 victories. Guzman hit for 16 of her 42 aces in the season during this 5 match stretch with a 29.66 ace %.
Captain Angela Scott is also one of the primary receivers and she only gave up 8 aces in the last 5 matches but gave up only 1 in the 3 wins. Scott has also improved her serving % from 61% prior to the last 5 matches to 71% in the last 5 matches (76.7% in the 3 wins). Scott has also hit 16 of her 29 aces in the season in the last 5 matches, 15 in the 3 wins, with an ace % of 36.34%.
Gabby Mejia has been the quarterback of the offense, leading the team with 99 assists and a 2.9 asst/set rate while also being the team leader in ace% with an amazing 99.1% (1 missed serve out of 110 attempts) and #3 on the team in service points with 54.
The team will rely on the consistent performances of these individuals to accomplish their goals for the 2015 season but will need the role players who have stepped in to contribute in the last 5 matches to continue performing at a high level. With a minimum of 8 matches in the next 3 weeks -and possibly 10 matches in 3 weeks- the Hilltoppers are hoping to get a consistent effort and performance that will carry them to a season of double digit wins.
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