Summit entered the match versus the Roselle Park Panthers knowing that the match was a must win if the team was to have a realistic shot at qualifying for states in late October. The Panthers and Hilltoppers had 2 highly competitive matches last year with the teams splitting the games, one a SHS regular season loss at Roselle Park by a 2-1 score and the other a first round win by SHS at Roselle Park by a 2-0 result. The squad has been outstanding at home so far with a 3W-1L record and that dominance at home continued with a 25-17, 25-12 win over the Panthers to earn their 4th victory of the season.
SHS had all three phases of their game going to earn the win with their serving % getting to 91.8%, their offense scoring on 19 balls (.180 hitting efficiency and a .311 kill %) and their defense digging up 24 balls, yielding only 1 ace for the match and getting 2 total blocks.
Micaela Nardino was an offensive force in the match, hitting for 5 kills with a .500 kill % and a .400 efficiency. Alisha McDonnell, Ava Williamson and Taylor Thompson combined for 30 of the team's 49 service attempts and hit for 3 of the 4 team aces to pace the serving attack. Nardino, Carmel Barsh and Olivia Skrobala had a block party, tallying 4 individual blocks. McDonnell, Williamson and Thompson were all over the court defensively as well, digging up 15 of the 24 team digs for the match. In all phases of the game, the Hilltoppers won the battle and came away with a dominant victory.
The squad will play tomorrow in the Heal the Children Tournament at the Rahway Rec Center. Summit is ranked 2 in the division they will play in tomorrow (#1 Bishop Ahr, #2 SHS, #3 Rahway, #4 Scotch Plains-Fanwood). The other division is #1 Benedictine Academy, #2 Oak Knoll, #3 Piscataway, #4 Wardlaw-Hardridge. Top 2 in both divisions in round robin play will move to playoffs in Gold Bracket, bottom 2 will be in Silver Bracket.
JV OVERCOMES PANTHERS IN NAIL BITER FOR 9TH CONSECUTIVE WIN
The Hilltoppers used their usual formula of a consistent, powerful serving attack and a size advantage out of the front row to get kills to power themselves to a 25-9 first set win. The match looked like it was going to be a typical one for the young squad but the 2nd set produced a much different story as the Panthers of Roselle Park staved off the Hilltopper serving attack while producing pressure of their own to soundly defeat the Maroon and White 25-12. The pressure was squarely on SHS after having such a dominant first set win but the young squad stuck to what it does best and the eventual serving pressure and offensive attack slowly wore down the Roselle Park squad in the 3rd set and the Hilltoppers took the match 15-10 in the deciding set.
Kasey Walsh (3), Abby Doyle (4) and Cassandra Hrehorovich (3) led the serving attack with 10 of the team's 14 aces, 5 of them in the final set. Annabella Yorio, Isabel Berkeley and Sarah Maldonado were the only multi-kill scorers on the team, getting a combined 7 kills out of the team's 11. Gabby Guidetti was outstanding in defense, digging up a team leading 5 balls to contribute to the Hilltopper win.
The team will go for their unbelievable 10th win in a row next Tuesday versus their toughest opponent of the season thus far, the Union farmers.
VARSITY HIGHLIGHT PACKAGE WILL BE IN ANOTHER POST.
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