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.   

9th Graders Improve to 5W-1L; JV Continue UNDEFEATED run; Varsity Splits with Dayton and Rahway

 The unusually light week for the Lady Hilltoppers saw the program go 4W-1L across all levels.  The 9th Graders hosted Plainfield and came away with a comfortable 2-0 win versus the Cardinals.  The victory improves the young Hilltoppers' record to 5W-1L thus far in 2023.

JV continued its winning ways by earning a 2-0 victory over the Dayton Flyers and a 2-0 WIN on the road versus the Indians of Rahway.  Dayton had come in undefeated as well but the Summit serving and offense allowed the squad to control the match late and take a 2-0 win and Rahway made it a tight match in set 1,  erasing an 8 point deficit and knotting the score at 23 before the Top closed it out at 25-23 and then finished it comfortably in set 2 for a perfect 7W-0L record.

Varsity earned a 2W-1L record over teams who had been ranked in the top 3 positions entering this stretch of games and the Hilltoppers have climbed from 4th to 2nd in the Division with a tough 2-1 win over Linden,  a come-from-behind (19-12 down set 2 to win 25-22 and 25-23 set 3) win over then 2nd place Dayton but finally were beaten by the Rahway Vball Squad (current #1),  dropping sets #2 and 3 despite a comfortable 25-16 set 1 win on the road.  Varsity has Cranford on the road next week and Union at Home (Go 4 The Gold Match - Support Research into Pediatric Cancer).  Dayton and Rahway write-ups upcoming.

HILLTOPPERS TAKE A BITE OUT OF TIGERS ACROSS ALL 3 LEVELS

 The 9th graders improved to 4W-1L after a 25-22, 25-11 victory over the Linden Tigers on the road.  Despite another slow start,  the team gathered itself and won the key points down the stretch of set one and dominated from the service line in set two. Meiseles was instrumental on offense as was Kovarik,  as both girls seemed to get the important attack when it mattered most.  Freeden did her part setting the tempo with her serves and defensive effort to help lead the team to another win!

Summit has usually had a spirited match against the Linden Tigers and the first matchup of 2023 was not any different by the JV Squad.  With Linden just ahead of Summit at 6-5 entering rotation 4, Meltzer again -almost routinely now- ran off 6 service points (3 aces) to give the Hilltoppers a 12-6 lead.  With a 16-9 lead through 6 rotations,  the home team ran off a 7-0 run to knot the score at 16.  Just when the Top was feeling the pressure,  Ge the Junior OH delivered a knockout punch with a 6-0 run (2 digs, 1 ace) to push SHS to an insurmoiuntable 23-17 lead and basically seal the set.  Final score 25-19.

The 2nd set proved to be a little less dramatic.  Soph Setter Smidt,  ran off a service point run (2 aces) which quickly gave the Top a 5-1 lead.  Sabuncu kept the pressure 2 rotations later with a 7-0 run (3 aces) which had the Hilltoppers in a dominant position at 16-3.  The team never really faltered after that and the set and match ended on a 9-8 score in the last 4 rotations to show a final 25-11 set and match win.  Junior Varsity still undefeated at 5W-0L!

Varsity was looking to continue to build on their performance against the New Province Pioneers.  It would be a tough task as it traditionally is against the Tigers.  The Top started off on a 5-2 run that saw Barlow get involved early with an ace and a kill.  Linden had crawled back to within one at 8-7 before Barlow again found the floor with a kill to give SHS a 9-7 lead.  The Tigers were unfazed however and embarked on an 8-2 run that saw the Summit Squad give up 3 aces and Linden was feeling good with a 15-11 lead.  At 16-11 and things looking bleak,  SHS called a TO and the Top came out with an unlikely offensive hero,  Libero Henry  for a dump kill.  Henry kept the pressure up off her serve,  forcing Linden into 2 return errors, hitting for an ace and then Welsh struck for a kill to see the Black and Gold knot things up at 16.  Three consecutive SHS errors had Linden back up 19-16 but a service error by the home team opened the door for Summit who had Welsh up in a high pressure service round which the young Setter/OPP handled beautifully,  pressuring the Tigers into 3 errors which had the team at 19-20 at the end of her run.  Linden looked like they had taken control of the set after 2 Summit hitting errors at 22-19 but two consecutive service errors by the Tigers gave Summit a chance to rebound and Feuerstake delivered with an ace and Linden saw a blocking error and a hitting error give the Hilltoppers a 24-23 lead out of nowhere.  

Kill Linden, 24-24... Barlow tip kill, 25-24, Match Point #1... Net error Summit, 25-25... Block Barlow and Nardino, 26-25,  Match Point #2... Hit error SHS, 26-26... Hit error SHS, 26-27, Match Point #1 Linden... Welsh kill, 27-27... Linden hit error, 28-27, Match Point #3... Block error SHS, 28-28... Welsh kill, 29-28, Match Point #4... Welsh serves a bullet that leads to an overpass which Zacharias attempts to put away but Linden digs it and just send the ball over to SHS.  Zacharias piucks it up and Welsh sets Joseph out of the middle but to no avail...Linden runs a solid OH attack but Barlow digs it up and Joseph again tries to find the floor and fails but the hit puts Linden in a tough spot on transition and the last hitting attempt goes for naught and the Hilltoppers outlast the Tigers in set one, 30-28.

Set two began well for the Top with a Nardino  kill and an ace by Demm.  After an early hitting error by the Tigers in rotation 3,  SHS was up 4-2.  The teams slugged it out over the next few rotations and the importance and competitiveness of the set was in full display as the two rivals battled to a 9-9 tie through 6 rotations.  But then Linden made a push with 3 aces and a kill and it was only a serving error that helped the SHS squad as they trailed 10-13.  Nardino started a 3-0 run with a dump kill and Zacharias chipped in another ace and a tough serve that led to a ball handling error by Linden knotting things up at 13.  Both teams settled into a side-out battle over the next 3 rotations and at 16 all,  the game seemed to be calling for a decisive run.  Unfortunately for Summit,  that run came via 2 Tiger aces and 2 Summit hitting errors which had Linden up 20-16.  SHS fought back to 19-20 after a Barlow kill and a Joseph kill a rotation later had the Top again within one at 20-21.  However,  a Top blocking error and a Tiger kill later,  the home squad seemed to be on the verge of a win which concluded a 4-1 run by Linden and gave the Tigers a 25-22 set win.

Unlike the prior sets,  this decisive set began quite auspiciously for the Top.  Linden jumped out to a 3-1 lead after 2 consecutive serving errors and a hitting error by the Top.  A Feuerstake dump kill knotted things up at 3 but the Tigers took control again of the set with a 7-3 run that again only ended with a Tiger serving error.  Barlow again took advantage with a kill and Zacharias capitalized with an ace but Linden responded with a 2-0 run (1 ace) which had the scoreboard showing 12-9.  Down 12-14 a few rotations later,  the Top rattled off 4 consecutive points (Feuerstake kill,  Welsh ace, Joseph block) to take the lead 16-14.  A Linden TO swung momentum back to the home squad as they rattled off 3 straight points but Joseph once again stymied the comeback with a kill of her own knotting up the score at 17.  The Tigers were then gifted 2 Summit hitting errors and got a kill of their own with a Barlow kill in the middle to see the score flip to 20-18 in their favor.  The resiliency of the team was quite astonishing as the squad yet again fought back late with a 3-0 run this time fueled by a Nardino kill and a block and an ace by Zacharias to give SHS a tenuous 21-20 lead.  The teams traded shots and saw the scoreboard show 22-22 when Linden got a dump kill to take a lead at 23-22.  Feuerstake again came through in spades with a key kill to give the serve back to Summit which led to a long rally where,  out of system,  Henry was able to get a down-ball to go down for a 24-23.  A Henry serve on match point led to a dump attack by Linden which was handled by Zacharias.  Barlow tried to put the match away but to no avail but followed it up with a dig which led to another attack attempt by Feuerstake but with no success.  Henry dug up a game-tying atempt by the Tigers which led to a Barlow dump kill for the set and match win at 25-22.

The win pushes the Hilltoppers to the top of the division table in a tie with Rahway.  Barlow and Zacharias were very effective from the serving line,  combining for 6 of the squad's 10 aces.  Henry,  Barlow and Welsh handled most of the pass attempts with Barlow at 2.06 pass rating,  Welsh 2.03 an Henry 1.83.  Barlow led the Top with 8 kills as SHS struck for 24 kills total with 9 players on the scoresheet with a kill.  Welsh and Feuerstake tallied 4 apiece to balance out the attack.  Nardino was the most efficient offensive threat with a .333 mark followed by Zacharias with .200 and Feuerstake with a .077.  Nardino ended the match as the most lethal offensive weapon with a kill % of 50 with Barlow at 32.0 and Feuerstake at 30.8%.  Barlow was a defensive machine with 15 digs to help the Top through some tough moments in the match and joined Nardino and Joseph with 2 blocks apiece to round out the defensive effort.  Barlow was the top scorer for Summit with 13 points with Feuerstake notching 6 and Nardino/Welsh/Zacharias rounding out the top 3 with 5 points apiece.   

But the big news came after the match,  once stats were confirmed,  that showed that Zacharias ECLIPSED THE 1000 ASSIST MARK, the first female volleyball player in the history of SHS to do that! Congrats Captain!

2022 vs 2023 SEASONS ONE WEEK COMPARISON

A DIFFERENT LOOK TEAM IS HITTING MANY OF THE SAME NOTES AS LAST YEAR,  JUST IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WAY

2022 - 3W-1L        2023 - 2W-2L

10 SETS                8 SETS

SERVING 

ACES

2022 - 41        2023 - 35

RATING

2022 - 1.90    2023 - 2.31

PLAYERS OVER 2.40

2022 - 1         2023 - 4

PASSING / PASS DEFENSE

RATING

2022 - 1.73    2023 - 1.69

PLAYERS OVER 1.70

2022 - 2        2023 - 5

OFFENSE

KILLS

2022 - 100    2023 - 75

K/SET

2022 - 10.0    2023 - 9.4

KILL %

2022 - 37.6    2023 - 32.1

KILL EFFICIENCY

2022 - .214    2023 - .103

PTS SCORED (K+A+B)

2022 - 153    2023 - 115

PTS/SET

2022 - 15.1        2023 14.4

DEFENSE

DIGS

2022 - 98         2023 - 83

D/SET

2022 - 9.8        2023 - 10.4

DIG % SUCCESS RATE

2022 - 74.8      2023 - 74.8

BLOCKS

2022 - 17        2023 - 9

B/SET        

2022 - 1.7       2023 - 1.1

SETTING

ASSISTS

2022 - 98        2023 - 75

ASST/SET

2022 - 9.0        2023 - 8.6

PLUS / MINUS - NET

2022 - -32        2023 - -32

SIDEOUT / POINT SCORING%

2022 - 49.5 SO    2022 - 54.3 PS

2023 - 40.0 SO    2023 -  58.4 PS                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

BOUNCE BACK PERFORMANCES FOR 9th AND VARSITY; JV ROLLS TO 4th STRAIGHT

 

The 9th Graders traveled to neighboring New Providence yesterday looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season and change their slow starts to matches.  Such was not the case.  The team was down 6-0 in rotation 1 but,  as has been the case most matches,  the team fought back and started to get more comfortable with each passing point.  It started with Feuerstake from the service line who answered the 6-0 Pioneer run with an 8-0 run herself and SHS was out of rotation 1 with an 8-7 lead.  After the next rotation yielded nothing to either team,  and on the back end of rotation 3,  Colon went on a 6-0 run that pushed the Summit lead to a comfortable 16-8 lead.  The Pioneers could not generate any run over the next 3 rotations while the Hilltoppers were able to outscore the New Providence squad by a 7-3 tally.  Set one was over by rotation 7 as the Top took it by a 25-12 score.

Set 2 was a tighter affair early as neither team was able to get a huge advantage on their serve through the first 3 rotations but the Pioneers held a 9-7 lead at the conclusion of this rotation.  But then Freeden came up in rotation 4 and ran off a 5-0 service run that not even a TO by New Prov was able to slow down.  SHS had flipped the script and led 13-11 at the end of rotation 4.  Neither team was able to gain any advantage over the next two rotations but with the score 16-13 SHS,  Feuerstake again ripped off another 3 service points to push the Summit lead to 19-14.  After snapping the Pioneer service game in the next ball,  Meiseles struck for 2 more points and pushed the lead to 22-14 which all but sealed the deal and after Easton finished off her service game,  the match was over.  Summit wins 25-12,  25-17 to improve to 3W-1L.

JV was looking to keep the good times rolling in 2023 with their 4th win in a row and they did not disappoint with a solid 2-0 win over the Pioneers of New Providence by a 25-15, 25-18 tally.  New Prov opened up the match with a 5-0 run which had the Hilltoppers uncomfortable early but the team broke serve and Allan ran a run of her own to flip the score to 6-5.  The teams deadlocked in the next rotation but behind Meltzer's serve in rotation 3,  the team exploded on a 6-0 run that had the team up 13-7.  The Pionerrs cut the lead to 13-10 but Chaves sealed the fate of the visitors with a 7-0 run that had SHS up by an insurmountable 20-10 tally.  One rotation later, it was over with a 25-15 score on the scoreboard.  

Set 2 had the teams battling it out to a near draw through the first few rotations but then again Chaves ran off 7 points to give SHS an 8-2 lead but the Pioneers fought back to an 8-6 deficit.  Summit held a 12-9 lead at the end of rotation 5 but the turning point came in rotation 6 when Armstrong led a 6-0 service point run that had the Top up 19-9 and the crowd sensed the end was near.  New Prov again chipped at the lead by generating a 3-0 run of their own but by rotation 8 the Pioneers had only managed to get within 5 at 21-16 which was as close as the team got to Summit as the Hilltoppers closed it out 25-18.  Summit continues its perfect start to the season with a 4W-0L Record.

Varsity was coming off a very "un-Hilltopper like" performance at Union and was looking to get their footing back and establish some rhythm with Barlow back for her 2nd match of the season.  Coach Martins made a couple of line-up adjustments based off the Union matchup and the team hoped to show a better cohesive effort in this new look formation.  

Zacharias kicked things off with a 5-0 run (2 aces, Nardino and Welsh kill) and then Barlow got her first kill of the match after a Pioneer service break to give the ball back to SHS and get Thompson to the service line.  The Senior DS ripped 4 aces out of the next 5 serves (Nardino block) and had a 7 point service run that ended on a free ball receive error but the damage had been done.  Summit found itself up 14-2 in a mere 2 rotations.  New Providence crawled back to 15-4 but Joseph ended the mini run with a kill and Welsh ripped off 3 consecutive aces along with a couple of kills by Nowicka and Joseph which sealed the deal at 25-4 for the set 1 victory.  

Summit broke serve right away in set 2 and 3 kills by a combined effort of Barlow and Nardino, had the home team up by a 4-0 margin.  The visitors fought back to knot the score at 4 (Summit serving error and 2 hitting errors) and continued that trend of SHS running a 3-4 point lead just to see it go away.  Things finally changed at 11-10.  Summit broke serve and Thompson again put the pressure on,  giving the home team an easy defensive transition which Barlow put away.  Thompson again ripped off 2 more aces and SHS was looking at a 16-11 lead.  The visitors fought back to within 2 but a Devaney kill sparked a 6-1 run (3 aces Zacharias) which had the squad up 21-14.  Nardino put away an attack out of the middle and Feuerstake got a kill down to the one zone in the next two rotations to earn a 25-16 set and match win.

Summit ripped 16 aces led by Thompson's 6 and Barlow passed safely in all her attempts with a team leading 2.10 rating and also notched a team leading 7 kills.  Thompson and Zacharias notched 4 digs each on defense and Zacharias led the offense with 17 assists,  edging closer to 1000 for her career.  

With the win,  Summit jumped back up to 2nd in the division,  one game back of Dayton and tied with Rahway.  

FARMERS HANDLE THE HILLTOPPERS AT 9TH AND VARSITY LEVEL, JV ROLLS TO THIRD VICTORY

 The Summit crew traveled to Union High to face off in a Divisional battle against the Farmers.  The 9th graders faced some serving inconsistency from the onset and their serve receive faltered in the midst of it which led to a bad recipe for success.  The young team fought hard but fell to Union by 25-13 and 25-14 scores.  Meiseles and Mirliss were highlights in a tough loss with Meiseles working hard to the ball on every play and Mirliss putting consistent pressure on the Farmers with her serve.  The 9th graders will go to New Providence tomorrow in another Divisional matchup.

JV wins their third in a row with a 25-9, 25-22 victory over the Union Farmers.  Set 1 was over quickly as Meltzer  took the serving reigns in rotation 3 and took a 4-3 Summit lead to a 14-3 lead with 4 aces included.  Union had no equal response and by rotation 6,  SHS had taken the win 25-9.

Set 2 was far more competitive and exciting from a fan's perspective.  SHS had a 7-3 lead in rotation 3 after Sabuncu ran off 3 straight service points, including 1 ace.  But this time,  Union responded with a 7-0 run to snatch the lead at 9-7.  Handal stepped up then and she ran off a 6 service point run with 2 aces and forced a Farmer TO with the Guests up 14-9.  By the time Basaman was done with her service run in rotation 6,  SHS only had an 18-16 lead.  The teams just could not get anything going over the next few rotations and Summit still held that same 2 point lead at 21-19 before Porsse got a huge kill to give the Hilltoppers a 22-19 lead and more importantly,  the serve.  Sabuncu again stepped up with a crucial serve and at 23-19,  things were looking up for the Top.  Union, however,  responded with a service break and 2 quick points that had things very tight at 23-22 SHS but a missed serve opened the door for the Top and Summit did not waste the opportunity,  closing out the set and match 25-22.

Varsity started off well in set 1 holding a 6-3 lead after a Welsh kill.  But then the hitting errors began and just seemed to propel the team into other unforced errors and before one could blink.  Union had embarked on a 7-0 run that ended on a Nowicka kill which saw the Top down 10-7.  Another 5-3 run by the Farmers fueled by SHS missteps had the Hilltoppers down 15-10 but then Barlow (in her debut match of 2023) nailed a kill and an ace which was followed by a Nardino block and Summit was within striking distance.  But then the wheels fell off.  A serving error,  3 consecutive hitting errors and 2 aces all but sealed the fate of the Top as the scoreboard read 22-16 after a Nowicka kill again stopped the run.  But the damage had been done and Union took set 1 25-17.

Set 2 began much the same way set 1 had evolved,  except that this time,  the serve receive failed the Top with 5 consecutive aces being allowed by the Hilltopper D which saw the team down 8-3 before a Farmer hitting error ended the run.  SHS crawled back to 8-6 but another 6-2 run had the Hilltoppers on the ropes at 14-8.  Union then went for the knockout punch.  Block error SHS,  hitting error SHS, Ace Union, Ace Union... 18-8.  Another 5-2 run,  23-10,  match just about over.  

It was then that this team started to find its "sea legs".  Barlow opened with an ace which then led to a Welsh kill.  Union broke the Summit serve but the team did not quit and fought back with a Nardino kill and Henry would step up with no room for error from the service line at 24-13.  The Junior Libero ripped off six straight tough serves (including an ace) that forced a Farmer TO with the Hilltoppers coming from out of nowhere to push the home team at 24-19.  But the comeback fell short and despite the good vibes at the end,  the reality of another loss set in.

Summit's long term success will be determined by their ability to reduce the amount of unforced offensive errors and receive errors which seem to pop up for a rotation or two.  Set 1,  the Hilltoppers out-scored Union 13-11 but lost by 8 because Union committed only 3 total hitting and serving errors while the Top notched 11.

Set 2 Union out-scored SHS 14-8 due to a 7-2 ace advantage with Union missing 0 serves and SHS missing 4.  

The Hilltoppers will try to right the ship against New Providence tomorrow at home.

9TH GRADE GETS COMEBACK WIN, JV DOMINATE, VARSITY DROPS 2-0 DECISION TO SPF

 9th Graders fresh off their home opener win over Cranford took the show on the road to Scotch-Plains Fanwood seeking to start a win streat to open up the 2023 Season.  It did not start well.

Numerous passing and serving errors led to a lackluster and frustrating set 1 loss of 25-12 but the young Toppers remained very positive and had each other's back through the 2nd set as SHS turned it around and were lethal from the serving line to lead the Hilltoppers to a dominant and decisive 25-7 set 2 win.  

So the stage was set for a decisive set 3 with both teams looking for the knockout punch.  But the set was more of a trading of body blows as neither team could ever quite deliver the knockout blow early.  Serving was tough from both sides,  passing was solid and when given the opportunity,  the offenses were delivering.  There was very little separating the squads but it was the Summit Hilltoppers who won the last decisive points to forge ahead for good and take an exciting and hard-fought 25-23 set and match win.  

The Hilltoppers relied on an entire team effort -especially in set 2- and in set 3 it was the play of Feuerstake and her leadership that motivated the team in tight spots.  Mirliss was unflappable,  basically flawless from the service line,  great defensive plays and a calm composure which helped the team keep their nerve through the most stressful moments of the match.  Colon was a serve receive machine,  handling most of the attempts and thwarting any runs the SPF athletes attempted.  Freeden had an impact everywhere on the court as the 6 rotation OPP found herself in the middle of the action from every position.  Easton continues to prove why she deserved to be on the team,  showing great improvement all around in real live games and contributing key plays at key times.  Overall,  the energy on the bench was OUTSTANDING and helped this young team find a way to win on the road and improve to 2W-0L.

Junior Varsity faced off against the SPF Raiders after the Varsity match and could not have gotten off to a better start.  Sabuncu put set 1 away in the first rotation with the help of her teammates as she rattled off 10 service points to give SHS a 10-0 lead before the crowd was settled in.  From there,  the Raiders managed to get as close as 12-6 but Devaney put any hope away of a comeback with a 5-0 run that put the Top on top 17-7 and led to a quiet 25-8 set win after Meltzer wrapped things up in rotation 4.

The second set turned on the first two rotations.  Smidt and Chaves gave the Hilltoppers an 8-3 lead which the squad could not expand on but defended well through 6 rotations as the scoreboard indicated 13-9 Guest.  With the score 16-11 Summit,  Chaves ran a 4-0 run that put the set away for all intent and purpose,  giving the team a 20-11 lead.  SHS closed it out 2 rotations later for the comfortable 25-16 set and match win,  giving the team a 2W-0L opening to the 2023 Campaign

Varsity upset the higher ranked SPF Raiders in 2022 after dropping a decisive 2-0 decision to their Watchung Division crossover rivals in the HTC Tourney when the team did not have their full squad.  SHS needed the best from all their starting players last year to earn a tough fought 25-23, 25-23 win at home.  This year,  the Hilltoppers traveled to SPF in their 2nd match not having their entire squad available again in their first matchup with this Watchung Division powerhouse.  Much like last year,  the first encounter did not go well.  

Summit opened set 1 competitively,  trailing only by one at 5-6 with contributions by Welsh (2k), Demm (1k) and Nardino (1k).  But then the wheels came off the offense and the blocking seemed a step off dealing with the Raider offense as SPF went on a 13-1 run that sealed set 1.  

Set 2 did not start off as well for the Hilltoppers and they found themselves trailing 6-3 and then the Raiders got another run (11-1) which sealed the fate of the Top.  

SHS was out-scored 35-14,  mostly due to a kill differential of 11 and an ace differential of 8.  The silver lining of this match was the great serve receive and defense through most of the match by the combination of Welsh, Thompson, Henry and Heary.

Thompson and Zacharias were the only ones to put pressure on the SPF serve receive with an ace apiece and a serve rating of 2.60 and 2.75 respectively.  

Henry once again led the squad in 3.0 passes with 4 (2nd on % 28.6%) while Heary was close behind (3 3.0 passes - 27.3%).  Henry led the squad with a 1.93 pass rating and Welsh close behind with a 1.83.

Feuerstake led the team with 4 kills and Welsh was close behind with 3 but with a team efficiency of only .022,  Welsh's .286 stands out as big highlight.  

Welsh was also instrumental in giving the Hilltoppers a chance in transition as she dug up a team leading 6 balls in the match.

Zacharias tallied 11 assists through 6 different players as Summit tried to find a solution to the SPF D.  The Senior Setter and Captain is now at 953 assists for her career,  a mere 47 from the amazing tally of 1000!  Although very early,  the Captain is averaging one more assist per set than last year when she totaled 493 assists in a season,  a team record! 1500 assists may not be too far out of reach.

Feuerstake provided another bright spot in an otherwise gloomy day as the Junior was the only front row player to have a net positive score for the match for Summit with a +1.  

OPENING DAY ON ALL 3 LEVELS BRING THREE WINS TO THE HILLTOPPERS

 All three levels opened on Thursday,  September 7th at home against rival Cranford to kick off the 2023 season.  The 9th graders,  after a little bit of a nervous start,  rolled in set 1 with a 25-13 score and then followed up with a 25-19 tally.  Mirliss and Feuerstake had clutch serving runs to help the squad to its first victory!

Junior Varsity used timely offense and a consistent serving attack to wear down the Cougars in set 1.  Devaney ran a 4 point serving run that opened up a 9-5 lead midway in set 1.  The serve receive handled the Cranford serving attack effectively and allowed the offense to give the ball back to the Hilltoppers rather quickly.   The teams were still only separated by 4 points through 6 rotations with the scoreboard reading 13-9 Top but then Allan ripped off a 4 point serving run which pushed the Hilltopper lead to 18-11 in rotation 7 and the home squad never looked back on its way to a 25-13 set 1 win.  

Set 2 saw the Hilltoppers run out to a 12-9 lead as the home side scored a few points in every rotation but could not get a long run going.  Nothing much changed in set 2 but Wu became the go to hitter for the Hilltoppers on serve receive as the OH got Summit back on serve in numerous situations with the score reading 22-18 after 12 rotations.   Cranford just could not break through the Hilltopper D and the win was secured just one rotation later at 25-20.

Varsity dropped 2 of 3 matches in 2022 to the Cougars and this was a key matchup early on in 2023.  Set 1 began auspiciously enough for the Top with the Cougars jumping out to a 4-1 lead fueled by 3 consecutive Hilltopper hitting errors.  A bolck by Nardino and a kill by Welsh had Summit within one at 3-4 but another 2 attack errors saw Cranford pull out to a 6-3 lead and 2 rotations later,  Summit still trailed 8-4.  A net violation by the visitors got Thompson up to serve and the Senior DS ripped off an ace which was followed by a Demm dump kill which got SHS back into the set at 7-8.  Down 11-8,  Nardino found a kill down the middle, Welsh followed up with an OPP kill and Zacharias notched an ace to get the Top even with Cranford at 12.  The good feelings were soon gone though as a serving,  passing and hitting error saw the visitors reestablish their 3 point lead to 14-11.  Demm stemmed the tide with a kill and Heary ripped off 2 aces which were followed by a Cranford hitting error which led to the Hilltoppers looking at a 15-15 tally at the end of 8 rotations.  Summit won 3 of the next 4 points with Welsh getting a kill and an ace and MB Joseph notching a kill which gave the Summit Squad their first lead of the set at 18-16.  The teams exchanged a pair of points and at 20-18,   Henry put up a perfect pass on reception which Zacharias fed to Joseph for a kill into seam 1-6 which was then followed up by a Demm kill that gave the home side the cushion they needed at 22-18.  Another Demm kill and an ace by Zacharias had Summit on the verge of a set win at 24-19.  One rotation later,  Nardino put an end to the matter with a block to notch the 25th point.

Set 2 was quite a different story as the Top jumped out to a 4-1 lead behind 2 kills by Demm and 2 aces by Zacharias.  With Cranford fighting back to a 5-4 deficit,  Feuerstake notched 2 kills to give the home side a 7-4 cushion.  Leading 8-5,  Summit saw Cranford go on a 6-0 run (3 hitting errors, 2 CHS aces and 1 free ball error) which put them ahead by an 11-8 score.  SHS responded with an 8-0 run of their own initiated by a Feuerstake kill.  The OH then ripped off an ace,  followed by kills by Joseph (3), Zacharias (1) and Demm (1) which gave the Hilltoppers a 16-11 lead they just would not relinquish.  Joseph and Herring notched a couple of kills with Henry tallying an ace and Summit saw the end of set and match in the horizon at 19-12.  Zacharias hit for another ace and Demm pounded another kill to give SHS a seemingly insurmountable 21-13 lead.

But Cranford did not give in and rattled off 4 consecutive points to cut the lead down to 21-17 but Herring stopped the momentum with a kill out of the middle.  Despite the visitors get as close as 22-19,  SHS wrapped it up one rotation later with 
Davies and Nowicka tallying kills and a Nardino serve forcing the Cougars into a hitting error,  Summit had earned their first win of the 2023 season.

Summit out-scored the Cougars 43 - 17 (29 kills,  2 blocks,  12 aces).  Despite the disparate point differential,  the home team's hitting errors kept the visitors in the match (15 hitting errors).

Zacharias led the serving attack with 5 aces and notched 28 assists (that brings the Captain to 942 assists for her career) 

Henry led the squad with 6 perfect passes on receive and Thompson led the squad with a 2.25 pass rating.  

Demm led the squad with 8 kills, Herring was the leader in hitting efficiency with a .200 in a limited role and Joseph was the most dangerous hitter with a kill % of 42.9.

Henry led the way defensively with 10 digs as the team dug up an impressive 31 digs and Nardino was involved in a team leading 2 blocks.  Next up on the schedule,  SPF on Friday,  first road game.

SCRIMMAGE VS DRAGONS REVEAL STRENGTHS AND AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT

 JV took on the Dragons of Kent Place,  a team that swept JV last year and came out with a hard fought split in the scrimmage.  The Hilltoppers were able to use a more consistent serving and passing performance in set 2 to knot up the set total with their Kent Place neighbors and salvage a split.  The team demonstrated that if their passing and serving were devoid of unforced errors,  the team can and should compete with the best in the county.

Meanwhile,  Varsity continued to experiment with rotations and combinations as the team navigates competition without Barlow and is discovering what is working and not working in every set.  The Squad took set 1 25-21 from the Dragons but had control of the set and their opponent 18-11 before a TO by the Dragons seemed to reset the Summit neighbors and KP proceeded to go on an 8-1 run to knot up the score at 19 and force Coach Ross into a TO.  The run was fueled by a passing error and 5 consecutive unforced hitting errors.  Although the home squad came back from a 22-21 deficit and closed out the set on a 4-0 run (1 ace, 1 kill),  the recipe for a loss was clearly spelled out.  Summit out-scored KP 14-11,  basically the final score differential,  and used an 11-8 kill advantage to earn the win.  

Set 2 was  the result of the error issue in the 25-15 loss.  SHS lost the point battle 11-8 to the Dragons but the final result of the set was due to the fact that SHS committed another 6 unforced hitting errors while KP only 1.  The Dragons also began to impose their serving strength as they out-aced the home squad 5-1 but the more important stat was that despite the visitors giving up 5 service errors (Net 0 serving points),  SHS also had 5 service errors (Net -4 serving points).  With a 7-6 kill advantage in set 2,  Summit actually showed they had a more productive offensive team through 2 sets with an 18-14 kill advantage.  The seeds of trouble were sown from late set one though and once the passing woes began in set 3,  it was just too much to overcome and the home team dropped a lopsided set 3 decision.  

The Hilltoppers have found tremendous success thus far in scrimmages when both their hitting and serving errors are minor factors in the sets.  Regardless of the matchups,  when those 2 factors are present at a substantial rate,  especially from the hitting side,  the team has struggled irregardless of lineup.  

Match stats:

Kills - SHS - 19 / KP - 29

Blocks - SHS - 1 / KP - 3

Aces - SHS - 4 / KP - 10

TTL - SHS - 24 / KP - 42

Hitting Errors - SHS - 14 / KP - 11

Serve Errors - SHS - 14 / KP - 9

Faults - SHS - 1 / KP - 1

FB Errors - SHS - 5 / KP - 0

TTL - SHS - 34 / KP - 20 

TOP 3 TEAM LEADERS:

Aces: Zacharias 2, Welsh / Nardino 1

Serve Rating (min 5 serves):  Nardino 2.14, Henry / Zacharias 2.00

Kills: Demm 4,  Davies / Feuerstake / Nardino / Nowicka 3

Kill %: Nardino 60%, Welsh 40%,  Davies 37.5% 

Kill Efficiency: Nardino .600, Feuerstake .118, Nowicka .111

Digs: Henry 10,  Thompson 6,  Feuerstake 5 

Assists: Zacharias 10, Welsh 9 

Top Point Scorers: Nardino / Demm 4,  Davies / Nowicka / Feuerstake 3

Net Point Scoring (0 or higher): Feuerstake 1,  Nardino 0

THROUGH 3 SCRIMMAGES:

TOP 3 TEAM LEADERS

Aces: Zacharias 9, Welsh 6, Nardino 4

Serve Rating (min 10 serves):  Feuerstake 2.40,  Nardino 2.39,  Zacharias 2.18

Kills: Feuerstake 16,  Demm 12,  Nowicka 9 

Kill %: Nardino 57.1%, Demm / Welsh 35.3%,  Davies / Joseph 30.8% 

Kill Efficiency: Nardino .500, Joseph .154, Demm .147

Digs: Thompson 23,  Henry 22,  Heary 18 

Assists: Zacharias 35, Welsh 27 

Top Point Scorers: Feuerstake 19,  Demm 14,  Nardino / Nowicka / Welsh 12

Net Point Scoring (0 or higher): Nardino 6, Feuerstake 4,  Demm / Joseph 2