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.
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