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.
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