9th GRADERS DOWN CRANFORD COUGARS 2-1 AT HOME; JV GETS A TOUGH MATCH BUT SURVIVE THE COUGAR DEN 2-1

 9th GRADE

9th Graders get their sternest test of the season as they faced off against the Cranford Cougars at Summit earlier today.  The Hilltoppers came away with a 23-25, 25-23, 25-17 victory improving to 7W-0L on the season with one match to go.  This is the best start by a 9th grade team in either its first inaugural seasons or its re-inaugural season.  

Game 1 was a tight affair throughout and the Hilltoppers had fought to a 23-22 lead late but a service break led to a 3-0 run by the Cougars that saw the 9th grade team go down 25-23.

Game 2 was a different animal as SHS held a slight lead throughout which held late for the Maroon and White as they fought off a late Cranford surge to take the game 25-23.

The deciding Game 3 stood out because the Maroon and White trailed early (8-5) in rotation 3 but by rotation 6 the Top had reversed that deficit to a 17-13 lead.  The lead held and was extended to 20-13 by rotation 7 and 23-16 by rotation 9 which all but sealed the fate of the Cougars as the 25-17 final result indicated.

It was a total team effort by the Hilltoppers but Anna Joseph, Cammie Carino and Abby Thompson were key contributors to the victory today.  With one match to go on the season,  this young talented group is fighting to maintain its unblemished record and end on a perfect 8W-0L year on the road with a match versus the Governor Livingston Lancers.

JUNIOR VARSITY

With a perfect record on the line entering the Union County Tournament seeding day,  SHS faced off against rival Cranford who was also 6W-0L on the year.  The battle of the unbeatens would determine the placement of the two teams in the county tournament field and would knock one team off the undefeated perch.  

The first game saw the Hilltoppers contain the Cougars serving attack as the Cranford team could only muster 9 points through 6 rotations while the Maroon and White opened up a 16-9 lead as Jaclyn Szabados ripped 4 service points in rotation 6 to take SHS from a 12-8 lead to a 16-8 lead.  Things looked to be just about over but Cranford cut the lead down to 19-15 when Torie MacArthur engineered a 5-0 run to close out the Cougars 25-15.  

Cranford served first Game 2 but the result was a familiar one, with SHS holding a 10-9 lead after 6 rotations.  However, this time,  the Cougars rattled off a mini-run of their own and opened a slight lead of 13-11 by end of rotation 7 which had extended to 17-14 (Rot. 3) and 20-15 (Rot. 4).  If SHS was going to get back in the game they needed a spark and they did manage to cut the lead down to 20-17 but could only score twice more in the next 2 rotations and Cranford was able to establish a 23-19 lead by rotation 12.  Final score, 25-19 Cranford.  

Game 3 saw Summit serve first and again, MacArthur rattled off 4 service points to give the Hilltoppers an 8-4 lead.  Hope Basaman followed up and had SHS up 11-5 and the icing on the cake was Szabados who rattled off 3 service points to give the Top a 15-9 lead.  Things seemed under control and the team was pumped up but the Cougar squad did not wilt and quit, rather, they hung on and fought back.  With the score at 19-13 after 9 rotations,  the Cougars went to their best server who proceeded to rip 3 service points and get Cranford to within three at 19-16.  Summit serve was broken on the very next ball and the Cougars took advantage, taking a 20-17 deficit into a 21-21 tie by the end of rotation 10 despite a time-out by Coach Ross.  And it was again Basaman who kept every serve in play during this crucial time that saw SHS take control of the game and match with a 3-0 run.  But Basaman was no THE key to the match.  That belonged to OH Jessica Clark who went 6/6 on kill attempts in the crucial moments of games, especially the deciding one,  which propelled the Maroon and White to a 25-21 victory to stay unbeaten on the year and earn a #2 seed in the upcoming JV County Tournament.  

JV will look to stay unbeaten on Wednesday when they face off against the ALJ squad they have just defeated at home this past week.  The squad has a first round bye in the upcoming County Tournament.  JV now owns a 6W-0L record.

VARSITY HILLTOPPERS DEFEAT COUGARS BY A 2-1 SCORE TO CONTINUE UNBEATEN STREAK

Varsity out-scores Cranford 39-30 in a match that saw Summit lose a game for the first time in the season and out-scored by a 14-10 margin for the first time in a game all year.  But SHS held a 29-16 lead in the games they won which was the difference in the match.  

Despite the fact that the Hilltoppers barely out-killed Cranford 8-7 in game 1 (14-11 point advantage Summit),  it was the relentless pressure of the Summit attack that was the difference as it forced Cranford into many errors while SHS just kept attacking.  Summit sided-out (received serve) at a 50% rate but made up for it with a 64% point-scoring rate (serving) that kept the Cougar offense at bay (Cranford 36% Side-out, 50% Point-Scoring)

Summit trailed 2-4 early but Catherine Eldridge hit a ball out of the middle which sparked 6-0 run (Erin Vostal kill,  Meghan Tarashuk ace) which settled the squad down.  With the score 8-6,  a Cougar hitting error sparked a 4-0 run which saw Gabbie Guidetti hit for 2 aces and put the Cranford team in dire straits.  At 12-6,  this looked like another Summit moment to pull away and take control of the game and 4-0 run sparked by a Vivian Roberts kill which led to an Eldridge block and another Roberts kill to push the Summit lead to 18-8.  A 4-0 run by Cranford cut the lead to 18-12 but a down ball kill by Kiera Stocks pushed the lead back up to 20-12 but the Cougars ripped another 5-0 run (4 Cougar kills) before an Eldridge kill stopped the point bleed and soon the Top had their lead back up to 22-17.  Summit finished the game with a 3-0 run (Eldridge kill,  Tarashuk ace) to wrap up the game 25-18.  Despite the game win,  Summit had its warning,  as Cranford had out-scored SHS 10-7 (7-3 actual earned points) down the stretch.

Game 2 opened up with a Summit 4-0 run sparked by Kasey Walsh´s serving (1 ace) and despite a hitting error to break her serve,  SHS got a kill from Roberts to regain control at 5-1.  Cranford went on a 4-0 run to knot the score but a service error had the Hilltoppers up 6-5 but yet again the Cougars bounced back and the Top was tied at 7 after a Vostal kill.  Cranford put the Summit serve receive under pressure and held a 9-11 lead and SHS reacted with a 4-0 run (Roberts kill) that seemed to settle the troops but Cranford received another unforced error gift from the Top and the score was 14-14 before the Maroon and White could enjoy their run.  SHS then responded with a 3-0 run but it was all fueled by Cougar missteps but at 17-15,  Sarah Maldonado ripped a kill to zone 5-6 seam followed by a Stocks ace which seemed to get the ball rolling to a Summit win in 2 as usual.  And,  with the score 20-16 SHS,  it seemed like everything was going according to plan but someone forgot to send the Cougars the memo.  Cranford out-scored SHS 9-1 to be the first team to take a game from the Hilltoppers this season.  Summit now knew what it felt like to be the hunted and not the hunter.  SHS scored only 10 points in Game 2 and Cranford 14 which was the difference in the final score.

In deciding game 3,  SHS found its killer instinct and out-scored the Cougars 15-5,  establishing its dominance in the front row.  SHS had an incredible side-out rate of 80% and point-scored at a 54% rate while keeping the Cougars at 20% for point scoring and a mere 45.8% for side-out.  Although Cranford served first,  the Hilltoppers turned that serve into a Roberts kill and Walsh hit for an ace in a 3-0 run that had the Top in control early.  The teams traded points back and forth and failed to establish any momentum and the 7-6 Summit lead was reflective of that reality.  But then a sequence of events unleashed what would be a predictor for what SHS would bring in Game 3.  Stocks passed up a ball from a tough Cougar server that was attacked by Maldonado.  Cranford defended it but could only manage a free ball back that was set up for a Vostal swing that was dug up but the second contact was forced and errant giving the Hilltoppers an 8-6 lead.  Guidetti then nailed another ace (44% ace for the match) and forced another errant pass that caused a ball handling error which then she followed up with another ace to force a Cougar time-out at 11-7.  The match hung in the balance.

Off the time-out,  Cranford earned a service break but the teams again were just jabbing at each other without being able to gain any momentum.  Receiving serve at 13-10,  Guidetti put up a perfect pass to Walsh who found Roberts for a screamer of a kill off a Cranford DS to ignite the Summit bench.  Sarah Brennan then put up a key serve that forced the Cougars into the net and SHS held a firm 15-10 lead.  Although Cranford got a tip kill to get the score to 15-11,  the Hilltoppers then responded with a 5-0 run (Maldonado kill, Brennan kill, Eldridge block) to wrest control of the match at 20-11.  A service error gave the Cougars the ball back but it seemed academic and the Top had gotten over the shock of losing a game, there was no panic in their movement and communication was evident.  Maldonado broke serve immediately with a kill and SHS pushed another 3 points on the board with Tarashuk hitting another ace.  Maldonado was key down the stretch and hit another kill for a 24-13 lead and Annabella Yorio wrapped up the festivities with an outside kill into the middle of the court for the 25-14 final score.  

Five different players had at least 1 kill in the deciding game as Walsh again ran a great offense and tallied 24 assists for the match.  Guidetti was unstoppable from the service line, going 8/9 with 4 aces (44% ace) to lead all players.

Summit will move on to the away portion of a home and home with ALJ on Wednesday at 4pm.

SENIORS HONORED ON SENIOR NIGHT --- PIONEERS FALL FOR 2nd TIME TO SUMMIT

The Summit Lady Hilltpoppers stayed unbeaten on Senior Night against their New Providence neighboors on Friday afternoon.  The team was relentless from point 1 to point 50 and held a final kill advantage of 15-5,  a block advantage of 2-0 and a 13-4 ace advantage for the match,  out-scoring the Pioneers 30-9 for a 2-0 win of 25-11, 25-16.

Game 1 saw SHS jump out to a 5-0 as Captain Kasey Walsh ht for 3 aces and Vivian Roberts got the offense rolling with a kill from the outside.  The Pioneers went on a 8-1 run to take the lead back but a service error by New Providence and a Kiera Stocks ace had the squads locked in an 8-8 tie that seemed to indicate that this was going to be a tight match.  But Stocks went on a 4-0 run (Stocks ace, Sarah Maldonado kill) which had the Hilltoppers up 12-8.  The teams traded service breaks and then Meghan Tarashuk did what she does best and blew open the game from the service line with a 4-0 run that saw ¨Smush¨ hit for an ace and put the New Prov serve receive in tremendous pressure allowing the Hilltoppers to run their best offense on free passes which allowed newly named Captain Erin Vostal to get in the scoresheet with a kill.  Despite a service break,  Summit got the ball back and got Annabella Yorio in the action with 2 tip kills and Gabbie Guidetti ripped a service ace to get the Maroon and White to a 20-10 lead that was not in doubt.  SHS finished the game off on a 5-1 run for the final score of 25-11.

New Prov opened up the second game with a 4-1 run but after a Pioneer hitting error, yet again Roberts got the offense going with a kill that sparked a 6-0 run (Catherine Eldridge and Maldonado kills) that had the Top up 7-4.  Another 3-1 run in which Maldonado hit for a kill and had a block sandwiched around another Stocks ace that saw the lead expand to 10-5.  One could sense the game was hanging in the balance and the Pioneers responded with a 3-0 run that had them back in the match but Summit reponded with an Eldridge kill which brought Tarashuk up to serve and before she was taken out late in game 2, she had led the Hilltoppers to a 6-0 run blowing open Game 2 (Smush ace, Maldonado kill) .  With the score 17-11 Summit,  a block by Maldonado led to 2 more kills by Vostal to see the Hilltoppers go up to again an insurmountable 20-11 lead.  The teams split the next 10 points for the 25-16 final tally that have the Top at 6W-0L (best start ever), top 10 ranking in Group 3,  top 10 in Union County and #1 in the N2G3 section.

The Hilltoppers have a busy week ahead with the county tournament in the horizon and a huge rivalry match-up with Cranford on Monday morning with the seeding meeting on Monday night.  A 7W-0L record may just propel Summit to a top 5 ranking for the tournament.

Wednesday,  SHS travel to ALJ to attempt to duplicate their win at home and are looking to a first round match on Thursday.  

Gabbie Guidetti - Team Lead 4 aces, Team lead 3.38 serve rating

Sarah Maldonado - Team Lead 4 kills,  Team Lead Efficiency .333, Team Lead 2 Blocks

Kiera Stocks - Team Lead 8 digs, Team Lead Reception Attempts 9,  #2 Pass Rating 2.11

JV DROP A SET BUT TAKE WIN #5; VARSITY CONTINUES TO ROLL TO 5th WIN IN A ROW

 The Crusaders of ALJ came to Summit to take on the red hot JV and Varsity squads and they did manage to take a bite out of the JV invincibility but were unable to put a dent in the Varsity squad´s confidence.

VARSITY:

In Game 1,  Senior Setter and Captain Kasey Walsh opened up with a 4-0 run (1 ace) which was fueled by Vivian Roberts and Catherine Eldridges´s kills.  A block by Eldridge  had the place buzzing and when Sarah Maldonado nailed a kill for an 8-5 lead, it seemed to deflate the Crusaders.  Four more service points by Stocks (1 ace) which saw Roberts and Maldonado hit for 1 kill apiece as well to keep the pressure on the ALJ squad and give SHS a 12-5 lead.  Meghan Tarahuk took control with the score 12-6 and put the pressure on as ¨Smush¨ rattled off 5 service points (2 aces) and found 3 other players with at least 1 kill to essentially put the game out of reach at 16-6.  

ALJ did not start to show life until the score was 20-9 SHS and by that point they were going to need a lot of help.  ALJ got to within 7 at one point after some timely serving and opportunistic front row play but the Hilltoppers handled it well especially when ALJ got to their strongest rotaton down 20-9 and came out of it with a more aggressive stand, going on a 6-2 run that had ALJ down 22-15.  Summit earned a service break off a Maldonado kill and a point later the Hilltoppers were within 1 point of a game 1 victory but not before the Crusaders lit up the Maroon and White for 4 consecutinve points before a final Maldonado  kill off the blockers´ handes ended the game.

Game 2 had the Crusaders within one at 3-2 early but then the wheels started to come off as the Hilltoppers got a dump kill by  Eldridge, an ace by Stocks and another kill by Maldonado to open up a 6-2 lead.  Tarashuk was next on line and did not disappoint, going on a 10-0 run which blew the game wide open (6 aces and 2 kills by Maldonado) and sealed the ALJ fate in the match as the Top led 17-3.  It was Rebecca Thompson who closed it out with a 7-0 service run after Olivia Lawlor notched a kill to break serve.  Final score Game 2, 25-5.

Tarashuk  8 aces, 14 service points, 4 digs

Maldonado   7 kills,  1 error, .545 efficiency

Eldridge   4 kills,  2 blocks

Walsh   15 assists,  7 Service Points,  1 ace,  served at 100%

JV DROP A SET BUT TAKE THE WIN

The JV Squad finally tasted some adversity after cruising through a game 1 victory at 25-6 as their normal serving prowess was negated by some great passing and hitting errors of their own doing.  The team dropped the second game 25-19 and then came roaring back in the deciding Game 3 to win the game and match,  25-6, 19-25, 25-6.  Hope Basaman,  Jessica Clark,  Allison Wauters and Tori MacArthur led the massive comeback and sealed the victory, the team´s 5th in a row!  

SHS JV MOVE TO 5W-0L on the year

FABULOUS FROSH FIND WIN #5

 The Mount Lions of Mt. Saint Mary visited the Hilltoppers and this was the first matchup between the schools at the 9th grade level. At the lower levels, the error rate tends to be high so the team that produces less serving and passing errors generally wins the match.  And so it was on this rainy Wednesday that the SHS squad hit for more aces, committed less attacking errors and had more successful dig attempts in a 2-0 sweep of the Mount by a 25-12, 25-17 tally.

The first game had a slow start until Emily Griffith ran off 6 service points (3 aces) to give the Maroon and White an 8-2 lead.  After a service break by the Lions,  Summit struggled to regain control and their opposition crawled to within 3 at 8-5.  The team needed a good offensive play and Maeve Keegan provided that spark with a timely kill that broke the Lion momentum and gave the Hilltoppers a 9-5 lead.  However, the comfort level was back and when Abby Thompson got to the service line and ripped off two aces to get the team to a 13-7 lead,  everyone in the gym knew it would take a major collapse for Summit to drop the game.  Keegan followed up with a 4 ace barrage of her own and before you knew it, SHS was staring at an 18-8 lead.  Thompson punctuated game 1 with a dig which led to a set for her attack which she put down for a kill and Anna Joseph terminated game 1 with an ace to finish the Lions 25-12.

Game 2 was almost a carbon copy of the opening game with respect to what the team relied upon to succeed.  Emily Demm opened up with 2 aces and Julia Nardino followed up with 2 of her own to give the Hilltoppers an early 6-2 lead.  Joseph got a great kill off a reception pass by Camille Carino and the Top was starting to pull away at 7-3.  The confidence of this young team was on display on that play.  The kill was a result of an errant serve reception to the net.  Normally that would be an automatic point for the opposition but Elizabeth Walsh dropped to the ground and scopped the ball up to be played by Joseph  who put the ball away.  Despite those good feelings,  Summit slid back into committing errors on the serve and soon saw Mt. St. Mary´s get to within 3 at 11-8.  Luckily,  Nardino  ripped a kill to get the serve back and Charlotte Hendra followed up with a 3-1 run (3 straight aces) to give Summit a 14-9 lead.  

Despite a mini run by the Lions,  SHS was able to keep the pressure up from the service line with Nardino hitting for 2 aces in a 4-1 run to get the score to 19-11.  Kristen Reilley was active at the net in the closing points, pressuring the defense,  eventually finding the floor for a kill to get Summit to 21-11 and the rest became academic.  However, to the Lions´ credit,  they did not stop fighting and battled through a 5-0 run that got them to 24-17 but there was too much real estate to make up and a service error later gave Summit the 25-17 game 2 win for their fifth victory of the season.

Hilltoppers are now 5W-0L with New Providence on the road looming on Friday, senior day.

9TH GRADERS, JUNIOR VARSITY AND VARSITY GO 3W-0L VERSUS LINDEN

 The 9th Graders sweep Linden 2-0 at home for 4th straight win!!!

The JV Squad struggled early with serving but quickly changed their fortunes as Victoria MacArthur went to serve trailing 7-5.  MacArthur proceeded to rattle off 8 service points which gave the Maroon and White a solid 13-7 lead before a break of serve got the Tigers back to within striking distance at 8-13.  But then,  up by a 14-9,  Hope Basaman went on a 9-0 serving spree which all but erased any Linden ¨hope¨ with the score 23-10.  The game was essentially over and the 25-13 final game 1 score was reflective of the serving dominance of the team.  

Game 2 was much of the same.  Linden tied up early at 4 before Abby Wells stepped up and rattled off 7 service points to give SHS an 11-4 lead.  Linden tried to fight back but just could not solve the JV defense and,  with the score 13-6,  the Hilltoppers saw Isabelle Meltzer  kill the game with an 11-0 run that sealed the deal at 25-6.  

JV has a 4W-0L record now.

Varsity out-scored Linden 35-12 in a 25-12, 25-21 sweep but it looked like, at certain points, that the score could turn at any moment against the Hilltoppers.  Summit jumped out to an 8-2 lead, notching 3 aces and 2 kills by Kiera Stocks,  Vivian Roberts and Catherine Eldrige.   That run forced a time-out from the Indians and it seemed to work initially as a short but intense rally ensued that the RHS squad celebrated when they won the point but another 6-0 run by the Top which pushed the lead to 14-4.  Two hitting errors later and the Summit faithful saw the team only lead 14-7 but Erin Vostal  put a stop to any hopes of a comeback with a kill and an ace to wrest control of the match.  

At 16-8,  Summit went on a 5-0 run (Eva Oberhuber 2 kills,  Eldridge 1 block) and the game was essentially over at 21-8.  SHS had massive advantages in game 1, in any metric, which helped their dominance today.  (Summit 9 kills - Linden 2 , Summit 6 aces - Linden 1...)

The Hilltoppers played everyone in game 2 and still saw SHS beat Linden 11-7 in kills and earn an 8-1 advantage in blocks and aces combined over their opponent.  Sarah Brennan again leads the team in service points and serve rating this match which helped the squad jump out again to an early lead (8-3).  This lead lasted right through the 1/2 way point of the match when Annabela Yorio dropped 2 kills and Erin Vostal  added an ace to balloon the lead to 15-7.  It looked all but over with the score at 17-8 but the Tigers kept trying to claw their way back and finally hit a 5-1 mini run which got them to within 5 at 18-13.  Despite a break of serve,  SHS struggled to regain control and saw their lead shrink to 20-18 on a 5-2 run.  A lucky service error by the Tigers gave the ball to Summit and with a little breathing room,  Summit reacted aggressively and gave the team a 23-18 lead before losing serve but the damage was done and the result was a 25-21 second victory for the Hilltoppers.

  Varsity is now 4W-0L and sit alone on top of the Mountain Division.

VARSITY GETS THIRD WIN, GET PUSHED BY RAHWAY

 The Varsity squad entered the Monday matchup with their old rivals buyoed by the fact that their serving and multi-pronged attack had sustained them in the first two matches of the young season.  The squad, however, forgot to check with Rahway if they had been impressed, and the Indians let SHS know from the beginning they were there to play for an upset.  

Game 1 started very auspiciously for the Maroon and White with Rahway opening up a 3-0 lead behind 2 aces by the RHS squad.  A kill by Vivian Roberts had the squad on the board and the teams were knotted up at 3 before too long.  The Indians showed resilience and fought back to a 6-3 lead but the Hilltoppers had already been responsible for 4 of those 6 points.  The rash of errors continued with a dig error, 2 hitting errors and an ace gave Rahway an 11-4 lead.  The Summit faithfulere nervous and were justified in feeling that way as the Maroon and White had played 15 points and were literally responsible for 11 of them!!!  Captain Sarah Maldonado made her return to the floor and quickly put down a kill which led to a couple of more points and the Top was only down by 4 at 7-11.  An Indian kill and another SHS error seemed to mute the enthusiasm of the team as the lead was back up to 13-7 but Erin Vostal ripped a kill and Meghan Tarashukl got an ace to begin to pull the squad up at 13-9 but, yet again,  3 consecutive attack errors had seemingly given Rahway the final momentum with a 16-9 lead.  Time-out Martins.

Coming off the time-out,  Maldonado hit for a kill from the outside which broke the momentum but a service error and an errant attack had RHS at the doorstep of a victory at 18-10.  But then Vostal stepped up and nailed a kill, hit for an ace and Summit had cut the lead to 6 at 19-13.  This time, the Rahway nerves were palpable and 2 errors by the Indians had Summit within 4 at 19-14.  Another break of serve appeared to be the calming influence for the Indians but things were not at all what they seemed as the team proceeded to go on a 3-0 run which saw Roberts put down a kill for the 20-18 deficit.  Time-out Rahway.

After the time-out, Summit outscored their opponent 7-3, a run which featured 2 kills, 1 ace and 1 block.  Summit out-scored the Indians 14-8 in the game with a 9-3 advantage on kills.

Game 2 saw the Hilltoppers opened up with an 11-2 run that had the Hilltoppers comfortably ahead 12-2 behind 5 kills and 3 aces by Sarah Brennan.  Rahway began to make the effort to take the road less traveled and scored on a 4-0 run that had the squad down 12-6.  Summit responded well though and extended that lead to 18-8 behind the key blocking of Annabella Yorio  and crucial kills by Maldonado.  The game and match seemed to be in order and indeed that was not the case as Rahway continued to fight, first a 5 out 6 run which got the Indians to within 6 at 20-14.  A Catherine Eldridge kill and a Brennan ace destroyed any hope left for the RHS faithful as the lead ballooned again to 22-14.  After a couple of hitting errors saw Rahway get to within 5 at 22-17,  Coach Martins called a time-out which did little to stem the tide as the RHS squad got another point off a Summit error  but then Maldonado and Eldridge combined for 2 key kills to put the game out of reach at 24-19.

Summit out-killed Rahway 21-10, out-paced the Indians with a 3-1 blocking advantage and hit for 7 aces to win the scoring battle 31-16.  The team was a little more inconsistent from the service line, serving at 85.7% but also saw the team hit for aces at a 14.3% clip.  

Kiera Stocks notched 11 digs in the loss and passed at an incredible 2.67, giving up no aces for the match.  

JUNIOR VARSITY SWEEPS RAHWAY FOR THIRD WIN

 The Hilltoppers took care of some home cookin´ on Monday, sweeping a tough Rahway opponent by a 25-20, 25-11 score, relying on steady serving and timely offense to outscore the Indians in key points in the match.  

In game 1, serving errors and inopportune hitting errors were part of the Summit reality and kept Rahway within range of the Hilltoppers at 12-10 through 6 rotations. Summit got key serves from Abby Wells and Bridget Dempsey late to turn a 17-16 lead into 23-20 by rotation 12.   The Hilltoppers closed it out a rotation later for the 25-20 game 1 victory.

Game 1 was the Victoria MacArthur show as the junior rattled off 8 service points (4 aces) to blow open the 5-2 game and give the Top a 13-3 lead which SHS would not relinquish.  Despite the next 3 rotations being a little flat for the Hilltoppers, Jordan Parella stepped up at 18-9 to drive the dagger into the Rahway hearts with a 3-0 run that squashed any chance of a comeback by the Indians with a 21-9 lead.  Summit takes the set 25-11.  

In game 2, serving errors and inopportune hitting errors were part of the Summit reality and kept Rahway within range of the Hilltoppers at 12-10 through 6 rotations. Summit got key serves from Abby Wells and Bridget Dempsey late to turn a 17-16 lead into 23-20 by rotation 12.   The Hilltoppers closed it out a rotation later for the 25-20 game 2 victory.

Parella was an instrumental piece in the team´s success,  contributing with some key defensive plays and running a very efficient offense in addition to her 6 service points for the match.  

9th GRADERS TRAVEL TO UNION CATHOLIC TO AVENGE 2019 LOSS AT SHS

 The 9th Graders traveled to Union Catholic in a return of a home and home series started back in the Fall of 2019 that saw the Maroon and White lose to the Scotch-Plains team 25-18, 22-25, 10-15 at home in a battle that saw the Vikings take a late 7-0 run in game 2 to snatch victory from the Hilltoppers and then followed up with a 4-0 run in game 3 to get a lead they would not relinquish.

But this is a different year and a different team and the Hilltoppers went on early runs and dominated the UC 9th grade squad in both games, taking game 1 25-16 and finishing it off with a 25-13 game 2 win for the match victory.  Emily Demm was a consistent force behind the service line and helped open up leads that the Hilltoppers would not relinquish.  Demm was a consistent steadying force as well defensively and on offense, seemingly making a play everytime the Hilltoppers needed one.  Teammate Julia Nardino was also a big factor in the match as her consistent serving and positive energy kept the team calm during early moments of each game when things were tense.  More importantly, Nardino has been asked to be the quarterback of the squad and she has deliverd with many great sets and a presence at the net that has shaped the Summit offense.  

Record: 3W-0L

Next up for the 9th Graders,  the Linden Tigers.  

 

9th GRADERS PICK UP WIN #2 VS. THE LANCERS OF GOVERNOR LIVINGSTON

 The young squad took the court against a much more experienced Governor Livingston team who were looking to continue their winning ways against the Hilltoppers after beating them 2-0 in the last encounter in 2019.  The squads finished 1W-1L for the season with Summit taking the early season matchup and the Lancers taking the late season one.

Today though, it was the Summit Hilltoppers who came out ahead with a 25-18, 16-25, 25-20 win versus a tough 9th grade squad of Gov. Livingston.

Game 1 was truly the Emily Demm and the Julia Nardino show as the game was decided from the service line more than any other facet of the game.  The two athletes combined for 9 of the 12 service points the team got in the opening game.  Nardino got the Hilltoppers into control through the middle of the match as the team rallied behind her 4-0 service run which got SHS to 14 points in the game.  Despite a service break,  Summit got another service point from Emily Griffith but the Maroon and White could not keep the service pressure up and saw Governor Livingston crawl back into the match.  

But then Demm came up after Summit had reached 19 points but still only led by 1 after a Lancer service error and proceeded to rattle off 6-0 run that closed out the deciding game and match, 25-20.

The second game saw the Lancers win the battle of the serve, committing less errors and hitting for more aces which was the difference of the game and it showed on the scoreboard as the Governor Livingston squad pushed the match into a third game.

The third game was a game of runs that were very spread apart.  Governor Livingston started the game serving but it was Demm again that settled things down by going on a 6-0 run to lead the Hilltopper attack in rotation 1 and settle the team down.  Unfortunately, the Maroon and White were unable to score 1 service point in the next 5 rotations and that kept the deciding game under the control of Governor Livingston.  The Lancers, however,  were also showing the nerves of a third game and could not capitalize on the Summit serving misses thus keeping SHS in the game.  And eventually, in rotation 7,  Demm hurt the Lancers again with a 4-0 run that pushed Summit to an 18-14 lead and then Nardino followed up with a 3-0 run of her own to get the Top to the crucial 20 point mark (85% win rate if you reach 20 points first).  Griffith again got a crucial point late to push the lead to 24-19 and the rest was academic as SHS closed it out with a tough, well-earned 25-20 game 3 win for the match victory.

RIVALRIES RENEWED IN 2021 WITH MATCHES VS. RAHWAY AND AT LINDEN

 Next Monday and Tuesday,  the Hilltoppers will host rivals Rahway Indians and travel to the Tigers of Linden.

These two upcoming matchups should go a long way in determining the success of this season for JV and Varsity.  Linden was swept by the JV Hilltpoppers but Rahway stunned SHS at Rahway to split the regular season series last year.  Summit did beat the Indians in the first round of the county tournament to take the rubber match in 2019.  

Varsity swept the series with a 2-1 (25-17, 23-25, 25-19) victory on the road and a  2-0 (25-22, 25-22) win at home in tightly contested matches.  In the home match,  SHS out-killed Rahway 23-14, out-blocked the Indians 2-0 and out-aced them 8-6 for a total score of 33-20 yet the match was a 3 point affair each game.  

Although Summit opened this year with a scrimmage and a regular season victory vs. New Providence,  Rahway fell to the Pioneers in 2 games just this week.  Outstanding serving has helped the Hilltoppers roll to a 2W-0L start this season.  Can it do the the same against the Indians?

The Linden Tigers have had Summit´s number for nearly a decade.  In 2017, Summit dropped both matches to Linden by 2-1 scores, in 2018 the Hilltoppers won only 1 of 3 matches and lost both match-ups last year.  The theme is generally the same for the Hilltoppers lack of success versus the Tigers:  serve receive difficulty or hitting errors.

In 2017, the Top hit for 6 aces but yielded 12 and were out of system more often that not in match 1.  In match 2, the Hilltoppers out-aced Linden 12-8 but had 23 hitting errors in the match.

In 2018, Linden won the season series 2-1 with total scores of 104-92 which showed Linden with a +5 advantage in kills, a -1 deficit in blocks and a +8 advantage in aces.  In the 1 match that Summit won however, a 2-1 result of 24-26, 25-23, 25-23,  Summit took the match by out-scoring their opponents by 45-36 (30-19 on kills).  But Summit did yield 36 points to Linden on faults, serving/passing and hitting errors while the Hilltoppers were the beneficiaries of only 23 of those points from Linden.   Linden tries to limit the Summit offense and counts on errors by their opponent so that they do not have to score as much to win a match.

In 2019 that was very evident as both matches went 3 games with Linden winning both by 2-1 margins.  Summit managed only 37 kills to Linden´s 39.  Linden out-blocked Summit 8-4 but was out-aced by SHS 25-13.  Summit had 54 hitting and service errors however and the Tigers only 36.  That error margin negated any serving advantage earned by the Top.  Should the Hilltoppers continue their current form,  it should pose a real threat the the Linden dominance over the Hilltoppers in recent history.  

HILLTOPPERS DEFEND HOME TURF VERSUS HOME TOWN RIVAL OAK KNOLL

The Junior Varsity and Varsity levels took on the Royals of Oak Knoll yesterday afternoon and came away with 2 resounding victories to improve to 2W-0L on both levels. 

JV POWERS TO SECOND WIN OFF SERVICE LINE

Summit's JV started off a little slow in game one and trailed 7-4 in the third rotation but then DS Victoria MacArthur stepped up on service to score on 8 service points to get Summit to a 13-7 lead and push Oak Knoll into a situation where they would have to get their deficit down to under 5 points in the next two rotations to have a chance at the game 1 win. The Royals did crawl back  to within 5 in the next few rotations (11-16) but then Jaclyn Szabados came up to serve and behind her serve, Summit rattled off five service points to effectively shut the door on their city rivals with the score at 22-11.  

Final score game 1, 25-15.

If the Hilltoppers were able to serve as aggressively as they did in game 1, game 2 should provide a carbon copy result as the Royals struggled to get any serve receive consistency.  Summit served first and that pretty much spelled the end of the game as Oak Knoll failed to score 1 service point in five of their rotations while SHS got at least 4 service points from 4 of their first six rotations to put the game and match essentially out of hand.  

                            SHS        OK

Rotation     1            1            2

                   2            5            3

                   3            6            4

                   4            10          5

                   5            14          6

                   6            19          7

MacArthur's serving was the turning point of the match as it set the tone for the rest of the match and allowed SHS to run their defense much more easily after ther rotation.

JV faces a gauntlet of trials next week with Rahway (one of the few teams to beat SHS in 2019),  Linden,  ALJ and New Providence on their schedule.

VARSITY CONTINUES SERVING WELL,  USES MULTIPLE OFFENSIVE WEAPONS TO CONTROL ROYAL ASSAULT

The Varsity Squad got to see all of its players in the match against Oak Knoll in part because the serving attack is clicking at a rate not seen in Summit Vball history.  The team is serving at an astonishing 94.9% and an ace % of 25.5% and are averaging 12.5 aces per match currently.  The team has 7 players who have notched at least 1 ace.

Summit received the first serve, Kiera Stocks delivered a perfect pass to Kasey Walsh who then set the OH newcomer Vivian Roberts for a kill and that got the Hilltoppers off to a 4-1 run (Walsh ace, Eva Oberhuber block).  Despite a break of serve,  the Royals were not able to convert on their serve and SHS went on 7-0 run to blow open the game early.  DS Sarah Brennan forced multiple Oak Knoll errors with her serves and earned 3 aces to give the Hilltoppers the cushion they needed for the game.  Oak Knoll needed a spark to get them back in the game but Roberts put down another kill to quelch any hope of that and Summit went on another run, 8-0,  in which Erin Vostal got a kill and a stuff block,  Stocks had 2 aces and a kill and Brennan also got a kill to push the score to 19-2.  Although the game was firmly out of hand,  SHS did not want to open the door for any comeback and the message was sent with another 6-1 run that closed the game 25-3.

Game 2 saw the debut of Olivia Lawlor at Setter,  and Rebecca Thompson,  Alexis Barnes and Annabella Yorio saw action as well.  9th Grader Zoe Zacharias led off the game setting from the backrow and served an ace to start which sparked a 3-0 run that saw Catherine Eldridge get a stuff block for the Hilltopper defense.  Eldridge and Vostal were heavily involved in an 8-4 run after a Royal service break (3 kills combined) that had Summit leading 11-5 and looking like another decisive result was imminent.  It quickly became apparent that was the reality in today's outcome for the Blue and White as SHS ripped off a 5-0 run after the Royals made the score 12-6 to essentially put the game out of hand.  Vostal spearheaded the run with 2 aces and constant pressured which caused many errant passes by the Oak Knoll squad. A brief 3-0 run cut the lead to 8 at 9-17 but the Royals gave it back to the Hilltoppers after a service error and Zacharias ripped an ace to get the lead back up to 20-9.  Oak Knoll managed one more point of a stuff block but the Hilltoppers earned a point off a Royal service error and got two more aces by Brennan and an overpass kill by Roberts to close the game and match 25-10.  

Sarah Brennan takes home player of the match honors with a 5 ace, 1 kill, 5 dig performance that tied her for the team lead in points with 6!

The Hilltoppers did not have many offensive opportunities against a team that struggled with their serve receive but still managed 12 kills with only 1 error and out-scored the Royals 28-6 for the match.  Roberts and Vostal combined for 3 kills apiece to lead the team and Vostal led all offensive players with 6 points (3k, 2ace, 1 block).  Stocks and Brennan anchored a solid defense that thwarted most of the Oak Knoll attacks, notching 5 digs apiece.  

Of note, the main serve receivers (Brennan, Meghan Tarashuk, Gabbie Guidetti, Stocks) have been stellar in these first two matches, giving up only 6 aces in 4 games.  The team is also putting up prefect passes off receive at nearly 37% which is allowing them the use of their middle offense.  

VARSITY PREVIEW OF MATCHUP VS. THE OAK KNOLL ROYALS

 The city rivals used to meet twice a year in the Mountain Division until the Royals moved up to the Watchung Division in 2018.  The matchups favored the usually tough Royals who always seemed to have 1 or 2 potent outside hitters to overpower the Hilltoppers.  In 2016, the Hilltoppers shocked the county as the #4 ranked Royals lost at home just prior to their semi-final match in the Union County Tournament to Summit (2-1) after SHS had pushed them to three games in their first matchup at Summit.  

In 2017, the Royals took both matches, 25-12,25-21 and 25-22, 25-21, in which SHS managed to score only 41 points in those 2 events.  In 2018 and 19 the outcomes were vastly different as the Hilltoppers seemed to have the better offensive depth and it showed in the 2 match results, both Hilltopper wins by scores of 25-17, 25-19 and in 2019 by tallies of 25-13, 25-19.  SHS scored 70 points in both matches combined, averaging 19 kills and 13.5 aces per match.  

This will be the first and only meeting in regular season play for the cross-town rivals which will go a long way in showing whether the Summit offense can live up to expectations set by their win versus New Providence.

SUCCESSFUL OPENING DAY - ALL THREE LEVELS SWEEP THE PIONEERS

 In closely contested matches,  the Hilltoppers took 2-0 victories over the Pioneers of New Providence on all three levels yesterday to open the 2021 Winter Season campaign.  

9th GRADERS ESCAPE A CLOSE FIRST GAME, DOMINATE SECOND TO OPEN SEASON

The 9th Grade Squad took their first match of the season 26-24, 25-3 over the Pioneers in a match that the Hilltoppers had to display some resolve in overcoming some service and attacking woes in game 1 but were just dominant from the service line in game 2 to seal the first win of the season.  Anna Joseph was the player of the match as she rattled off double digit service points and had an overall consistent match to lead the Maroon and White to its first victory of the season.

The team will face off against Governor Livingston at home on Friday, 4pm start.

JV SURVIVE EARLY SERVICE WOES, RELY ON OFFENSE TO CARRY THEM TO WIN

The New Providence and Summit volleyball battles on the JV Level tend to be classics.  Summit usually has the size advantage while the Pioneers always manage to bring tough serving and defense that will keep numerous balls alive and extend rallies.  This matchup to open up the 2021 Winter season campaign was no different as the Hilltoppers seemed to dominate early but had to survive a game 2 scare to take the match 25-10, 26-24.

Summit was going to have a power advantage in the front row as the team was clearly taller and could generate more power off its attack.  New Prov was clearly more consistent from the service line and scrambled out of system effectively, keeping balls alive on serve receive and transition that seemed destined for a Hilltopper point, until they did not.  However, the relentless offense the Hilltoppers generated had New Providence merely managing to survive as they could not mount any type of offensive sets to trouble the SHS defense.  Quickly the tide turned and Summit took control the second time through the rotation and won game 1 convincingly 25-10.

Despite the early offensive frustration in game 2, it was the serving inconsistency (nerves? jitters?) that doomed the Maroon and White early.  Summit trailed by 6, 15-9, in game 2, primarily due to the fact that SHS missed, at one point, five of six serves (4 in a row!) which led to points for the Green and White that they did not have to work for in the game.  Once Summit got through the second time in rotation, the serving began to come to life and, with the offense still effective,  Summit erased that deficit and took control late in the game with an 11-4 run that seemed to break the Pioneer spirit (20-19) until another missed serve gave the Green and White hope at 20-20.  Summit leaned on its offense from this point on to claw their way to a 22-23 lead and closer to a match point but another unforced service error seemed to say that this was not going to be their game.  

But the mainstay of the match had been the steady and predictable serve receive of the Hilltoppers and yet again, in these crucial points, it was the serve receive which provided Summit with the opportunity to use its advantage on offense to close out the game and match at 26-24.

Sara Noa was stellar in the match despite early struggles from the service line.  She was a defensive rock for the squad and provided the team with a spark from the service line late in the games to help lift Summit to its first win of the campaign.

VARSITY SIDEOUT AT NEARLY 50%, SERVE UP 12 ACES, SCORE 34 POINTS, TAKE WIN

Since 2017, the Hilltoppers have come out on the short side of any matchup with the Pioneers more often than not, losing 6 of 7 matches, most of them tight battles but, despite the grit and fight, the Maroon and White usuallly lack the firepower from the service line or the front line to outscore the Pioneers.

In 2017, Summit dropped a 24-26, 18-25 decision and a 23-25, 17-25 decision in which the Hilltoppers scored 36 points in 2 matches and the Pioneers scored 58.  In 2018, New Prov wins 25-14, 25-16 outscoring Summit 39-19 but Summit stunned the Pioneers 13-25, 27-25, 25-17 getting outscored by a mere 3 points (36-39) for the match but outscoring New Providence by 29-23 in the closing two games for the unlikely victory.  In 2019 however,  the losing trend continued, with SHS dropping a 23-25, 16-25 decision in the county tournament match, a thrilling and heartbreaking 17-25, 26-24, 23-25 loss and a 10-25, 8-25 non-competitive outing in early September.  Summit was outscored 34-21, 42-34 and 33-8 respectively in those matchups.

Since 2010,  the best offensive output by the Hilltoppers had been in 2011, the year of best team in SHS history (21W-4L, Division Champs, County Semi-Finalists, State-Sectional Semi-Finalists).  That squad, led by Lindsey Leiter (First Team All-County and Conference),  averaged 13.51 points per game (kills+aces+blocks), just a shade over 27 per match.  If match 1 of the 2021 season is any indication,  the losing trend to New Providence may be reversing itself and there is the very real potential of a very special year.  Summit out-scored the Pioneers 34-17 in a 25-20, 25-15 match win to open the 2021 Winter campaign with 17 points in each of the games.  

Kasey Walsh kicked off the campaign in game 1 with 2 quick aces and it set the tone for the game as the Maroon and White seemed to always get the key serve at crucial times to bail themselves out of trouble.  Summit however suffered a 1-6 run early on to trail 3-6 but a New Prov hitting error with 2 aces by Captain Kiera Stocks knotted the match back up again.  Erin Vostal got a tip kill and a quick attack out of the middle scored as well to soon have the Top up 10-7 nearing the midpoint of the game.  Vostal got involved a bit later again, this time defensively, with a solo block while adding another kill from the outside sandwiched between a New Prov service error and Gabbie Guidetti ace to give Summit a 12-9 lead.  The Hilltoppers then went on a 8-4 run culminated by a down ball kill by newcomer Vivian Roberts gave Summit a 20-13 lead which seemed secure at that point.  Two net faults by the Maroon and White gave New Prov a glimmer of hope which was made more like a floodlight after 3 consecutive hitting errors that followed a controversial no call on a thunderous Catherine Eldridge quick attack that seemed to go down but, no whistle blew, which led to a subsequent hitting error by the Top.  The frustration led to a couple of more hitting errors and forced Coach Martins to call a time out to settle the troops.  Coming out of the time-out still leading 22-19, the Top still gave up another point on a New Providence ace but the home team made a crucial serving error and that sent Meghan Tarashuk to the line and she hammered home 2 jump float aces to end the game 25-20.

Game 2 seemed to be a continuation of the opening game as the Pioneers, buyoed by their performance in the opening game, felt they could take a game from the Hilltoppers despite being out-scored 17-10 because the Top had only out-killed them 8-6.  The Pioneers were the aggressors from the service line early, jumping out to a 6-4 lead after an ace and a tough serve which forced an errant return ball by the Top.  But Summit got an unlikely kill by Stocks and an Eldridge hammer out of the middle to knot things up again which led to the Vostal show with 2 kills and a block to extend the lead to 10-7.  To their credit and history, New Providence has always played like they believe they can overcome the Maroon and White, a fact laid out by the results of the last 3 seasons, but, this year, it seems that the Hilltoppers have a more balanced offense and Vostal was at the center of it yet again as the home squad tied up the score at 10 just to see Vostal get another block and one more kill to give Summit another three point lead as part of a 6-2 run that sealed the game outcome and match.  In the run,  Vostal got a dig on defense and an ace while Roberts pounded two thunderous kills between the double block she was facing to get Summit to a 19-11 advantage.  It seemed that Eva Oberhuber had pushed the lead to 20-11 but another controversial call gave the ball back to New Providence and ended the run.  Summit closed out the game and match on a 5-0 run after the Pioneers had clawed to within 5 at 20-15 led by a perfect 3 pass-set-quick attack kill executed by Rebecca Thompson, Zoe Zacharias and Eldridge which put Sarah Brennan at the line to close the game out as it had started, with two back to back aces.

Of note, the team served at a perfect 100% (49/49) with 12 aces for the match (24.5%), a key reason for their success.

Erin Vostal earned Player of the Match, leading the squad with 10 points (6 kills, 3 blocks, 1 ace), scoring 6 of those points in the crucial moments of the second and decisive game 2.

  

NEW PROVIDENCE VARSITY PREVIEW

 In 2019, the Hilltoppers lost the first match 2-0 in a dominant 25-10, 25-8 win for the Pioneers which saw Summit only manage 4 kills out of 47 attempts and 11 errors.  

In match 2, Summit hosted the Pioneers and the difference of the match was stark.  The Hilltoppers hit for 23 kills in the match in a nail biter that had the Maroon and White down 17-25, rebound for a 26-24 set 2 win and fell just short in the last set, 25-23.  

The last matchup was back at New Providence in the County Quarterfinals and the Green and White was able to win another 2-0 match but in a very different manner.  The Hilltoppers came close but could not seal set 1 and dropped it late 23-25 and the offense went dry in the second as Summit dropped a 16-25 decision.  SHS hit for .275 efficiency, the highest of the 3 matches, but only tallied 15 kills, most of those in set 1 (10k) , a number the Hilltoppers needed to be much better.  

In this 2021 Winter Season, the 2-1 Scrimmage decision saw a pattern not seen last year, the consistent kill production of the squad.  With 2 more matchups this season versus the Pioneers, the team´s ability to produce consistent offense will determine much of their success. 

By end of September 2019, the Hilltoppers had a 6W-5L record, the first time in nearly a decade that the team was nearly out of September with a .500 record.  The squad then had a difficult week against rival Linden (2-1 Loss),  Blair Academy (2-0 Loss), Kent Place (2-0 Loss) and Columbia (2-0 Loss) which plummeted the squad to a 6W-9L record.  Despite going 5W-5L the rest of the way, the damage of that 4 game stretch was done and the team was yet again out of the Group 3 Tournament picture.  

With the State Sectional Tournament back for the first time in just about a decade,  the prospect for post season play is very exciting this year and the goal is to see the return of the Hilltoppers to the state tournament stage. 

OPENING SCRIMMAGE VS. PIONEERS REVEALED STRENGTHS AND POTENTIAL PITFALLS

9th Graders Open Up with a Bang

The Hilltoppers faced off against the New Providence Pioneers across all three levels at Summit this past Friday and came away with 8/9 sets won.  The Maroon and White were solid across the service line and had the benefit of the struggles of the Pioneers in serving to cap off a solid 3-0 victory versus the Green and White at the 9th grade level.  

Although the opening victory in the scrimmage was rightfully celebrated, the squad will need to improve its serve receive and transition offense as they step up in competition this season.  As with any young squad, developing consistency will be the main goal even in this curtailed season.

Junior Varsity Offense Pressures New Prov Into a Loss 

The Junior Varsity squad is ladened with experienced club players and added a core of sophomores who have made the depth of the team the best its been in recent memory.  The addition of some junior and 9th grade athletes to the mix has also helped in ensuring the long term success of the squad.  The match itself featured many long rallies that went the way of the Hilltoppers because,  although New Providence showed great defensive prowess, the Maroon and White attack was relentless and kept the pressure up throughout the sets.  Summit took the 3 sets from New Providence in convincing fashion and the offense and serving of the Hilltoppers looks to be a major strength of the squad.  Can the team be more consistent from the service line and not have spurts of 2-3 consecutive misses?  Can the Hilltoppers eliminate some of the offensive unforced errors in out of system play?  And can the serve receive handle a more potent serving attack?  These are the questions left to be answered for the JV Squad in this shortened season.  Questions that will also reveal the answer to the essential question, what is the Fall 2021 Team look like?

Varsity Dominates with Offense to Take the First, Gives Away the Second and Rebounds in Third

The Varsity Lady Hilltoppers began the scrimmage asupiciously with 2/3 misses from the service line but the team settled down and hit for 13 kills and 5 aces in Set 1 to take the opening stanza 25-11.  Set 2 saw the Hilltoppers hit 6 service errors and 9 unforced hitting errors to spot New Prov 15 points.  Despite that stat, the team only dropped the set by a 25-20 score, outscoring New Prov 13-10.  

The team played without its Libero, Captain Kiera Stocks, and a couple of other Set 1 starters in the final set and the team passed far better and made better decisions out of system to take the third set comfortably.  Once again, the offense played a major part in the win as the Hilltpoppers hit for 10 kills and 4 aces and added 3 blocks from the defensive side to notch 17 points.  New Prov was unable to match the point output of the Maroon and White which proved to be the decisive factor.

The team was selected as one of the teams to watch in the Union County Conference for this season and based on the offensive indications thus far, the potential is there for this to be a special season.  But the team has to eliminate its unforced errors out of system as one of its strengths is its blocking presence and defense which are negated if there are a lot of hitting errors.  The team can clearly serve very effectively and will score points with that approach but it will give up some points in that aggressive posture which makes it more vital to make better decisions with the ball when they are out of system.  

The 9th Graders will host New Providence on Tuesday while the Var and JV will travel to the Pioneers.  Oak Knoll will visit the Summit gym on Wednesday for the Varsity and JV´s opening home match!

 

2021 SPRING SEASON 9TH GRADE ROSTER

After an unexpectedly long tryout season for the 9th graders, we are happy to announce the roster for the Spring 2021 Season.  Our target was 15 players and we will end up at 16 for the current season.  Remember, in a mere 5 and a half months, tryouts for JV / V begin :) 

Camille Carino

Emily Demm

Emily Griffith

Charlotte Hendra

Grace Hoffman

Emerson Honigstock

Sophie Indelicato

Anna Joseph

Maeve Keegan

Alessandra Liguori

Julia Nardino

Scarlet Oppici

Emily Polo

Kristen Reilley

Abby Thompson

Elizabeth Walsh

2021 SPRING SEASON JUNIOR VARSITY ROSTER

 After a week long effort by many young athletes, the following is the final roster for the 2021 Spring Season.

The list is divided by grade level and alphabetized:

9th Grade

Hannah Barlow
Kate Cooper
Isabelle Meltzer

10th Grade

Bridget Dempsey
Jessica Clark
Naya Kim*
Ally Lipschitz
Stephanie Sexton
Alison Wauters
Abby Wells
Stella Yarden

11th Grade

Hope Basaman

Aya Laws

Victoria MacArthur

Sarah Noa

Jordan Parella

Thea Rind

Jaclyn Szabados

The Junior Varsity Squad will look to continue its winning tradition of the last 5 years under the guidance of Coach John Ross.  This year´s team will, in a short five and a half months,  be on the court again (with a little luck) and will become the foundation of the 2021 Fall Season Varsity.  Their varsity season, in essence, begins now.  Having said that,  this is the most experienced and talented JV team that the Maroon and White has featured in recent years from a volleyball perspective.  It will be a fun ride.

2021 SPRING SEASON VARSITY ROSTER

 With a few late additions, the 2021 VARSITY Squad has been selected.

The Lady Hilltoppers return 8 players from the 2019 season and added 4 Junior Varsity players to the squad before the 2020 season was postponed to set their 12 -woman roster.  After tryouts began across all levels this week, the team promoted to the Varsity level individuals whom the coaching staff felt would add depth to the squad and might see significant time based on performance metrics in practice and in matches.  Looking forward to the 2021 Spring Season!!!

Varsity Squad

Captain - Sarah Maldonado, Sr. Outside Hitter

Captain - Kiera Stocks, Sr. Libero (4 year Varsity Volleyball Member, 2 Year Captain)

Captain - Kasey Walsh, Sr. Setter

Alexis Barnes, Sr. Defensive Specialist 

Sarah Brennan, Sr. Defensive Specialist

Catherine Eldridge, Sr. Middle Blocker
Gabbie Guidetti, Sr. Defensive Specialist / Opposite

Olivia Lawlor, Jr. Opposite / Setter

Eva Oberhuber, Jr. Outside Hitter / Middle Blocker

Vivian Roberts, Soph. Outside Hitter / Middle Blocker
Meghan Tarashuk, Sr. Defensive Specialist

Rebecca Thompson, Jr. Outside Hitter / Opposite
Erin Vostal, Sr. Outside Hitter / Middle Blocker
Annabella Yorio, Sr. Opposite / Outside Hitter

Zoe Zacharias, 9th Setter

This is by far the tallest and most athletic team that Summit Volleyball has fielded.  It contains a blend of some of the best multi-sport athletes in the school and experience from both an attacking and defensive perspective.

The front row of the Hilltoppers could feature a combination of 5'6", 5'7", 3 players at 5'11", 3 players at 6', and 1 player at 6'2".  The defensive side of the ball will feature a combination of 2 players at 5'3", 1 player at 5'5", 3 players at 5'6" and 1 player at 5'7".

The combination of returners and full year volleyball players should produce some amazing results this year.