The Hilltoppers traveled to Rahway to face off against conference rivals Rahway looking to improve to 5 wins and keep their state hopes alive. The team had split every season series since 2015 with Rahway and knew they were in for a tough match. That expectation was only 1/2 true as the Hilltoppers had a perfect start to the match taking Set 1 25-11 in an error free performance from the front line with Carmel Barsh getting 3 of the teams 6 total kills (.500 kill and hitting efficiency) to lead the way.
Set 2 was a tremendous fight as Rahway jumped out early to a 7-1 lead just to have the Hilltoppers fight back from a 24-22 deficit and take the set and match 26-24. Despite only hitting 4 kills in the set, the team had 5 stuff blocks and added 4 aces to score another 13 points in the set win.
All season long, rotations 1 through 3 have been the stalwarts of the Hilltopper point scoring offense. This did not change in this match. Alisha McDonnell, Ava Williamson and Taylor Thompson led those rotations to 2 aces, 1 block and 2 kills to jump out to a 9-2 lead. Rotations 4 through 6 held serve and tied Rahway 5-5, keeping Summit comfortably ahead 14-7. Summit's first three rotations won again the next round 5-2 and never looked back as the team closed out the set on a 6-2 run that sealed the set 1 battle 25-11.
The team hit .400 in the set, served at 94% clip with 6 aces and added 1 team block to outscore Rahway 13-7.
The second set was a completely different story. Rahway jumped out to a 6-1 lead and seemed to be in full control. Summit only managed 4 kills in the set but its blocking rattled the Rahway faithful as they saw Summit stop 5 Rahway attacks. After trailing 6-1, a Micaela Nardino and Lauren Trindell block gave the ball back to Summit down 6-2 but more importantly, it got the team in rotation 1. After the first 3 rotaions clicked through, Summit was only down by 3 at 8-5 but a free ball error had Rahway up again by 4 at 9-5. Rahway kept Summit at bay throughout the set, always maintaining a 3 point advantage. But the Hilltoppers kept chipping away at the lead and finally tied it at 19-19 after a Nardino and Thompson block.
Two successful attacks and a service error later, Rahway had Summit 21-20 up. Despite a block that extended the lead to 22-20, Rahway gave it right back with another service error that put SHS back on the line. Down 24-22, Williamson passed a perfect ball to McDonnell who set the attack up to McPherson who did not disappoint and hit a kill down the line for a 24-23 deficit. Camille Della Piazza then brought it home with 3 consecutive aces to give Summit the set and match win,
The team ended up hitting .229 with 10 kills, gave up only 1 ace but hit for 10 of their own. But most importantly, the squad had 6 team blocks that turned the game around after the slow start the team experienced.
The team will travel to Linden on Tuesday to attempt to avenge an earlier 3 set loss at home.
JV LOSES FOR 1st TIME THIS CAMPAIGN
The streak is over. After opening the 2017 campaign with a 10W-0L record, the Hilltoppers finally had an off day from the service line and passing defense that led to Rahway pressure and points.
Summit dropped a 25-16, 25-17 decision, trailing by as much as 12 in set 1 before cutting the lead to 5 at 21-16 and despite having a closer matchup in set 2, the team never controlled its opponent, suffering multiple aces and yielding the ball on service errors that caused a 2 point lead to evaporate (12-10) and fuel a 15-5 run that Rahway used to pull away late and seal the 25-17 set and match victory.
Some players had their usual contributions and helped the team keep hope alive during the match. Sarah Brennan had 3 aces and Abby Doyle chipped in another 2 of her own. Maddie Murphy and Annabella Yorio dropped 3 kills apiece to pace the offense in the losing cause.
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