The Hilltoppers took the short walk across Morris Avenue to the home of their local rivals, the Kent Place Dragons, who were currently sitting in first place in the Mountain Division with a 4-0 record. Summit needed a big day out of every facet of its game to produce the upset but, despite a valiant effort, the Maroon and White fell to the Dragons 25-16, 25-12.
Early on, the Hilltoppers seemed to be ready for the challenge and fought the KP early pressure point for point and, after an Ava Williamson ace had the Maroon and White within 1 at 3-4, the team seemed to get even more energized. The next serve forced a free ball to SHS but the Dragon block stuffed that opportunity and that lost attack sparked a 4-0 run that had Summit down 8-3. A Carmel Barsh kill broke momentum and an ace by Kiera Stocks and a hitting error later, Summit found themselves down by only one at 7-8. Kent Place then got a huge kill out of its left side which again sparked a 4-0 run before a Micaela Nardino kill stopped the momentum. The Summit receive game was having trouble with the Dragon servers which was fueling the mini runs. Meanwhile, Summit’s own serving was not yielding the same results and thus, the Hilltoppers found themselves in a 8-12 hole.
Despite the break of serve, a Dragon kill sparked another 7-0 run that pretty much sealed set 1. At 9-19, the Hilltoppers continued to fight on and out scored the Green and White 7-6 the rest of the set but got no closer than 8 before bowing out 25-16.
The Hilltoppers struck for 3 aces but gave up 6 of their own and passed at a paltry 1.48 which spelled trouble for their offense who managed only 3 kills in the set.
Set 2 was more of the same, with Kent Place putting a ton of pressure on the Hilltopper receivers, forcing a pass rating of 1.23 and hitting on 9 aces. Twenty-one attacks yielded only 3 kills and the set was effectively over early with the Dragons opening up on a 7-1 run and then following up with a 5-1 run that had SHS reeling at 12-2. The rest of the set was rather even with KP outscoring SHS 13-10 but the damage was done and the result inevitable, a 25-12 set and match win for the Dragons.
Lauren Trindell was a bright spot from the service line, going 7 / 8 but earning 6 service points as her serves kept the Dragons a bit off-balance. Ava Williamson led the defense with 6 digs but with a lopsided 24-6 edge in kills, the writing was on the wall.
JV ROLL ON TO 6th WIN BEHIND BALANCED PLAY
The JV Squad got a balanced effort in a match in which they notched 25 digs, converted on 11 kills and scored 11 aces to dismantle a Kent Place team that was looking to sweep Summit on both levels. The scores of their 2-0 victory were 25-16, 25-17 and in both sets, a short-handed Hilltopper team used their serving to establish control of the sets.
Setter Julissa Lopez led the serving attack with 5 aces and outside hitter Megan Gregory matched her with 5 of her own in addition to putting down 2 kills and getting a solo block. Gabbie Guidetti led all defenders with 6 digs and Sarah Brennan chipped in 4 to pace Summit’s defensive efforts.
In Set 1, SHS held a 12-8 lead after 6 rotations in a tight match due to defensive plays and opportune kills by the Hilltopper squad. But Megan Gregory eradicated any doubts of the outcome when she delivered 4 service points (3 aces) to give Summit a 19-11 lead that they would not relinquish.
Set 2 saw the Maroon and White stymie the Kent Place serving game with solid receptions and the team broke serve everyone of the first 6 rotations to hold KP to 6 points while the Hilltoppers scored 13, thanks again to another 2 ace, 4 service point breakout by Gregory. The team sustained that lead until rotation 13 when the Dragons ran off a 4-0 run that got KP to within 4 at 21-17. Krista Ann-Clapp put to rest any hope of a comeback with 3 consecutive serves (2 aces) that closed out the set and match.
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