Summit Varsity looked to keep their momentum going from this past weekend's 2nd place finish at the Healing the Children Tournament as they took on the Oak Knoll Royals at home.
Set 1 began well for the Top as SHS found itself up 5-0after a Hannah Barlow tip kill which was followed by two Zoe Zacharias aces and a Julia Nardino block. A Nardino tip kill and a Barlow kill extended the lead to 7-1 but Oak Knoll responded with a 6-1 run and just like that, Summit only led by one at 8-7.
A service error by the Royals opened the door for Summit and Alison Wauters did not wait for the invite. The senior ripped an ace while teammate Vivian Roberts scored on a kill and the Top found itself up 12-7. After a Royal service break, Roberts crushed 4 more kills and Summit found itself up 17-10. The Hilltoppers relaxed a bit, perhaps too much, and Oak Knoll went on an 8-3 run to close the gap to 2 at 20-18. The nervousness was palpable but another Oak Knoll service error again shifted the momentum and Cece Webb scored on an ace and forced two errant passes by the Royals to extend the lead to 23-18 lead forcing a Royal TO. But the stoppage was ineffective as the senior Captain was able to get another service point and ending set 1 on an ace to give the Hilltoppers a 25-18 win.
Set 2 saw a Royal side much more motivated off their late run in set 1 and the Top found themselves down 4-2 early on. Wauters helped Summit's 9th grade setter, Mckenna Welsh, who got her first full set start in a match, by putting two kills down to knot up the score at 4. Despite a service error, Summit regained control in the next serving rotation with Wauters ripping an ace and forcing a number of errant Oak Knoll passes and in a short time, SHS led 8-5. Barlow and Roberts continued to hurt the Royal defense with 2 kills while Wauters, Nardino scored on out of system balls to extend the lead to 14-9. The Nardino kill got Welsh back up to serve and this time the 9th grader struck for four consecutive aces to blow the set open at 18-9. Even thought SHS gave up the serve, Webb yet again came through with a key point that led to a 20-10 lead. Oak Knoll responded with a 4-0 run but at 20-14, it seemed like it was just a matter of time.
Oak Knoll suffered a hitting error and that led to Abby Thompson serving for the squad and she proceeded to force two errant passes which led to a 22-14 scoreline. A TO followed but Thompson seemed unfazed and she proceeded to close out the match with 3 consecutive aces to finish the match and set 25-14.
SHS outscored Oak Knoll 32-5 in total en route to their 4th win of the year!
Next up: Scotch-Plains Fanwood, tomorrow at 5:15
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