The 2026 Season did commence way back in June 2026 with the first few Summer League practices to set up the team for the July gauntlet of the Impact Volleyball Summer League Tourney consisting of 2 match days per week (Tues and Thurs) and 4 sets per match day against 2 different opponents. On the last match day, all 18 teams are divided into 2 pools and a single game elimination playoff ensues until the championship match of each pool which would be best 2 of 3.
Summit's full roster was listed in the prior post and the team cycled through 10 different lineups throughout the summer giving each participant a different shot at various roles and pressure situations. The squad finished the last of the round robin rounds with Cranford and Roselle Catholic with a 2-2 set record and that guaranteed them the #1 seed in the Silver Division and they would play the winner of Plainfield (2-0 set record v. Plainfield) and N. Brunswick (1-1 set record) in the 8-9 matchup in the quarter-finals. SHS faced off versus the N. Brunswick team as predicted by the bracket seed and despite a 6-1 opening lead by the Top, the NB squad slowly started chipping away at the lead until the Summit crew had to call a TO later in the match down 17-14 due to numerous serving and hitting miscues. To be fair, the squad had entered the match with only 8 players and were a little short-handed (a 9th would arrive later from club tryouts) but after the TO the team got a couple of key kills and forced the opponent into errors with precise and effective serving which flipped the set on its head and saw Summit pull away late for a 25-21 win.
The semi-finals occurred immediately after the NB match and the squad was to face off against Roselle Park who they had not seen in the round robin portion of the summer. RP will be an opponent in the regular season and the Top and Roselle Park had had many an encounter over the last decade in the regular season, the Healing the Children Tourney and Summer League. RP proved to be a feisty defensive team with tough serving rotations which created problems for the Top in certin rotations but the team was much more effective at reducing errors and despite trailing yet again 14-10 around the mid-point of the match, precise and well placed kills along with a tough serving 6 man rotation overwhelmed the Roselle Park squad and the SHS side moved onto the finals with a 25-19 win.
The finals saw the Hilltoppers face off against Colonia and one of the better young hitters in the state from last season. Summit and Colonia controlled the tempo of the set at various points with both squads going on multi point runs off their serves but it was the Maroon and White side that had the last say from the service line and from the defensive side with key blocks and digs which propelled them to a 25-21 win in set 1. The decisive set saw the Top get out to a huge lead midway through the set at 15-7 but Colonia dug back with their young OH providing the offense and keeping the Top's offense at bay with 2 tough serving rotations which out-scored SHS by a 7-2 margin. With the score 17-14, SHS got a gift of a service error after a TO and then rattled off 4 points to extend the lead (22-14) and essentially seal the match a rotation later at 25-15 for the Silver Division Championship.
Ava K was outstanding playing in all 6 rotations as the OPP and was the team leader in hitting % and 2nd on the squad in kills for the last 3 sets. Maddie W and Claire J led the way offensively at various points from the OH position and were key passers on serve receive throughout the night. Lily B was a highly effective weapon out of the MB position getting key kills at crucial times and Rachel J did a fantastic job as a MB in her first full 2 set match at the position in the finals. Rylen was the sole DS available in playoffs and was just a consummate leader and communicator from the back row, taking over the L spot throughout the night and leading the team in serve rcv rating and digs, especially in the finals when she was needed the most. Nadia ran a diverse offense throughout the night, getting all middles involved and identifying the hot hitters and beneficial matchups. She was also the team leader in service points and aces to help the team to victory. Sophia and Ava D also got valuable experience in the quarter-final match and Sophia came up with key block touches which led to transitional kills while Ava D had key defensive saves and well placed dumps which yielded key points in the QF comeback.
There is a lot of excitement and hope for the 2026 season as the end of the 2025 season saw the Top win 4 of their last 6 matches and upset the #3 seed in the sectional tourney on the road for the biggest seeded upset in the state last year during sectionals and now, just a summer pre-season later, the team ended summer league with a Championship, an overall 17-15 set win/loss record but a 6-2 record over the last 2 match days when the lineup was more consistent. A season preview is to follow in the upcoming weeks after tryouts but an analysis of last year's team will be posted initially so that athletes understand what we are looking to improve upon with this year's team and what we hope to be even a bigger strength this upcoming season.
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