POST SEASON WRAP-UP 2023

The last chapter of the 2023 season has been written,  the new 2024 BAND has been created and the Team and Conference Awards have been awarded.  This has been one of the best seasons ever in the history of SHS Volleyball!  

2023 VARSITY VBALL

4th Best Winning % 

4th Most Wins 

Best Offense (#1 Kills/Set - #2 Total Kills)

3rd Most Ace Production (Aces/Set)

2nd Best Point Production (Points/Set)

#6 FINAL COUNTY RANKING 

(1 better than 2022)

SECTIONAL STATE TOURNAMENT 

QUARTER-FINALISTS

MOUNTAIN DIVISION CHAMPIONS 2023

(First Time Ever Back to Back)

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Hilltopper Award

9th Grade- Colon, Willecke

Junior Varsity- Allan

Varsity- Henry

Most Improved Player Award

                                                                     

9th Graders - Kovarik

Junior Varsity- DeYonge

Varsity- Joseph, Nardino

Most Impactful Player Award

9th Graders - Feuerstake

Junior Varsity- Ge

Varsity- Barlow, Zacharias

School Record Recognition

Hannah Barlow,  Julia Nardino and Zoe Zacharias

Player of the Match Recognition

 Hannah Barlow, Anna Joseph, MacKenna Welsh

Caroline Henry, Gabby Nowicka, Zoe Zacharias and Julia Nardino

Independent Volleyball Awards

Hannah Barlow

MaxPreps Summit High School Player of the Year

American Volleyball Coaches Association Best and Brightest Selection 2nd Team

Zoe Zacharias

American Volleyball Coaches Association Best and Brightest Selection 2nd Team

UCIAC Conference and Union County Volleyball Recognition

Hannah Barlow 

First Team Mountain Division

Zoe Zacharias 

First Team Mountain Division

Julia Nardino

Honorable Mention Mountain Division

Hannah Barlow

Second Team All County

Zoe Zacharias

Third Team All County

FINAL BLOG WRAPUP - A LOOK BACK AND SETTING OUR SIGHT ON THE FUTURE

 

After the tough loss to a very good Linden Team in the County Tournament,  the Hilltoppers finished the season on a 3W-1L run,  with the loss to the highest ranked team the SHS squad faced all year.  2022 ended with a bitter taste of disappointment as the squad felt they let an opportunity slip away against Millburn after a dominant set 1 victory against the Millers in the quarter-finals.  The team dropped the next 2 sets and thus ended the season.  The 2023 season ended as well in a loss in the quarter-finals but the feeling was quite different.  

This is a quick look back at the last 4 matches to put the season in perspective.

Oak Knoll was the Senior Night Match and the contest was the Hilltoppers' first after the Linden loss.  Although the loss was disappointing,  the team refocused for the state run and looked to get back on a winning roll entering the state tournament.  Summit earned a 2-0 victory over the Royals with a 25-11, 25-8 victory set score win in a match that saw SHS out-score the Royals 28-11 for the match with a decided advantage in kills (15-7) and aces (12-4).  

HIGHLIGHT PLAYERS:

ACES: Zacharias 4 

SERVE RATING: Smidt 2.67

PASS RATING: Barlow 2.20

KILLS: Barlow 8 

HIT EFFICIENCY: Barlow .375

KILL %: Barlow 40%

DIGS: Henry and Barlow 4

BLOCKS: Nardino 1

ASSISTS: Welsh 7

PTS. SCORED: Barlow 8

NET PTS. TOTAL (+PTS - ERR): Nardino, Smidt, Barlow +3

The very next day the Hilltoppers faced off against the Rockets of Raritan HS,  a team that was ranked 20 places ahead of SHS and that had defeated the Top during an August scrimmage.  The Rockets had lost a tough 2-1 decision to the Hilltoppers late in 2022 and the team was very motivated to right that loss while the Summit Squad was looking to get back on the winning track versus a very tenacious defensive visiting squad.  Summit won the first set 25-21,  dropped the second 21-25 but came back to win the decisive 3rd set 25-17 in a very spirited and competitive match.  

HIGHLIGHT PLAYERS:

ACES: Henry 2

SERVE RATING: Thompson 2.89

PASS RATING: Barlow 2.35

KILLS:  Barlow 17

HIT EFFICIENCY: Nardino .444

KILL %: Nardino 55.6

DIGS: Henry 12

BLOCKS: Nardino 3

ASSISTS: Zacharias 18

PTS. SCORED: Barlow 19

NET PTS. TOTAL (+PTS - ERR): Barlow +9

With the tough win versus the Rockets,  SHS felt like it was ready for the State Tournament gauntlet.  In 2022,  the team dropped a 2-0 decision to Mendham in the last week of the season and dropped a 2-1 match to Dayton as the last 2 games prior to the State Sectional Tournament.  Iselin Kennedy,  a very low ranked sectional opponent last year vs the Hilltoppers (the #3 team),  gave the Top a major scare in the first round as SHS escaped the match with a 2-1 win that saw the home side have to fight back from a 1-0 deficit and a slight deficit in set 2 to finally move on to the quarter-finals.  

2023 had the Hilltoppers up against Ferris HS,  a team much higher ranked than Iselin had been last year and an early test for the squad to see if they could live up to its ranking.  The outcome was very positive in 2023 and the mood after the 2-0 (25-15, 25-14) victory was radically different from the 2022 first round match.  

HIGHLIGHT PLAYERS:

ACES: Zacharias 5

SERVE RATING: Zacharias 2.50

PASS RATING: Henry 2.40

KILLS: Barlow 11

HIT EFFICIENCY: Barlow .450

KILL %: Barlow 55%

DIGS: Henry 3

BLOCKS: n/a

ASSISTS: Zacharias 15

PTS. SCORED: Barlow 12

NET PTS. TOTAL (+PTS - ERR):  Barlow +6

The task was a tall one,  Mendham,  despite its sectional playoff placement,  was ranked far higher (about 50 places)  than the Hilltoppers due to their strength of schedule,  wins over opponents ranked higher than themselves and overall points differential in wins/losses.  But the Top had faced these type of opponents before this season (Kent Place - Win,  SPF - 2/3 in Rahway Tourney) and had built confidence in the results they had achieved so despite the prediction of a 2-0 easy win by Mendham,  Summit had other plans.

Summit took set 1 25-21 despite 6 service errors because the squad nailed 5 aces and hit for 13 kills and added 2 blocks to score 20 of their 25 points and out-scoring Mendham 20-12.  The team committed only 2 hitting errors and 1 net fault to add to the 6 service errors which gave Mendham the 21 points on the scoreboard.  Could the team cut down the service errors and continue their amazing hitting efficiency? It seemed to be the formula for the win.

Set 2 was a Mendham 25-14 win and the numbers looked radically different.  7-5 kill advantage for Mendham.  5-2 ace advantage somewhat mitigated by a 2-0 block advantage by the Top.  In summary,  a 12-9 point advantage for the Minutewomen but they won by 11 so the error story must have been the key to the set and when the home squad looked at that number,  it spoke volumes.  6 hitting errors, 4 service errors, 2 faults and 1 free ball return error were the difference in the set as the Top got only 3 hitting errors and 2 free ball return errors from the Mendham side.  The visitors did not miss one serve in set 2 and put the Top under tremendous pressure,  forcing a decisive set 3.

The deciding set 3 would answer the question of whether the Hilltoppers could find their receive game and earn the decided point advantage they would need to earn an upset victory and move on to the semi-finals.  Final point tally,  Mendham 16 - SHS 11... Summit passed at 1.98 and Mendham 1.82.  Summit committed only 2 service errors but Mendham was one better... The most important number was the 13-8 kill number earned by the Minutewomen which set up the 7 point differential in the final score tally.  

The effort and desire and fight were all there in set 3.  The Top left it all out on the court with a 22 dig effort in the set alone (43 for the match!) and 3 blocks! The squad served only at 1.95 rating with only 1 ace to their match low 2 errors but Mendham were slightly better with a 2 ace 1 error performance and a 2.35 serve rating.  The Top clicked for 8 kills but were forced into 7 hitting errors while Mendham struck for 13, many on serve receive, and only 5 hitting errors despite passing at a much lower rating than Summit.  

The Hilltoppers fell a little short but the Minutewomen earned the victory with a much cleaner performance out of system offensively and a much tougher performance from the service line in the last 2 sets with a combined 7 aces and 1 error to SHS 3 aces and 6 errors and an offensive 20-12 advantage in kills over the last 2 sets with an 8-13 error advantage for a 33-20 net kill advantage over the last 2 sets.  

But the highlight was truly the defensive effort of the squad with 22 digs and 3 blocks in the last set alone to give the Top a chance to comeback.  SHS was down 18-5 and all seemed lost but Nowicka stepped up with a kill and get herself to the service line.  Barlow got a big kill after a Henry dig and earned another one after a Thompson dig with Nowicka serving the Mendham side tough and Zacharias running the offense to perfection.  Timeout Mendham, 18-8 as the visitor's Coach sensed the momentum swing.  Nowicka ace,  Nowicka 2 tough serves leading to freeball return errors,  timeout Mendham 18-11.  The match felt like it might have been 18-17 which is why the Minutewomen had called the two TOs this early.  Nowicka another tough serve off the TO and dug up a huge attack to set up a swing by Barlow.  Mendham dug it up but out of system leading to a hitting error and suddenly 18-12.  

Two hitting errors by the Hilltoppers stopped the run and pushed Mendham to 20-12.  The teams split the next 2 points and the scoreboard read 21-13.  Did the Top have another run in them?  Barlow and Heary dug up 2 attacks from the Minutewomen on the subsequent service run and it led to a Mendham hitting error that had SHS back at 21-14 but the visitors not only broke serve but got the next point to go up 23-14.  Barlow got a huge kill and followed it up with a tough serve that led to a hitting error by the Minutewomen and 23-16 was the score but the Top ran out of points despite another Barlow kill after a Nowicka attack that led to a freeball that the senior crushed for a point but the Hilltoppers' run in states ended at 25-18.  The character of this team,  unquestionably courageous and defiant.  Proud of these ladies!

HIGHLIGHT PLAYERS:

ACES:  Nowicka 4

SERVE RATING: Nowicka 2.31

PASS RATING: Barlow 2.23

KILLS: Barlow 13

HIT EFFICIENCY: Nardino .400

KILL %: Nardino 40%

DIGS: Henry 8

BLOCKS: Barlow 4

ASSISTS: Zacharias 17

PTS. SCORED: Barlow 18

NET PTS. TOTAL (+PTS - ERR): Barlow +8

ANNOUNCED 2024 VARSITY (5 slots open at tryouts)

*alphabetical by last name

Molly Davies OPP/OH

Ava Feuerstake OH/OPP

*Liv Ge OH/DS 

*(based on 2022 and 2023 JV performance)

Maren Heary DS

Caroline Henry L

Emma Herring MB

Gabby Nowicka OH

Mackenna Welsh S

SUMMER LEAGUE 

End of June to 3rd week of July... Invites will be sent out in May... This is the unofficial start of the 2024 Season

TRYOUTS 2024

TRYOUTS START - AUGUST 26

FIRST SCRIMMAGE - SEPTEMBER 2ND

LIVE PLAY BY PLAY JV COUNTY QUARTERS VS KENT PLACE

SET 1

 Lots of missed serves to start... sloppy play on both sides... servew and receive game

7-8 KP 

good serve Handal... noone played free ball  10-8 kp

another missed serve 11-8 kp... ace kp ... 12-8 ... ge with a kill after a handal perfect pass... 12-9

ace ge... 12-10... ace ge... 12-11... hit error kp.... 12-12... free ball return error shs 12-13... free ball point to corner by kp 12-14... hit error kp 13-14...

kill kp 13-15... ace kp... 13-16... TO SUMMIT

ace kp off the TO... 13-17... miscommunication SHS 13-18... ace kp... 13-19

ace kp 13-20... finally missed serve kp... 14-20... missed serve summit 14-21... ace kp... 14-22...

block choussy 15-22... kill kp 15-23... missed free ball 15-24... ace kp 15-25...

SET 2

GOOD OPENING RALLY, kp finishes it 1-0... ace kp... 2-0... kill brzezinska (anna b) 2-1...

smidt ace 2-2... ace smidt 3-2... ace smidt... 4-2... bolck de yonge 5-2... hit error kp 6-2... TO KP

ace smidt off the TO 7-2... ace smidt 8-2... hit error kp 9-2... hit error SHS 9-3... great run smidt!!!

dig basaman good swing de yonge but porsse blocked 9-4... push kill kp 9-5... porsee just save a bad serve receive pass but on the return kill kp 9-6... serve error kp 10-6... kill kp 10-7... 

return ball error SHS 10-8... free ball return error SHS 10-9 ... serve error KP 11-9... free ball return error KP 12-9... smidt with 3 huge digs!!!!! SHS keeps ball alive,  kp hitting error! 13-9... hit error KP 14-9... awesome dig PORSSE and RECOVERY SMIDT... hitting error kp... 15-9... kp ball handling error 16-9... kill kp 16-10... great serving run ge...

ace kp 16-11... hit error kp after dig ge keeps point alive! 17-11... anna b with kill after ge gets dig! 18-11... hit error SHS and free ball return error SHS 19-13... anna b and choussy MONSTER BLOCK 20-13... 

great serve meltzer, dig meltzer kill de yonge... 21-13... ace shs 22-13 ... hit error shs 22-14... 2 free ball return error shs 22-16... hit error kp 23-16... kill kp 23-17...  serve error kp 24-17... can smidt close it out on serve?  smidt dig, de yonge assist, porsse KILL 25-17... deciding set coming up...

SET 3

great pass ge, set allan KILL meltzer... 1-0 ... allan great serve , into net kp 2-0... serve error shs 2-1

kill kp 2-2... shs into net 3-2 kp... kill devaney 3-3... hit error shs 3-4 ... serve error kp 4-4... great dig meltzer long rally shs hitting error 4-5... kill kp 4-6... serve error kp 5-6... kill kp 5-7... 

choussy KILL 6-7... serve error shs 6-8...serve error kp 7-8... Ge ACE 8-8... ge ACE 9-8... free ball return error kp 10-8... hit error kp 11-8... ge ACE 12-8...  Time - Out Kent Place

ge ACE off the TO 13-8... ge ACE 14-8... free ball return error 15-8... hit error kp 16-8... free ball return error kp 17-8... GE IS KEEPING KP UNDER INSANE PRESSURE ON RECEIVE!!! TO KP

hit error kp 18-8... scramble play, kill devaney! 19-8... ge ACE 20-8... knight dig leads to a free ball return, kp hitting error 21-8... kill devaney! 22-8... free ball return error kp 23-8... tip attempt kp, DEVANEY SAYS NO 24-8!... ace GE!!!!!!!!!!!! 

SEMI FINALS BOUND!!!!! 3rd TIME in SHS HISTORY (or 4th!!!! gotta double check :) 

SEMIS ON WEDNESDAY!!!!

UNION COUNTY TOURNAMENT - REALITY CHECK FOR JV AND VARSITY - ONE LEVEL ESCAPES, ONE DOES NOT

 

Varsity was looking to beat the Linden Tigers for a third time in a row after having a tough 3 set win on the road and a come from behind 2 set win at home.  On this Saturday morning,  however,  Linden would get the best of the the Top.

Zacharias opened the match on a 6-1 run that had everyone relaxed and confident and forced an early Linden TO.  At 8-3,  Linden's best player stepped up to the service line and flipped the set on its head.  The Tigers went on a 9-0 run (4 aces in a row) despite a TO by SHS,  after the smoke cleared,  Summit trailed 12-9.  Barlow and Welsh broke the run with a kill and an ace but the home side was chasing the set now and the match felt different as each point rattled off.  At 13-11 down but with the serve,  Summit committed 2 hitting errors and saw themselves trailing 15-11.  SHS got a kill by the most of unlikely sources,  Henry,  and a subsequent ace by Nardino gave hope back at 15-13 but Linden slammed the door shut with a kill and 3 consecutive aces to jump out to an 18-13 lead.  The Hilltoppers got a break with a service error and Zacharias hit the Tigers with an ace and SHS felt hope at 18-15.  Linden broke serve but then gave the ball right back to the home side and the same 3 point deficit stood at 19-16.  Linden again responded with a kill and an ace that had Summit reeling at 21-16.  Only a hitting error stopped the mini run but another Summit hitting error which led to another ace by the Tigers and at 23-17,  things looked bleak.  TO Martins.

Off the time-out,  Linden tallied another service error but they got the ball right back off a kill and just like that,  Linden had 6 set points.  Barlow found herself in that moment and put down a crucial kill that put her back at the service line.  The Senior Captain put down an ace and forced a Tiger hitting error which had the Linden Coach up on his feet calling for a TO at 24-21.  Summit had a crack at point 22 but were unable to convert and Linden made the Top pay with a kill that sealed the set 25-21. 

The 2nd set saw the run of hitting errors and service errors continue as the Hilltoppers trailed early 6-2 and 14-7 midway through the set.  Nardino got a key block that put the Senior MB on the service line and the team responded with a Nowicka and a Joseph kill that preceded a Nardino ace and SHS was yet again in the set down 14-11.  Despite a service break,  Linden could not extend the lead and Nowicka hurt the opposition with another kill and Zacharias slammed down another ace to force a Linden TO as SHS had crawled back to within one at 15-14.  Off the TO,  the Senior Setter yet again put the Tigers under pressure but another hitting error gave the ball back to the Tigers and a 3-0 run later Linden had established a 19-14 lead forcing a Martins TO.  SHS lost the point off the time-out but won 3 of the next 4 to force another Linden TO and it helped the visitors a lot as the next rally went back and forth until finally a kill by the Tigers which they followed up with an ace had SHS nearly out at 23-17.  Barlow notched another kill to cut the lead down to 5 but a service error and a kill ended the match at 25-18.  

A disappointing loss but yet lots of warning signs during the week pointed to this scenario.  In set 1 the Hilltoppers were outscored 18-12 (only 6 kills) and in set 2 SHS was out-scored 14-12 (only 5 kills) which spelled the end for the Summit squad who needed to keep their serving attack clean and failed to do so in this match.  Summit's hitting efficiency was a paltry .077 and the team's kill % was a mere 28.2%.  

Zacharias led the way from the service line with 5 aces and a serve rating of 2.71.  Henry was the team leader on serve receive with a 1.86 pass rating and nearly a 33.3 perfect pass %.  Barlow was the leading scorer on offense with a 4 kill performance while Nowicka was the most efficient hitter at .400 as well as the most lethal with a kill % of 50%.  Henry had 3 digs in the loss and Nardino, Joseph, Nowicka and Zacharias all notched 1 block apiece.  Zacharias had only 10 assists and Zacharias led all Summit scorers with 6 points,  a troubling stat considering the Setter should not be a leading front row scorer. Nowicka earned the best net point production with a +3 for the match.

JV dropped the first set to Rahway in a stunning turn of events by a 25-21 score.  Serve receive errors and numerous hitting errors had the Hilltoppers against the wall in set 1 as Rahway had a commanding 18-9 lead after 6 rotations!  But then Allan stepped up to serve at 19-10 and the comeback was on!  Allan served up 6 service points (3 aces) to bring back the home side to within 4.  The Indians broke serve and pushed the lead back up at 21-15 but SHS responded with a kill and the Devaney rattled off 3 more service points to bring the Top to within striking distance at 21-19.  Rahway called a TO and managed to get a service break and another point which had the visitors close to the set win at 23-19 but Summit again rallied for 2 points but ran out of points to come back from as the visitors celebrated the set 1 win 25-21!

Set 2 was a very tight affair as Rahway seemed intent on keeping balls alive on defense and just sending free balls over hoping for a SHS error while looking to score off their serving offense which had given them so many points in set 1.  Meanwhile,  Summit was trying to find its own potent serving game and use their offense that had been so reliable in scoring the Hilltoppers points over the season.  After 6 rotations,  everything was in question as the home side was staring at a 13-13 score on the scoreboard.  Rahway actually took the lead 15-14 in rotation 7 but Smidt got to step up to the service line after a huge Ge kill and served up an ace and forced a Rahway free ball error to see the Top to a 17-15 lead.  The Hilltoppers did not allow any added points after the service break of Smidt and Chaves added to the lead with an additional service point after breaking the visitor's serve giving the SHS squad a 19-18 lead.  When Ge stepped up to serve,  the junior OH had already made an impact as a receiver,  as a defender and on offense as the OH.  She had been one of the keys to SHS being in the set.  When she stepped up to serve,  she became the last nail in the set 2 coffin for the Rahway side who could not stop her serve as the junior went on a 5-0 run (3 aces) to close out the set and even the match at 1 with a 25-18 score.

Set 3 saw the Indians get first serve.  The visitors wasted no time to jump out to an early lead at 3-0.  The tense atmosphere was palpable.  Ge led the way on the comeback trail with a 3-0 service run of her own to settle the Hilltopper nerves.  The teams were tight though and despite long rallies seemingly at every point,  it was the errors on both sides that prevented either team from making any kind of run.  At the start of rotation 6,  Rahway had gotten a point from a service error by the Top and then scored another point before missing a serve and were looking at a tied set at 10 all.  But then the first decisive run occurred,  this time from the Hilltopper service line.  Knight rattled off 6 consecutive service points (3 aces) to stun the visitors as each point gave the home side more energy.  By the time Rahway broke serve,  they were under tremendous pressure to score quickly as the scoreboard had SHS holding a 16-11 lead.  The Hilltoppers did not allow that to happen as Ge again got a key kill to put herself on serve again and the junior again responded with 2 more service points to give the Top a 19-11 lead.  After the visitors broke serve to get to 19-12,  SHS again slammed the door on any Rahway hope with a Porsse swing which found the floor and put Allan back on serve at 20-12.  Five serves later (2 aces),  Allan had finished the comeback of the year and hopefully prepared the team for their next big match,  the Quarter-Finals of the County Tourney,  against their expected opponent,  Kent Place School,  on Monday 10/16.

WEEK OF BIG WINS AND TOUGH LOSS FOR VARSITY

 

After the big win versus Rahway that assured the Top at least a share of the Conference Title for only the 4th time in school history,  the team just looked out of gas and out of sorts at Madison.  The team scored a total of 23 points and matched the Dodgers but Madison only committed 6 total hitting and serving errors while the Hilltoppers gave up 23.  

Summit ran a much more lethal offense than Madison,  out-killed the home squad 18-12 for the match but the errors negated any advantage the squad might have had in the plus column.  In set 1 the Summit crew out-scored Madison 15-9 which would usually guarantee a win but a 16 error tally to only 7 by the home side sealed the team's fate in set 1 despite a late run that had Summit come from 15-20 down to take the lead 21-20.  Kills by Barlow and Welsh set the table for Henry who aced the Dodgers and kept them out of system which led to a Madison TO that led to a huge Joseph block which gave Summit the 21-20 lead.  But then a hitting error opened the door for Madison who got a kill and a 2 SHS offensive errors to take a 24-21 lead.  However,  that last deficit was too much to overcome and Summit dropped a 25-22 set 1 decision.  Set 2 was far uglier in a lot of ways as the Top saw their last lead be a 2-1 score and then Madison went on a 9-1 run to put the Hilltoppers against the wall.  SHS settled down and stayed even with the Dodgers,  cutting into the lead slightly and seeing the scoreboard show 15-9 but then a 2 offensive hitting error bundle and 2 Dodger kills had the home team comfortable at 19-9.  With the Dodgers up 21-10,  SHS got 2 Barlow kills and a forced a few Madison hitting errors and suddenly the team had life at 22-14.  But again,  a serving error derailed any momentum after a Madison TO and the set and match were over at 25-14.

Bouncing back from a Madison loss would not be easy as their next opponent would be the Cougars of Chatham at Pink-Out!  SHS had had some amazing matches at prior Pink-Outs but had failed to win,  losing to JP Stevens, Cranford and Millburn recently.  Summit yet again outscored their opponents 31-19 for the match and the 25-18, 25-23 set scores were indicative of that fact.  However,  the Top again gave up 20 hitting and serving errors which kept the Cougars in the match far too long.  Summit jumped out to a 6-0 lead to start the match with Zacharias hitting for 3 aces in the run while Joseph and Demm struck for kills.  Chatham slowly crawled back and took the lead at 8-7 but SHS responded with a Welsh 4-0 service run that had the Cougars forced to take bad shots and seeing the soph hit for an ace to flip the scoreboard in SHS's favor at 12-7.  With Chatham cutting the lead to 2 at 14-12 a few rotations later,  Demm got a huge momentum changing kill which led to Henry serving the Cougars into a hitting error and Demm again came through with a kill to force a Chatham TO at 17-12.  The Cougars cut the lead down to 19-16 after the TO but again SHS struck back after a Chatham serving error as Welsh again hit an ace and Zacharias got a dump kill to put Summit up 22-16.  Barlow hit 2 kills and Nardino,  back in her first match after missing the last 2 due to illness.  got a monster block on set point seal it at 25-18.

Set 2 saw the Cougars jump out to a 4-0 lead but the home side responded with a 5-0 run with the senior captain Zacharias hitting for 3 aces in a row to lead the mini comeback.  Still down 6-7 a few rotations later,  a kill by Barlow led to a Henry service run that had Nardino also notch a kill and suddenly Summit had a 10-7 lead.  Chatham re-took the lead at 11-12 but a serving error by the visitors opened the door again fot the home side and with Barlow serving,  SHS got a couple of Cougar errors and a Nardino dump kill to take a 14-12 lead.  Despite a service break,  SHS was right back on serve after a Nowicka kill and a Nardino ace set the table for a 4-0 run that had the home side up 18-13 and seemingly on their way to a more comfortable finish.  It all seemed to be going well at 21-15 after a Barlow kill but another service error gave the ball back to Chatham and the visitors had it down to 21-17.  Barlow again,  kill, 22-17.  A service break but Davies gets a kill that puts Welsh on the line to serve and her attempt leads to a Cougar hitting error,  24-18.  Is it over yet?  Not quite...

Chatham fought the odds and used a serving error and a kill followed by an ace after a long rally to spark a 5-0 run that had the Cougars at the doorstep down 24-23.  Chatham fell short after a serving error ended their run but the warning shot by a potential state sectional matchup was received by the SHS crew despite closing it out 25-23.

A 2W-1L week brought a lot of silver linings to light as the squad prepared to face Linden for a 3rd time this season in the UCIAC Tourney.

Summit out-killed all 3 opponents 69-37.  SHS out-aced the opposition 28-18 but was out-blocked 13-4.  In total,  the Hilltoppers out-scored the opposition 101-68 yet the team found themselves in a 3 set match and a tight 2 set match win and had a loss to show for it.  The stats that stood out were the 72 serving and hitting errors combined versus the 31 by the opposition.  It was clear that the warning signs were there for the Top.  If they struggled to score,  the errors would be their undoing.

Zacharias was a stalwart behind the service line with a team leading 2.56 rating and team leading 11 aces.  Joseph stepped up nicely while Nardino was ill and was 2nd on the team in pass rating.  The team hit for 28 aces as a whole and had 2.02 pass rating but the number that stood out were the 33 service errors.  It seemed that the squad had developed a feast or famine approach to the service line.  As much as the serving has been a weapon for the Top,  it has continued to be a source of angst at times.

Henry led the squad on serve receive with a 35.8% perfect pass % while Barlow had the team lead with a 1.99 pass rating.  

Barlow was undoubtedly the busiest hitter with 90 attack attempts,  68 more attempts than any other hitter on the team,  and led the squad with 32 kills with no other hitter getting to double digits.  Zacharias distributed the ball to all other players fairly equally and the stats show that the offense by committee is having positive results.  Demm, Nowicka, Davies and Joseph all clocked in at the end of Thursday with 6 kills apiece.  Demm was specifically effective as she hit for 6 kills on 16 swings with no errors for a .375 hitting efficiency and a 37.5 kill %.  Davies had the highest kill % of the bunch with a 60%.  

Barlow and Henry led the squad defensively with 20 and 17 digs respectively but by having Welsh as the S2 / OPP,  Zacharias notched 12 digs and  has been free to stay at home more and play D as the squad knows there is 0 loss in setting ability when their Captain has to dig that first attack and allows the Soph to run the offensive set.  Joseph averaged 1 block per match to lead the squad.  

Zacharias averaged 20 assists per match in the 2W-1L week which exemplified a very effective offense.  Barlow was the leading scorer for the squad with 36 points but Zacharias stole the show with 16 points playing a position that doesn't really score from the front row.  Demm was the net point leader with a +5.

What team would show up to play Linden for a 3rd time?  The effective serving team with a diverse and dangerous offense?  Or the team that would allow their nerves to rattle them from the service line and pressurized hitting situations?

JV ADDS ANOTHER NOTCH ON THE WINNING STREAK WITH WINS OVER MADISON AND CHATHAM

 

The JV Hilltoppers continued their bounce back performance after their only loss of the year to New Providence with wins #5 and 6 on the new winning streak set up after the New Providence loss.  On the road to Madison,  the Hilltoppers used 2 runs early in rotations 2 and 3 to blow the set open.  First it was Devaney who struck for 5 service points -2 aces- to open up a 7-4 lead.  After a service break and Madison down 7-5,  Meltzer struck the Dodgers for another 5 service points -2 aces- and the lead stood at 13-5,  a deficit that was not challenged the rest of the way as the Top closed out set 1 25-15.  

Set 2 opened up very well for the Hilltoppers with Basaman opening up a 4-0 lead for the SHS crew and by the third rotation,  with Summit up 6-2,   Chaves put the set to bed as the DS served up 11 service points -4 aces- which had the Top up 17-3 after it was all said and done.  Handal finished the job a few rotations later with a 4-0 run that has SHS celebrating the set and match win 25-7.

For Pink-Out,  the Hilltoppers faced off against the Chatham Cougars in a tremendously competitive 3 set affair that had the home side win in the closest of margins in set 3.  The 1st set had Chatham take the early lead 9-4 after a few rotations but the Hilltoppers fought back behind Chaves 6-0 serving run that had SHS take the lead for the first time in the set 15-11.  By rotation 7,  the home side seemed to have things under control with a 22-14 lead but the Cougars responded in a big way,  outscoring the Top 8-2 over the next few rotations but the Summit squad survived the push and closed out set 1 with a 25-22 win.  

Set 2 was an even affair through 6 rotations but the serving errors and unforced hitting errors began to creep up and despite the 9-9 scoreline,  it was clear that the Top was not playing at its best brand of vball.  Chatham kept pace with the Hilltoppers and took what seemed like a commanding lead of 19-14 in rotation 11 but the home team responded and cut the lead down to 2 at 19-17.  Unfortunately,  the Top could never close that gap as the 2 point deficit seemed to remain through the next 2 rotations until Chatham closed it out 25-22.

The decisive set 3 was a classic with neither team giving an inch.  Allan got SHS going early in rotation one off the service line and gave the home side a 3-1 lead.  Chatham counter-punched and held a 6-3 lead but SHS tied up the score after rotation 2 at 6 all.  After 6 rotations,  the Cougars held a slim 12-10 lead and were able to not only hold that lead but expand it by rotation 10 to a 16-12 score.  Summit used Chaves again to get back into the match as the junior got SHS even again at 17 after a 5-1 service run.  Choussy served up the next run and the home side were looking at a slim 21-20 lead with Chatham serving.  The Cougars tied up the score but Allan again delivered under pressure and Summit held a 23-21 lead.  The visitors tied it back up at 23 but the Hilltoppers broke serve and got the crucial last serve in to finish off a very exciting 25-23 set 3 and match win to improve to 16-1!

Next up,  Rahway in first round of County Tourney!

FROSH WRAP UP SEASON WITH WINS

The 9th Graders hosted Madison on Tuesday and Chatham on Thursday to wrap up the 2023 campaign.  

The young Hilltoppers ended the week with with 2 WINS and finished the 2023 campaign with a 12W-2L record!

12W-2L is the 3rd highest winning % (.857) in the history of the 9th grade program

12 Wins is the most wins in the history of the program

The team's only losses came to Union and the most recent Union match showed how improved the squad had become over the season!  The wins versus Chatham and Madison showed great potential for the future as those programs are perennial consistent performers in county and state tournaments on Varsity level.

Individuals will be highlighted at the End of the Year Celebration soon to be announced.

Congratulations to Coach Seifert and the entire team for their amazing season!!!

MATCH FOR THE CONFERENCE TITLE ON VARSITY; JV LOOKING AT 13-1; 9th GRADERS FACING OFF VS MINUTEMEN OF MENDHAM

 The  9th Graders continue their improved play,  beating Mendham 25-14,  25-20 in a spirited match that saw many long rallies and key service runs by both teams which helped decide the fate of the match.  Summit continues to show improvement in all facets of the court,  especially on serve receive,  which is helping the squad beat what looks like more physical teams in the front row.  Add their consistent serving pressure and the team is flying high with an 11-2 record with both losses coming from Union HS.  Next up,  Madison at home and Chatham on Pink Out.  Chatham might be the young Hilltoppers' last match for the season.  The team is waiting on confirmation of a match on 10/28.

JV was looking to lock up a top 3 seed in the county tournament with a win versus Rahway in what was a set 1 tight affair became a blowout after Devaney ripped a 13 point service run that gave the Hilltoppers a 25-12 set 1 win. It was very much the same story in set 2 with the Top getting about 4 points per service rotation and comfortably winning the set and match 25-10 for their 13th win to only 1 loss!

Varsity had to earn a victory over the Indians of Rahway to guarantee themselves at the worst a share of the conference title.  With only 4 titles in its history, last one in 2011 prior to last year's 2023 Championship,  the win would mean that the program would have earned more titles in 2 years than in the last 20!  But in their way would be a great Rahway squad who could lock up the championship by themselves with a win.

It was going well early with the Top up 5-2 after kills by Barlow and Henry! But at 6-3 SHS,  the visitors went on a 5-0 run that gave Rahway an 8-6 lead.  A tip by Barlow and an ace by the senio had the score knotted up at 8 but at 10-9 Summit,  yet again Rahway responded with a decisive 6-0 run that had the visiting squad up 15-10.  SHS brok serve with another Barlow kill but Rahway went on a 9-0 run that finished off the home side's chances.  Despite a Davies dump kill,  another SHS hitting error appropriately ended the set 25-12.

Set 2 did not start the way the Hilltoppers would have wanted.  Two hitting errors and a service error had the Top down 3-1 and Rahway was clearly brimming with confidence.  But an unlikely source then stepped up and hit for a kill that sparked a 4-1 run that turned the set around.  Nardino had been a major contributor to the offensive output of the team and had stepped up as a major serving provider over the last 6 matches.  Nardino was missing due to illness and Herring had to fill in and be productive in this major match.  The Junior struck for a kill that led to a Heary ace and 2 Barlow kills and the Top was up 5-4.  Joseph had another quiet but impactful game and a tip kill this time began another 4-1 run where Barlow struck for another kill and Zacharias caught the Rahway squad with a setter dump to give SHS a 9-6 lead and forcing a visitor TO.  Joseph came off the TO and stuff blocked a Rahway attack and Barlow added another kill and the home crew found themselves up 12-7.  Summit kept the pressure up and Barlow was the instrument as the Captain hit 2 more kills and Zacharias another ace to have the scoreboard show 15-8 lead.  Rahway struck for 2 points to shift momentum momentarily but Davies pounded a kill and Heary got the visitors for 2 aces forcing another Rahway TO at 18-10.  The TO did nothing to change the rhythm of the set as Summit won 4 of the next 5 points (Barlow kill,  Henry ace) and were comfortably in front 22-11.  Despite an 8-2 Rahway run,  the visitors finally ran out of real estate as Demm put an exclamation point in the set with a kill to seal the score at 25-19.

Summit took charge of the deciding set 3 early with Davies striking for a 2 kills and Zacharias notching 2 more aces to give the Top a 5-1 lead.  Rahway responded with a 3-0 run and a few rotations later,  Summit was right where they started with Rahway with the score showing 7-7.  With Barlow in the front row,  the team found her for a tip kill and then the OH ripped 3 consecutive aces to force a TO at 11-7.  Rahway responded after the TO and cut the lead down to 12-11 but it was SHS this time with a response as Joseph hit for an ace and a kill and Barlow and Zacharias got a kill each to get the Hilltoppers back up by 5 at 15-10.

With the score 17-13 a few rotations later,  Rahway made a big push with a 6-0 run to jump out to a 19-17 lead,  forcing a Martins TO.  SHS came off the break and saw a longer rally develop that had Davies and Herring swing aggressively but unable to capitalize.  RHS however was not able to expand the lead either and Davies finally put away a hit to break service and the Top got the score to 19-19.  The Indians responded as Champions do and pushed back creating 2 Hilltopper errors but Joseph again hit a clutch shot and Nowicka came into the game to give the Top a solid service run that led to two Rahway hitting errors and an ace by the Junior to force a TO by the visitors at 23-21 Summit.  Coming off the TO,  Nowicka again put pressure on the visitors with her serve and Joseph rejected an Indian attack although the RHS squad kept the ball alive.  Heary then scooped up a Rahway attack which led to a Barlow attack attempt that was defended by the Indians.  Rahway could not do anything with it however and the Captain finished the point off on the next attack.  Nowicka took the ball on match point and served up a "beebee" which caused all kinds of problems and the RHS squad saw their shot to earn sole ownership of the Division Title disappear as they shot the ball out of bounds as the Top celebrated its first back to back Divisional Titles in history.  

The Summit crew out-killed Rahway 33-12 and out-aced the visitors 13-9 although Rahway out-blocked SHS 5-1 for a Summit lead of 51-22 in terms of total points.  The match was a tale of 2 sets as Rahway out-scored the Top 12-9 in set 1 but Summit out-scored RHS 19-5 in set 2 to flip the match.  SHS started slow in set 3 but finished really strong as the home side out-scored Rahway 19-9 in the 3rd to win the battle.

The highlight of the match,  besides the win,  was the milestone reached by the OH Captain Barlow,  who eclipsed 300 kills for her career,  only the 4th female to do so in SHS history.  A great accomplishment by an amazing athlete who lost most of her Sophomore year due to injury.  

DAYTON AND KENT PLACE WINS CLOSE OUT A PERFECT WEEK FOR THE HILLTOPPERS ON ALL LEVELS

 The week for the Lady Hilltoppers ended with a match versus the Kent Place Dragons on Hilltopper weekend in front of a great crowd but the squad began the 2nd half of the week with a road match against conference rivals Dayton on the JV and Varsity level. 

The JV Squad dominated early behind their serving against the Bulldogs and never really looked back as the team got a tremendous start behind Allan who opened up with a 9-0 service run (3 aces) and closed the first set out with another 4-0 run (2 aces) to get 13 service points (5 aces) in a 25-12 SHS set 1 victory.  Second set was very much a replay of the opener as Basaman opened the fixture with an 8-0 first rotation run (2 aces) and added another 2 service points later in the set to score 10 of the team's total service points in a 25-13 set 2 and match win! The JV Top moved into an 11W-1L record this season.

Varsity outscored their opponents 32-16 yet the match scores showed a much tighter contest due to inconsistent serving at certain times by the Lady Hilltoppers.  The opening set began auspiciously enough for both squads as the scoreboard showed a 7-7 score after 5 rotations with both teams missing a combined 9 serves.  The set began to change then with Feuerstake hitting for a kill and Joseph finding a soft spot in the Bulldog D which she exploited for 2 kills and suddenly the Summit crew was up 10-7.  With the score 12-9 after a Zacharias ace and a Barlow kill,  Dayton made a 3-0 push to tie things up but Joseph thwarted a Dayton attack with a block and Feuerstake followed it up with an ace and the visitors had regained control again at 15-12.  The set got pretty even the next few rotations and at 17-15,  it became the Barlow show as the Senior hit for a kill and served 3 consecutive aces to rip open the set and give the Top a 21-15 lead.  A Dayton TO did nothing to stymie the Captain and Dayton broke serve only after the scoreboard showed 22-15 which soon became 25-17,  closed out,  appropriately enough,  by another Joseph tip kill.

The second set opened up rather differently with Herring putting down a kill and Zacharias opening up with an ace but the Bulldogs proceeded to go on an 8-3 run that gave the home side an 8-5 lead.  Summit responded with a 7-1 run (Nardino block, Barlow 2 aces and a kill,  Welsh kill) to put SHS on top 12-9.  With the score 13-11 a rotation later Demm got into the action with a kill and Zacharias ripped another ace to get the lead back to 4 at 15-11.  Dayton took the next 4 of 5 points however and the set was once again a tight affair ar 16-15 but a Dayton service error and free ball return error gave the Top some breathing room at 18-15.  With the scoreboard showing 18-17,  a long rally ensued that ended with a Barlow tip kill which led to another Nardino block and gave the SHS side another opportunity to set Barlow who put another ball away late to give the Hilltoppers a controlling 22-17 lead yet again.  The sides traded points over the next 2 rotations but it was a Dayton service error which again led to match point by the Top and this time,  another middle attack ended the affair, this time executed by Herring,  who had opened up the set with a kill as well.

SHS improved to 9W-3L and 9W-2L in Division.  

Barlow and Zacharias hit for 5 and 3 aces respectively and were also the #2 and 1 best rated servers respectively with a 2.36 and 2.40 rating.  Henry passed up safely 13/14 serves and had a 2.15 pass rating to lead the serve receive.  9 different players scored a kill for the Hilltoppers led by Barlow with 6 kills but it was Joseph who stole the show hitting for 5 kills in just one set of play with 0 errors and a whopping .625 efficiency and 62.5 kill %.  Nardino led the squad with 2 blocks defensively and Henry added 7 digs to the defensive cause.  Zacharias again ran an incredibly efficient offense with 9 players getting at least 1 kill in a 20 assist effort as the Top out-killed the Bulldogs 21-12.

FRIDAY NIGHT SPIKES

MT. ST. MARY'S v SUMMIT 9th / KENT PLACE v SUMMIT JV / KENT PLACE v SUMMIT V

9th Graders took on the Mt. St. Mary's Lions for the first time ever and ended up with a comfortable 2-0 win to improve their record to 9W-2L out-serving and receiving their opponents which allowed them to negate the Lions' size advantage across the front row.

JV had split their scrimmage sets to the Dragons of Kent Place so this looked to be a tight match no matter what happened.   In the first set,  the Hilltoppers came out on fire with Allan running off 7 service points to give the Top an 8-0 lead to open the match.  Kent Place slowly crawled back each subsequent rotation and by rotation 6 the Hilltoppers were clinging to a 14-12 lead.  A service break got Sabuncu up to the service line and the Junior ran off a 5-0 service run (2 aces) which could not nbe stopped by a Dragon TO and the SHS squad had taken control back to the tune of a 20-12 lead.  After the Dragons got the score to 20-15,  Allan slammed the door on the visitors with yet another 4-0 run (1 ace) to close out the set 25-15.  

With things looking good in set 1,  the confidence of the young Hilltoppers was flowing through 5 rotations in set 2,  things looked good with the Top only one down at 11-10.  After rotation 10 the teams were deadlocked at 18 and Summit looked to be in position to make a move to the win but it was the visitors who made a decisive move,  striking for multiple aces and forcing unforced hitting Summit errors which gave the away team a 24-19 lead late in the set.  A Dragon hitting error gave the Top the ball back at 24-20 and facing 4 set points against and out of subs.  Wu served for the Hilltoppers for the first time this season and came through with flying colors as the Soph ripped 2 aces forcing a Kent Place TO at 24-22.  Off the time-out,  a long rally ensued which was won after Ge forced the KP squad into a free ball error and then Summit was only one point away from erasing 4 match points.  Wu again delivered and the Hilltoppers fought in front of her to keep the points alive as the Dragons succumbed to the Hilltopper pressure allowing one ace and committing one free ball error which had the Hilltoppers celebrating their come from behind 26-24 win for a 12W-1L record on the season!!!! 

Varsity was looking to get their 10th win against a team they had only defeated once in the last decade or so.  Needless to say,  many had predicted a Kent Place win!  Summit opened up a 7-4 lead after a Barlow kill, a Nardino block and a Welsh ace early in set 1.  That lead held through the next few rotations and at 10-7,  Nowicka struck for 3 kills to open up a 13-7 SHS lead but the Dragons ran off a 4-0 run and had cut the lead down to 15-14 a few rotations later.  It was Nardino's turn to step up and the Captain hit the Dragons for 2 kills and forced a Kent Place hitting error which forced a TO by the visitors at 18-14 but Nardino was able to strike again for a 19-14 lead that the team would not relinquish.  The set seemed to be done at 24-18 but Kent Place made a push fueled by a serving and hitting error by the Top but Nowicka ended the suspense with another kill and the Hilltoppers had taken set 1 25-21.

Set 2 saw the home side trail 6-2 early and 11-5 forcing a Martins TO.  Although Barlow got a tip kill to end the KP run,  the Dragons were able to re-establish control and led 14-7 and looking like they would cruise to the 2nd set win.  But then the words of Coach M began to ring out through the gym almost as a prediction.  "We are all right! We are still good.  Focus on the next point"

Kent Place hitting error after a Nowicka attack,  14-8.   Another hitting error after a Zacharias tough serve,  14-9.  A KP attack thwarted by Henry led to another Dragon hitting error and 14-10.  A long rally ensued after a Dragon service break (15-10) that the Hilltoppers won,  outlasting the visitors thanks to good defense and effective hitting which had SHS 15-11 down.  Joseph then stuff blocked an attack and followed it up with an attack dump off an overpass created by a Heary serve and Summit was within 2 at 15-13.  Another long rally which saw the Hilltoppers keep 2 attacks off the floor and eventually forcing a KP hitting error,  15-14.  Barlow kept the next big Dragon attack off the floor which led to a Nowicka attack that had the KP side scrambling and led to another hitting error and there it was on the scoreboard,  15-15.  Another TO by Kent Place.  

Down 17-15 after the next rotation,  SHS got a kill by Barlow,  a fortunate call of over the net by KP which was followed by a monster block by Nardino on the Dragon's best hitter and the Hilltoppers were up for the first time 18-17.  Another block by the Captain and a few service breaks by both sides had the score really tight at the end of the set with SHS leading 20-19 after Feuerstake had hit the Dragons for a service point.  With KP serving,  Barlow struck for another kill and then the Captain stepped up with 2 serves that forced 2 KP errors and had the ref signaling TO Kent Place, 23-19 Summit.  Off the TO,  KP got a service break but Barlow put up a perfect pass on serve receive that led to a Nardino kill.  The set and match was just about over at 24-20 and after Barlow drove a ball to zone 4-5 seam that landed one foot in,  the upset win was in the books! 

Welsh and Barlow led the squad with a 2.33 pass rating,  a huge key in the win,  putting up 9/24 perfect passes.  The team passed at a 2.06 which was outstanding!  Welsh also led the squad with a 2.11 serve rating and had 1 of the 2 aces by the squad on the match.  Although Barlow led all hitters with 9 kills,  it was the play of the Summit middles that sealed the victory with Nardino and Joseph combining for 11 kills out of 19 attempts and only 1 error combined,  almost 58% kill % and an efficiency of .528!  They were truly unstoppable and Zacharias used Barlow and Nowicka as decoys to open up 1v1 and 1v 0 opportunities for the middles!  Barlow led the squad with 8 digs,  2 of the biggest and most important against the KP OH!  Welsh and Nardino had 2 blocks apiece as they set a wall late in the sets to alter the course of the match.  Zacharias truly ran the offense,  assisting in 23 kills as SHS out-killed Kent Place 25-13 and out-scoring the visitors 30-19.  

Congrats to the squad for an amazing week!! 

SUMMIT VARSITY / JV COMPLETE 2 HOME - 2 AWAY STRETCH; 9TH FINISH OFF A HOME-AWAY-HOME RUN

 The 9th Graders continue to show drastic improvement as the squad took on Union in a re-match at home.  The Hilltoppers had been overwhelmed by the serving and offense of the Farmers at Union but in the return bout,  the young 'Toppers pushed Union to 3 sets but fell just short of the upset win.  The team rebounded nicely at New Prov despite a slow start on the road.  The team pulled off a late needed run and took set 1 late and were able to keep that momentum going into the second set and get a more comfortable win!  The final match of the stretch saw the home squad take on the Linden Tigers and the SHS side used effective serving and good serve receive to thwart the Linden opponents at every turn en route to a 2-0 win which sees this young squad post an 8W-2L record currently.  

JV's unblemished record finally came to an end but the Hilltoppers started off this stretch of 4 matches with a victory versus Cranford on the road which gave the Hilltoppers an 8-0 record.  The match was close throughout but the net play of De Yonge and Devaney as well as the overall serving efficiency of the entire team proved to be the difference later in the sets.  Union at home was the next hurdle as the Farmers had pushed the Hilltoppers deep into each of the 2 sets on the road but this time it was the ace production of the servers - Allan, specifically - which set the table for a more comfortable 2-0 victory this time around.  New Providence had lacked the defense late into the first meeting with the Hilltoppers at SHS to stop the consistent hitting and serving attack the Top employed but at home,  the Pioneers bounced back from a late run by Summit that had them winning set 1 somewhat comfortably to take set 2 late and used another late run to push ahead by 5 in the deciding set 3 and defend a late rally by the Hilltoppers to take set 3 25-22 and hand the SHS squad its first loss of the season.  Summit bounced back nicely though and established their serving attack against the Tigers of Linden midway through set 1 and really used it to separate themselves in set 2 early to gain their 10th victory of the year and improve to 10W-1L.

Varsity came off the loss to Rahway and faced off against the Cougars of Cranford on the road where SHS seems to struggle winning this year.  Summit took control of the sets early and never looked back as the Top earned an advantage of 27-9 in kills and 12-3 in aces to outscore the Cougars 39-12 in a 25-16, 25-15 victory for the SHS squad.  Zacharias led the team with 4 aces and a serve rating of 2.42 while also dishing out 23 assists.  Henry and Barlow paced the serve receive with 4 perfect passes apiece for a combined 8/13 attempts.  Barlow also tallied a team leading 10 kills while teammate Demm was unstoppable,  tallying 4 kills on 7 attempts with a hitting efficiency of .571.  The entire team hit for a season high .328 efficiency!  Henry led the squad on defense with 6 digs.

The team returned home two days later to face off against the Union Farmers.  Union had beaten the Top in Union in the 3rd match of the season and the Hilltoppers were looking to right that performance.  And indeed they did!  Summit beat the Farmers 25-23 and 25-19 although the match should not have been that close save for many unforced errors.  SHS out-killed Union 28-7 but lost the block battle 2-3 and the ace battle 5-6.  However,  in total,  the SHS squad out-scored the Farmers 35-16 which helped the team overcome their serving woes in this match.  Henry and Barlow were the only servers rated at over 2.00 (2.35 and 2.22 respectively) and Henry led the way with 4 aces.  Henry also had a team high 6 perfect passes on receive and pass rating of 2.38.  Barlow and Henry also led the squad with 8 digs apiece on D while Barlow was the most effective and dangerous hitter for the Top with an eye-popping 15 kills on just 28 swings for a .357 efficiency and a 53.6 kill %. For context,  the team had a .194 hitting efficiency and a total of 28 kills.  Nardino tallied 2 blocks on defense to add to the effort and Zacharias added another 24 assists to her career numbers in the win.  

Against New Providence on the road,  the Hilltoppers were once again dominant on the offensive side of the ball with a 22 - 5 kill advantage over the Pioneers and a 12-7 ace advantage for a 34-12 point advantage.  Summit took the match 25-13, 25-18 paced by Nardino and Welsh from the service line with 3 aces apiece and a team leading 2.45 and 2.67 serve rating, respectively.  Henry had a 30% perfect pass success and was the passing leader with a 1.90 pass rating and was also the team leader with 10 digs.  Barlow again led the way with 10 kills and a .250 efficiency rating and a 41.7 kill %.  Of note,  some of the support offense were impressive in limited attempts with Demm and Joseph combining for 5 kills on only 15 swings and ZERO errors for a combined .333 efficiency and 33.3 kill %.   Zacharias had 18 assists but spread the wealth to 10 different players as the offense looks to feature Barlow but be especially effective with their other hitters.  

And the last match of this run was a vital matchup with the Linden Tigers at home on Tuesday.  The Hilltoppers won 2-0 by 27-25 and 25-19 tallies.  SHS was out-killed 21-17 but out-blocked their opponents by a 3-0 margin and out-aced them 11-6 for a 31-27 advantage overall for the Top.  Set 1 was the turning point in many ways for the Summit squad. With the Hilltoppers dominating the action and holding a 20-11 lead,  Linden went on a 9-0 run (6 SHS hitting errors, 2 Linden aces, and 1 illegal contact by SHS) that turned the set on its head . Joseph stopped the run with a block but Linden got the ball right back on a kill.  Joseph again stifled the Tiger offense with a block but a visitor kill had the score knotted up at 22 and the Tiger's best server up.  An ace and a kill later and the Linden side had forced a Martins TO and had 2 set points in hand.  However,  a missed serve by the Tigers opened the door for Welsh to serve under the most stressful situations and the Soph came through with an ace to erase the 2 set points.  Linden got another set point at 25-24 but this time Barlow put down a huge kill to tie the score again at 25.  A difficult serve by Barlow followed and the Tigers had to give the 'Top an easy ball back which Nardino put away out of the middle and Barlow put an end to the set with an emphatic ace to close out set.  

Summit opened up set 2 much the same way as it had in set 1 and held a 13-7 lead midway but after a serving error by Linden had extended the lead of the Hilltoppers to 14-9,  Zacharias stepped up to serve and put the visitors under a ton of stress creating bad passing situations which forced the Tigers into free ball errors and gave the SHS crew free swings that led to a Welsh kill which had the Hilltoppers up 17-9.  Linden called a TO and again made a run at the home side but another Welsh kill had SHS up 18-14 and the Tigers could not cut into that lead the rest of the way,  getting as close as 19-16,  21-18 and 22-19 and 23-20  but the Top had an answer every time,  closing out the game with a Barlow kill and a Nardino ace.

Nardino and Barlow shared the team lead in aces with 3 but Henry was dominant with a 2.80 serve rating on a 100% perfect serve %. Barlow was not far behind at 2.78 and Nardino also served at 100% with a 2.56 rating.  Barlow also led the Top from the serve receive front with a 2.00 pass rating and 2 perfect passes. She added a team high 9 kills and a .261 efficiency.  But the "killer" was Nardino who did not see the ball much on offense -just 5 attempts- but hit for a perfect 5/5 giving her a perfect kill and efficiency rating! Barlow completed her two way contributions with a team leading 7 digs while Welsh and Joseph had 3 and 2 blocks respectively to stymie the Linden offense at key times.

Next up will be the Dayton on the road and Kent Place at home on Spike Night!!!

SUMMIT'S STRUGGLES TO GAIN CONSISTENCY ON THE ROAD CONTINUE AT RAHWAY

 In a match that would determine who would claim 1st Place in the Mountain Division at the halfway point of the season,  Summit came out firing on all cylinders in the first set but failed to seal the deal as the Top's road record dropped to 1W-3L after a 2-1 loss to Rahway.

Zacharias started off SHS on a good note in the opening set with a 3-0 service run that saw Nowicka start for the first time this season at OH and get her first kill as a starter to push the Top to an early 3-0 lead.  Rahway responded with a 6-0 run of their own but Nowicka got another timely kill to break the Indian momentum and set up a 3-0 run by the Hilltoppers fueled by kills by Barlow and Welsh which had the teams all knotted up at 9.  Summit then went on a decisive 7-1 run (Barlow kill and 2 aces,  Welsh kill that had SHS up 16-10 and seemingly in control.  Rahway responded with a 3-0 run driven by 3 SHS errors but another kill by Barlow and 2 more kills by Nowicka had the Hilltoppers up 20-14 and on their way to a 25-16 set win on a 5-1 late run (Nardino, Welsh kill and Henry 2 aces.

Set 2 saw the home team jump out to an 8-2 lead forcing a Summit TO which seemed to settle the team a bit as the game became very even with neither team gaining any ground over the next 3 rotations and the score 12-5 after another SHS service error.  Barlow tried to start a spark with a key block and Nardino followed suit with block of her own to get the Top to within 6 at 15-9 but Rahway again responded with a 3-1 run that had Summit on the ropes at 18-10.  SHS kept fighting though and generated a 6-1  run (Welsh kill, ace, Heary ace, Demm kill,  Barlow kill) which seemed very much like the runs the team had in set 1 to put the Hilltoppers within 3 at 16-19.  Rahway called a timeout but Heary ripped another ace immediately after the resumption of play to push SHS that much closer to the Indians at 17-19.  The Indians finally got a sideout and struck for a kill to take a 21-17 lead and the teams kept thwarting each other's attempted runs over the next few rotations as the scoreboard showed a 21-23 deficit for SHS after another Barlow kill.  The set ended soon thereafter with a blocking and hitting error punctuating what had been a very difficult set for the Top,  dropping it 25-21.  

The deciding set began auspiciosly enough for the Summit crew as Rahway opened up 3-0 after 2 passing errors and a hitting error by SHS.  Summit rebounded nicely with a 5-0 run (Welsh ace,  Heary ace) midway through the set,  after a Barlow ace,  the Hilltoppers were only down 7-9.  Rahway started to open up a lead with a 3-0 run but SHS won 4 of the next 5 points (Nardino kill) that had the team within 2 again at 13-15. 

But Rahway seemed to have an answer for all of these runs but this time it was for the deciding set.  The Indians struck for 2 kills forcing a TO by Martins and came off the TO with an ace and Summit felt the pressure to score immediately with Rahway up 18-13.  The Hilltoppers responded with a quick 2 point run (Nardino blosck) and yet again SHS was within striking distance late at 15-18.  However,  the celebrating was a bit pre-mature as Rahway rattled off 6 consecutive points to give the Indians a 23-15 lead and blow open the set and match.  Nowicka got yet another kill and the team earned a 3-0 service run to start to cast some doubt in the Rahway minds at 23-18 but another Summit hitting error all but sealed the deal at 24-18.  Nowicka struck yet again but it was just too much of a mountain to overcome at 24-20 and the match ended one rotation later after a Summit service error 25-20.  

Summit scored 35 points (22k, 3B, 10A) while Rahway managed 38 (23k, 4B, 8A) in a very close statistical match but one in which the Hilltoppers' serving woes reared their ugly head in sets 2 and 3 as the Top ended up with 10 aces but 12 serving errors.  The other part of the story was that in the last 2 sets,  SHS hit for only 10 kills, 5 aces and 3 blocks while Rahway was dominant with 18 kills,  7 aces and 3 blocks.  

Barlow passed 8 of 13 serves perfectly,  gave up no aces and passed a team best 2.54 pass rating.  Heary and Barlow led the team with 3 aces apiece and Zacharias was 13/14 from the service line with one ace and a team leading 2.42 serve rating.  Barlow had a team leading 7 kills but it was Nowicka with the impressive stat of a .417 hitting efficiency on a 6 kill performance and a kill % of 50%.  Heary chipped in defensively with 8 digs while Nardino and Barlow added 2 blocks apiece to the defensive efforts.  

SUMMIT OUTLASTS DAYTON IN CLASSIC VARSITY MATCHUP

 The Hilltoppers earned a hard-fought victory over the Dayton Bulldogs this week,  making it 2/2 Wins over teams ahead of them in the standings (Linden and Dayton) and pushing the squad to a share of the lead in the Division with Rahway.  

Early in set 1 it was clear this match was going to be close.  Welsh had SHS up 5-4 early after an OPP kill but Dayton responded with a 4-0 run that ended with another kill by the Soph OPP which sparked another 4-0 run but this time by the home squad (3k Welsh, Feuerstake 1k).  With the score all tied up at 11,  Summit erupted for another 4-0 run with Barlow starting it with a kill that led to another Welsh strike and Zacharias ripped 2 aces to bring the Hilltoppers to a 15-11 lead,  forcing a Bulldog TO.

Coming out of the TO,  Dayton cut the lead down to 15-13 but Welsh again hurt the visitors with a kill which sparked another 4-0 run (Barlow 2 aces) that had the Top up 19-13.  Seemingly in control,  the team was probably looking at set 2 a bit too prematurely as the Dayton Bulldogs called another timeout which sparked a 3-0 Dayton run.  Summit broke serve (20-16) but Dayton responded with a 2-0 run that had the visitors only down 20-18.  SHS settled down and struck for a sideout kill by Feuerstake and an ace by Welsh which saw the home side up 22-18 but the visitors were not quite done and struck for a 5-0 run that was only broken by a Dayton service error.  The damage,  however, was done as the scoreboard showed 23-23.  A Summit service error opened the door for Dayton who finished off the comeback with a setter dump for a 25-23 set 1 win.  

SHS out-killed Dayton 9-5 and out-aced the visitors 8-4 outscoring the Bulldogs 17-11 but the Top's hitting and serving errors kept the Dayton squad alive and allowed Dayton to stay in the set.

Set 2 was very much a continuation of the opening set's finish as the Top suffered from 2 hitting errors, a setting and a free ball return error which led to a 6-0 Dayton run to open the set.  SHS settled down after an early Martins TO with Welsh again striking for a kill but Dayton again responded with a matching 3-0 run and a subsequent 3-1 run which had the Bulldogs up 12-4 and seemingly on the way to an easy set and match win.  The Hilltoppers tried to fight back with Welsh again breaking the Dayton momentum with a kill and Joseph stopped the Bulldogs with a block but the home side still trailed 12-6.  Despite better play by the Hilltoppers,  Dayton matched the Hilltoppers at every turn and Dayton was looking at a 19-11 lead late in the set which seemed to get inextricably closer to a Dayton win.  The score turned to 20-11 after a Bulldog kill but the visitors were called for an illegal substitution which reset the score to 19-12 but,  most importantly,  brought Welsh to the service line.  

A blistering serve by the soph led to a Barlow kill which the OPP followed up with an ace,  score 14-19.  A hitting error by Dayton followed,  Barlow hit for another kill while Welsh kept the pressure up with another ace that had Dayton rattled at 17-19.  Three Dayton errors later,  Summit had flipped the set on its head. Despite a service break,  the 20-20 score had the crowd and the team emotionally engaged and hopeful!  A hitting Summit error followed but Dayton returned the favor with a service error that Barlow took advantage of with an ace and Zacharias took the next opportunity to place a dump kill down to zone 1 and the Top had a 23-21 lead.  Barlow closed the set out with a PIPE kill and SHS had done the impossible and tied the match up at 1 set apiece.  

The deciding set was a tight affair and both teams slugged it out early with neither side gaining an advantage at 7-7.  But then the Bulldogs exploded for a 5-0 run (4 Summit errors) that forced another Martins TO with the Hilltoppers down 12-7.  SHS broke serve with a Barlow kill after the TO but the teams settled back into a point for point slugfest that did not favor the Summit chances to win the match trailing 16-11 but a serving error by Dayton again opened the door for the Hilltoppers putting Barlow on the serving line.  The senior  started off with an ace which was followed by another Welsh kill.  Barlow then ripped another ace and put down a thunderous kill to zone 5 from the PIPE and just like that,  Summit had come all the way back to 15-16.  A few rotations later,  Welsh struck again ripping off 2 aces and getting Barlow another shot at a kill to give SHS a 20-19 lead.  Joseph got a timely kill to give the Top a 21-19 lead but Dayton responded with a 3-0 run (kill, ace, SHS fault) to take a 22-21 lead.  Barlow struck for a high pressure kill and the Bulldogs followed it up with a hitting error to bring Summit's match point.  A ball handling error call against Dayton ended the match one point later as the Hilltoppers had managed to pull off a tremendous comeback against the Bulldogs.  

Summit out-killed Dayton 30-22 and out-aced the Bulldogs 16-10 but the visitors notched 6 blocks to Summit's 1 but SHS out-scored the Bulldogs 47 - 38 for the match.  The Hilltoppers will have to improve on their serving error performance for the long term success of the team as the squad tallied 17 errors from the service line against the visitors.

Welsh led the squad with a 2.55 serve rating and 7 aces.  Barlow led the team with a 2.04 pass rating and Henry led the squad with 9 perfect passes for a 36% perfect pass %.  Barlow also led the squad with 13 kills and Welsh had a team leading .353 hitting efficiency and a team leading 47.1 kill%.  Henry had a 14 dig performance against the Bulldogs, a career high and team leading performance.  Joseph and Zacharias had a block each and Zacharias tallied 29 assists, spreading the offensive opportunities through 7 different hitters.