The state run brings an opportunity for a program to stand out and "arrive" and the Hilltoppers, historically, have very little experience at this level but recently, the team has consistently been a staple at the Quarter-Final or Semi-Final level. Could this be another deep state run for the Top and perhaps a Finals run?!
ROUND 1 - #3 SHS VS #14 RAHWAY
The Rahway Indians are a constant, difficult opponent as the rivalry stems back to the early 2010s and the teams are extremely familiar with each other. Last season the Hilltoppers suffered only 2 losses during the regular season in conference and neither one of those losses were to the Indians yet Rahway and the Hilltoppers finished tied for the Conference Title.
This season, the Indians struggled in the Watchung Division and the Hilltoppers seemed to hold their own, especially out of conference where SHS was 16W-1L for the year. This did not matter however in the opening match versus Rahway on the road this year as the Indians pushed Summit to 3 but the Top seemed to find their way in the return match at SHS when the Hilltoppers took an easy 2-0 victory. But this was Round 1 of states and the Hilltoppers were the hunted now as Rahway had nothing to lose.
SET 1
The set begun auspiciously enough for the Top as the team was down 5-0 (gave up an ace and a kill and 3 hitting errors) before a Rahway serving error got the ball back into the Hilltoppers' hands. A Herring kill and a Rahway hitting error had Summit back to within 2 at 5-3 but a quick 2-0 run had the visitors back up by 7-3. But another service error stalled the Rahway momentum and allowed Henry to take advantage with 2 aces and a Devaney kill out of the middle had SHS tied at 7-7.
The teams slugged it out over the next 2 rotations with aces (A. Feuerstake) and errors giving each team a lead and taking it away. A Devaney kill and a Ge tip had the Top up 13-10 midway in the match and 2 rotations later the home side still held a 2 point cushion but then Nowicka and Ge put down 2 kills to give SHS a 16-12 lead which forced a Rahway TO. Coming off the TO Rahway got the lead down to 2 again but Summit continued to ride the hot hand of Nowicka to keep hold of the set at 18-15. But then a long rally ensued that triggered a 4-0 Rahway run that had SHS on their heels and forced Coach Martins to call a TO down 19-18 but it mattered not as the Indians ripped an ace coming out of the TO to take a 20-18 lead to put the home side on their heels.
Despite Devaney and Nowicka kills, Summit was still on the ropes down 23-20. But a key pass by Handal led to a Ge attack attempt which, despite not a kill, led to a very manageable dig by Henry who put the ball on a platter for Welsh who faked the entire gym out by dumping the ball for a kill. This led to the junior setter to go to the service line and Welsh served up a bullet that forced an overpass that led to a Rahway error and a 22-23 deficit. But that was as close as the Summit squad would get as Rahway got a kill and a fault error point to close out set 1 25-22.
Summit had out-scored Rahway 16-10 but it was not enough to overcome the combined 12 hitting and service errors the team had also had in the set.
SET 2
Yet again the Top found themselves down 5-1 before long but this time the TO came early to try to settle the team down. But such was not the case as the Indians had found new life and purpose and would not allow the Hilltoppers any breathing room and that had Rahway up 8-1 and dreaming od a monumental upset. But just when things looked bleak, a Herring block sparked a 4-0 run (2 Indian hitting errors and a Henry ace) to bring SHS life at 8-5.
A service error by Summit a few rotations later had the team down 11-7 but a Rahway hitting error and a Ge kill got SHS back to within 2 at 11-9. Summit could feel the Indians start to doubt themselves and could see the body language change quite drastically on the other side of the net. Within the next few rotations, Ge hit for another kill, Devaney struck for 2, N. Feuerstake dropped 1 kill in and Deyonge stuff blocked a Rahway attack to complete the turnaround as SHS had suddenly erased a 7 point deficit to lead 15-14. But Rahway did not go away, quite the contrary, after a TO, the visitors fought back to tie the match at 19 but a service error and a ball handling fault gave SHS a 2 point cushion at 21-19. Unfortunately, Summit suffered another service error which opened the door to a 3-0 run which forced Summit's final TO down 21-22 and looking at 3 points away from the end of the season.
Coming off the TO, Ge passed up a perfect receive which Welsh set up on a tee to Devaney who crushed it to give SHS the tie at 22. But this time an unforced hitting error led to a 23-22 deficit for the Top which was quickly erased by a Rahway service error! Summit took full advantage and saved their season temporarily with a Welsh dig off a Rahway tip attack which Henry set up to N. Feeuerstake who delivered in the clutch to give Summit a set point. Rahway TO but to no avail as Henry aced it out for the set win at 25-23!
Summit yet again out-scored Rahway 17-9 but yet again 6 service errors by Summit and a total of 11 unforced errors had Rahway within 2 points of ending the Summit season. Could the home team handle their nerves in set 3?
SET 3
The deciding set was a bit different. SHS was down 3-2 early but then went on a 7-2 run (Handal ace, A. Feuerstake ace and kill, Ge kill) which forced the Indians to take their first TO at 9-5. Again the TO seemed to work as Rahway ran off 3 quick points to get to within 1 at 9-8 but SHS won 5 of the next 7 points to extend the lead 14-10. Rahway kept chipping away at the lead and got as close as 16-14 but then Summit exploded for a 3 point run (Devaney kill, A. Feuerstake ace and kill) to force Rahway's 2nd TO down 19-14. But it was to no avail as the Top rolled to another 6-0 run (Welsh kill, A. Feuerstake 3 aces, Devaney kill) to close out the set on a 9-0 run and earn a Quarter-Final berth in State Sectionals and a meeting with Colonia HS, the team that knocked out the Hilltoppers from Semis a few years back.
MATCH STATS: BEASTS - BY THE NUMBERS:
ACE - Henry and A Feuerstake 6
SERVE RATING (at least 7% of team attempts) - Henry 2.50
SERVE % (at least 7% of team attempts) - Ge 100%
PASS RATING (1.8 or higher) - Henry 2.13
PERFECT PASSES - Henry 8
KILLS - Devaney, Ge and Nowicka 8
EFFICIENCY (at least 10% of team attempts) - Devaney .211
KILL % (at least 10% of team attempts) - Devaney 42.1%
DIGS - Welsh 13
BLOCKS - Herring, Deyonge and N. Feuerstake 1
ASSISTS - Welsh 28
***TOP POINT SCORER (Kills, Aces, Blocks***)
Ge 9
QUARTER-FINAL ROUND - #3 SHS VS #11 COLONIA
Colonia was picked to push the Hilltoppers based on their victory over N. Plainfield and Summit's struggles with Rahway but had the home side gained in confidence after their first round survival?
SET 1
It seemed early on that the Top was going to have another barn burner as Colonia seemed to take advantage of every SHS error from the service line and hitting effort to fashion a 6-3 lead after a 5-1 run. Leading 7-5, the Patriots seemed poised to extend the lead but a tip error by the visitors opened the door for SHS and A. Feuerstake took advantage with an ace which was subsequently followed by a Devaney and Ge kills and a Heary ace which turned the score on its head and saw the home side up 12-8 after a 6-1 run. The Patriots got as close as 12-11 and 14-12 but SHS but N. Feuerstake got a kill that led to a Ge ace to give Summit a 17-12 lead they did not relinquish despite a Patriot TO.
SHS kept control of the set, extending the lead to 22-15 before a late Patriot run got Colonia as close as 22-18 before a Ge kill destroyed any hope Colonia might have had to come back. Final score, 25-18.
SHS out-scored Colonia 17-8 but yet again, Summit service errors kept the Patriots in the match more than was necessary but the Top was so efficient on attack that it allowed the team to retain control of the match.
SET 2
Summit did not waste time to take control of the set opening a 6-1 lead. Colonia fought back to 6-4 but SHS ripped another 3-0 run to move to 9-4 lead before the Patriots stopped the mini run with a kill to get the scoreboard to 9-5. Summit then went through another 6-0 run (Ge kill, A Feuerstake 2 kills and a block, Deyonge block, Welsh kill) to blow the deciding set open at 15-5 forcing a Colonia TO. The TO settled Colonia to an extent as the teams played fairly even volleyball afterwards with SHS leading 21-9 late after a Summit service error. But the Hilltoppers didn't waiver and ripped a 4-0 run to close out the set and match with a Ge ace getting the 25th point to push the Summit record to 19-10 and sending the Hilltoppers to another historic Semi-Final berth in State Sectionals.
SHS out-cored the Patriots 19-2 in the set to close out the Quarter-Final matchup. Onto Allandale and N. Hunterdon for Semis!
MATCH STATS: BEASTS - BY THE NUMBERS:
ACE - Ge 4
SERVE RATING (at least 7% of team attempts) - Ge 2.75
SERVE % (at least 7% of team attempts) - Ge 100%
PASS RATING (1.8 or higher) - Henry 2.31
PERFECT PASSES - Henry 6
KILLS - Ge 8
EFFICIENCY (at least 10% of team attempts) - Ge .636
KILL % (at least 10% of team attempts) - Ge 72.7%
DIGS - Henry 7
BLOCKS - Deyonge 2
ASSISTS - Welsh 20
***TOP POINT SCORER (Kills, Aces, Blocks***)
Ge 12
SEMI-FINAL ROUND - #3 SHS VS #2 N. HUNTERDON
With the match being so fresh and video posted, there is no need to summarize but the numbers do tell a story.
SHS was out-killed 26-18 for the match but the Hilltoppers committed only 4 hitting errors to N. Hunterdon's 14 to have a net +14 to +12 advantage on offense. Both sides had only 1 block apiece but the advantage N Hunterdon had which proved to be the difference was the ace production as the home side earned an 8-0 ace score with a net score advantage of +2 to -7 (a 9 point swing) which explained the difference in the teams' 25-21, 25-18 scoreline.
MATCH STATS: BEASTS - BY THE NUMBERS:
ACE - N/A
SERVE RATING (at least 7% of team attempts) - N. Feuerstake 2.0
SERVE % (at least 7% of team attempts) - Welsh, Handal, N. Feuerstake 100%
PASS RATING (1.8 or higher) - Ge 2.06
PERFECT PASSES - Ge 4
KILLS - Devaney and Ge 5
EFFICIENCY (at least 10% of team attempts) - Devaney .556
KILL % (at least 10% of team attempts) - Devaney 55.6%
DIGS - Henry 10
BLOCKS - Deyonge and Ge 1
ASSISTS - Welsh 15
***TOP POINT SCORER (Kills, Aces, Blocks***)
Ge 6
ALL 3 STATE PLAYOFF MATCHUPS
BEASTS BY THE NUMBERS:
ACE - A Feuerstake 9 / Henry 8
SERVE RATING (at least 7% of team attempts) - Henry and Ge 2.13
SERVE % (at least 7% of team attempts) - Ge 93.3% / Heary 85.7%
PASS RATING (1.8 or higher) - Henry 2.07 / Ge 1.77
PERFECT PASSES - Henry 17 / Ge 7
KILLS - Ge 21 / Devaney 17
EFFICIENCY (at least 10% of team attempts) - Devaney .406 / Ge .286
KILL % (at least 10% of team attempts) - Devaney 53.1% / Ge 42.9%
DIGS - Henry 29 / Welsh 23
BLOCKS - Deyonge 4
ASSISTS - Welsh 63
***TOP POINT SCORERS (Kills, Aces, Blocks***)
Ge 27 / Devaney 17 / A Feuerstake 14
BIG GAMES BIG PERFORMANCES - UCIAC AND N2G3 TOURNAMENTS
BEASTS BY THE NUMBERS:
ACE - Henry 16 / Welsh 13
SERVE RATING (at least 7% of team attempts) - Ge 2.20 / Henry 2.16
SERVE % (at least 7% of team attempts) - Ge 93.7% / Heary 87.2%
PASS RATING (1.8 or higher) - Henry 1.99 / Ge 1.76
PERFECT PASSES - Henry 31 / Ge 13
KILLS - Devaney 35 / Ge 33
EFFICIENCY (at least 10% of team attempts) - Devaney .426 / N Feuerstake .216
KILL % (at least 10% of team attempts) - Devaney 57.4% / Ge 36.7%
DIGS - Henry 48 / Ge 37
BLOCKS - Herring 5 / Deyonge and Welsh 4
ASSISTS - Welsh 115
***TOP POINT SCORERS (Kills, Aces, Blocks***)
Ge 45 / Devaney 35 / Welsh 28
