The 9th Graders took a tough 2-0 decision by 25-16, 25-23 tally to move to 5W-1L for the year while Junior Varsity improved to 7W-2L with a 25-22, 25-17 decision over the Tigers. Varsity struggled early but managed to survive on the road by a 15-25, 25-20, 25-22 decision over a much improved Linden squad.
The Junior Varsity Squad had leads late and held on to wins as their serving attack just produced more points than the Linden offense. Isabelle Meltzer and Liv Ge were instrumental in late runs in each set to create the buffer the squad would need to close out the Tigers who proved to be a feisty opponent in this 2nd meeting of the season.
Varsity was down 5-0 before the first set was 3 minutes old (serve error, block error, dig error and 2 Linden aces) and really did not react until the score was way out of hand at 20-9 Tigers. There was a 4-0 run by the Top then led by two Vivian Roberts kills and one by Hannah Barlow but the 20-13 lead was just too much to overcome and the squad went down 25-15 in set 1. Summit scored 10 points on 7 kills, 1 block and 2 aces and matched the Linden Tigers point total of 10 (8 aces, 2 kills). SHS had 9 hitting and serving errors compared to only 4 for the home team which proved to be the main issue for the Hilltop side.
Set 2 needed a better start for the visitors and it got that with a 3-2 lead early thanks to two kills by Barlow and an ace by Zoe Zacharias. The set remained tight over the next few rotations and with the score 6-6, SHS ran off a mini run of 3-0 fueled by Alison Wauters who nailed a kill to get to serve and then delivered on two consecutive serves that forced the Linden side into 2 3rd ball return errors forcing a Tiger TO.
The TO settled the home side and they proceeded to rattle off a 4-0 run before a serving error gave the ball back to SHS tied up at 10. Yet again the teams traded mini runs over the next 6 rotations and after a serving error by Summit saw the Tigers take a late 18-17 lead, SHS responded with a 3-0 run that saw the visitors assert their physicality. Roberts had failed to get a kill on two tough swings but caught the Tigers expecting a third when she tipped for a kill. Then the senior captain slammed one down for the 19-18 lead and Julia Nardino who was very active all match put down a tip kill for the 20-18 lead. Linden knotted it back up at 20 but the fans could sense that the Summit squad had turned the corner and they demonstrated it with a 5-0 run to close the set with Roberts ripping four consecutive aces to give SHS a shot at the road win in set 3.
The Hilltoppers scored 17 points in the set (11K, 6 Aces) while Linden managed only 9. Yet again the early serving errors by Summit continued to be a problem as the team squandered 8 points from the service line.
The deciding set began auspiciously enough for the Top as they found themselves 6-2 down before long with the Linden service attack effectively disrupting the Summit offense. Barlow stopped the momentum with a kill and Roberts out of system placed the perfect down ball into an empty zone of the defense to bring SHS back to within 2. Another service error broke momentum but Wauters nailed a crucial kill which was followed by a Barlow ace and the Top had crawled back to within 1 at 7-6. An attack error saw the Linden squad regain control but again Summit responded with a 3-0 run (Zacharias 2 tip kills, Roberts kill) and despite a hitting error, the visitors had erased the deficit and stood tied at 9.
Four rotations later, very similar to set 2, neither team was able to pull away or create any meaningful separation but it was SHS who reacted first in the latter stages of the set with a 5-0 run. Summit prevented Linden's best server from scoring an ace and the subsequent free ball was placed well enough to force an errant return by the home side. Barlow finished off a play the began with a dug ball by Roberts off a solid Tiger attack. Zacharias then fooled everyone in the gym by shooting a ball to the OPP Wauters for a bullet down to zone 6 instead of sending it to Barlow and the Linden staff called a TO to gather the troops at 16-14 SHS.
Summit got a solid serve off the TO by Henry which led to another Barlow kill and then the soph Libero ripped an ace to expand the lead to 18-14 and you could see the Summit confidence growing by the point. After a break of serve set off a mini Tiger run, the home side were hit with a foot fault and Summit had a 19-16 lead. Linden continued to press and with the lead down to 19-18, Roberts hit for a well placed tip and the lead was back to 20-18. Yet again, however, a service error showed its ugly face and it took a good enough reception by Roberts which led to another kill from the back row from the captain to see the Top remain in control at 21-19. Cece Webb had a solid serve and forced a Tiger passing error which not only had SHS up 22-19 but it also forced a Linden TO.
Linden was able to cut the lead back down to 1 at 22-21 off the TO, a credit to their resiliency, but with their backs against the wall on the road, Summit got an ace late in this set by Roberts and, appropriately enough, got a set and game clinching 25th point off a Linden service error to wrap up a less than pretty win on the road.
Summit out-scored Linden 19-9 in set 3 with a whopping 15-3 kill advantage but service errors, 7 of them, made the set much more difficult than it had to be at the end.
The squad out-scored Linden 46-28 in the match but gave up 20 points on service errors to keep the match closer than it actually was in reality.
Match Statistical Leaders:
Serving: Roberts 7 aces, 2.85 rating
Receiving (Perfect Passes): Barlow 8
Receiving (Pass Rating): Barlow 2.13
Attack (Kills): Roberts and Barlow 13
Attack (Kill %): Roberts 50.0%
Attack (Efficiency): Barlow .300
Defense (Blocks): Zacharias and Wauters 1
Defense (Digs): Roberts 12
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