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.
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