Governor Livingston proved to be a stern test for the Hilltoppers as the Crusaders won set 1 27-25 despite Summit having the ball at 25-24. Summit rebounded in set 2 and held a comfortable 16-10 lead through 6 rotations that they did not give up en route to a 25-17 victory in set 2.
The deciding set was a nailbiter as the teams could not find any separation through 6 rotations with SHS holding a slight lead at 14-13. Despite a run late that saw GL take the lead 19-18, it was the Summit serving that came alive late that fueled a 7-4 surge that sealed the win for the JV Squad, 25-23.
Sara Brennan was outstanding from the service line, scoring 8 aces, adding a kill and contributing 5 digs to the defense.Libero Megan Tarashuk led all players with 7 digs and 4 aces. Krista-Ann Clapp and Sarah Maldonado led all players with 4 kills apiece. Maldonado and Meghan Gregory also contributed with 1 block a piece defensively. Kasey Walsh set herself apart with 6 assists while Abby Doyle and Julissa Lopez each chipped in with 6.
Match 2 was a divisional showdown between the Hilltoppers and the Rahway Indians. Summit was looking for the season sweep in their home match and did not disappoint with a 25-15, 25-11 sweep of the Indians.
Summit’s serving and receive game was the difference as they held a 22-15 lead through six rotations after owning the last 3 by 15-10 margin. In set 2, much of the same but the set and match was over by rotation 3 as SHS rolled to a 17-9 lead they would not relinquish.
Sarah Brennan and Kasey Walsh combined for 12 aces and Meghan Gregory led all front row with 3 kills and Eva Oberhuber and Krista-Ann Clapp chipped in 2 kills apiece to lead the squad to victory.
The final match of the week saw the JV go up against a Millburn squad that had defeated them in a tight match in preseason so the Hilltoppers were motivated to show the Millers that they were far better than 4 weeks ago.
Summit missed 10 serves in set 1 but also hit for 8 aces which supplemented an efficient offense that generated 7 kills in set 1. Through 6 rotations, the fans knew this was going to be a difficult task for the Hilltoppers as the score showed 10-8 in favor of the home team but the Millers were clearly able to handle all SHS could throw at them and still be within striking distance. By rotation 10, Millburn’s most dangerous server had found her rhythm and exploded for 5 service points to take a 15-15 score and turn it into a 20-15 Miller lead. SHS cut it to 2 on their next serve but Millburn responded with 2 points of their own and the lead stood at 23-19 for the Blue and White.
And then Tarashuk stepped up and delivered a 5 service point performance (2 aces) that had Summit on the verge of a set 1 victory with a 24-23 lead. Although the Millers were able to break serve, the match had turned on its head with the Hilltoppers back in the conversation again. Summit got the opportunity to close out the set for 2 consecutive points but the Millers fought them off and earned 1 of their own at 27-26. The Maroon and White successfully fought that off to knot the score at 27 and Summit flipped the score again on a Gregory jump serve to get its third set point that, once again, Millburn fought off. Guidetti was finally able to close out the set on her serve after a successful kill by Maldonado had Summit up 29-28, thus ending set 1 on their fourth set point.
Set 2 was a drastic role reversal as the Top could not handle the Millers’ serving, could not attack consistently and just simply made too many defensive communication errors that turned the tide of the set early. Although the score showed 5-8, Summit had really not done much to earn the 5 that showed under HOME and by rotation 5 the illusion of a close game disappeared when Millburn rolled to a 7-0 run that expanded their lead to an insurmountable 16-6 lead before it was over. Millburn finished on a combined 9-3 run the next 3 rotations to take care of the Hilltoppers 25-9. After regrouping in between sets, Summit chose the set 1 side of the court and hoped they’d find their game back.
It was clear that the team that won the serve and receive battle would win the match as neither team’s offense was particularly fruitful during the first two sets. Gregory set the tone in rotation 2 with a 4 service point effort that had SHS up 6-4 early on. By rotation 6, the 2 point lead had evaporated and with Summit trailing 11-10, Brennan stepped up and delivered a 7 service point effort (1 ace) that blew the game wide open, giving the squad a 17-12 lead by the time it was over. When Gregory came up in rotation 8 and hit for another 2 service points, the match was essentially over at 21-13. The final score was 25-19.
Tarashuk led the defensive effort with 5 digs. Lopez dished our 7 assists and Maldonado ripped 5 kills to lead offensively. Brennan scored on 7 aces and Gregory had an impact on every facet of the match, hitting for 3 kills, nailing 2 aces, getting 2 digs and earning 1 block in the win.
JV’s record now stands at 9W-3L after a four game winning streak followed their last loss vs. Cranford.
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