MORRISTOWN BEARD TOURNAMENT - HILLTOPPERS REACH SEMIS

Summit participated in the Morristown Beard Tournament which featured 2 pools of 5 teams from the local area.  In Summit's group there was Kent Place, North 13th Tech, Lacordaire Academy and Morristown Beard.  The group had Pope John, Oak Knoll, Columbia, Morris County Tech and Wardlaw-Hartridge.

Summit had a slow start to pool play, splitting the first 2 sets with Lacordaire Academy (15-18 and 13-9) and then dropping the next 2 to rival Kent Place (14-18 and 9-14).  The Hilltoppers played a more consistent match with North 13th Tech but still managed only 1 win after a split of the 2 sets (13-18 and 18-14).  Host Morristown Beard was the last opponent in pool play and by far, this was the best match of pool play as the two evenly matched teams battled it out.  Summit took both sets by a 22-20 and 8-7 scores.

SHS was seeded 4th into the single elimination 1 set playoffs and faced the 5th seed Morris Tech in the Quarterfinal Round.  The Hilltoppers trailed early after a right side kill by MT 4-1 but after a service error gave the ball back to Summit, the Hilltoppers went on a 7-2 run fueled by aces from Casey Nardino and Val Guzman that gave them the lead at 8-6.

Although an Emani Miles' ace gave the Hilltoppers a 10-7 lead, Morris Tech went on a 4-0 run that saw Summit trail by 1 at 10-11.  A fortuitous service error by MT knotted up the score and gave Summit the momentum it was looking for as the Hilltoppers serving and defense forced MT into 3 attack errors that gave the team a 14-11 lead.

Just as the Hilltoppers were feeling like they had regained control of the set, Morris Tech fought back again with a 5-0 run to jump out front 15-14.  Luckily for Summit, Morris Tech yet again hit a serve out of bounds and that error sparked the Hilltoppers to a 4-0 run fueled by 2 aces by Casey Nardino which sealed the win 18-15 and gave Summit an entrance to the semis against Oak Knoll.

The difference in the match was the Summit service and defense as the Hilltoppers hit for 4 aces to only 1 error out of 18 attempts and had 10 digs to earn their way to victory.

The Semi-Finals against Oak Knoll was a tight match early.  Summit fell behind 4-1 early but SHS rallied back and a Cassidy O'Malley kill drew the Hilltoppers even at 5.  But then the steady play of SHS disappeared and uncharacteristic errors began to show themselves as the team started to lose control of the match.  Oak Knoll went on a 8-0 run (13-5) which saw Summit commit 5 unforced passing errors and effectively ended Summit's bid to get to the finals.  The last 10 points had the teams even at 5 points apiece and ended with the final score of 18-10.

Summit ended the day at 5W-5L and 3rd place overall.  Congrats to the girls for their outstanding effort.

Highlight Players of the Tournament:

Casey Nardino led the team with 13 kills and a .382 kill% and scored 22 points on the day, 27% of the team's total
Cassidy O'Malley was the most efficient hitter at .267, led the team with 5 blocks and was second on the team with 10 kills
Gabby Mejia was the assist leader with 20 and led the team in serving points & with a 97% serving %
Val Guzman and Casey Nardino led the team with 8 aces apiece
Val Guzman had the highest ace% with 36%
Jess Salter was the team's dig leader with 14 digs.
Julianne Smolyn had a 1.80 pass rating on 42 passing attempts and Jess Salter had a 1.80 on 20 passing attempts to lead the team.

SUMMIT'S BID TO KNOCK OFF THE DRAGONS FALLS SHORT

Summit took on divisional and town foe Kent Place in an attempt to earn their 3rd win of the season and 3rd win in division.  Despite a great set 1 win by a 25-23 score, the Hilltoppers fell to the Dragons 15-25 and 22-25 in the last 2 sets.

In set 1, the teams traded points throughout the early to midpoint of the set but with the score 12-11 Summit, the Hilltoppers went on a 4-0 run that swung the momentum irreversibly Summit's way after a Margo Reigle kill.

Despite a few brief runs by Kent Place, the Hilltoppers held on to their 3-4 point cushion until late in the match when Kent Place went on a 5-1 run to tie the score at 23.  A key service error by Kent Place and a Casey Nardino kill later, Summit had the 1st set win at 25-23.

Summit generated 5 kills (Kathleen Morano and Margo Reigle with 2 kills apiece) and served 20/24 serves to pace the serving offense.  The team had 15 digs, led by Gabriela Mejia's 5 digs.

The 2nd set was more of the same as both teams were deadlocked at 6 early on in the set.  Although the Dragons went on a brief 4-0 run, the Hilltoppers cut the lead down to 1 at 9-10 after 3 straight errors forced by Hilltopper pressure. Unfortunately Kent Place responded with 9-2 run that featured the defensive passing and hitting prowess of the Dragons.  

Summit did not fold at 20-11 and ran off 3 straight points to pull to within 6 at 20-14 but a 5-1 closing run by the Dragons sealed the set for Kent Place.  Summit hit for 4 kills (2 by Cassidy O'Malley) and again served fairly well -15/16 from the service line- but got no aces and managed only 6 digs. Summit's inability to put the ball away hurt their effort in this set.  Kent Place out-killed the Hilltoppers 17-4 in the set.

The 3rd set took on a similar look yet again as both teams dueled to an 8-8 tie early on but 2 straight passing errors by the Hilltoppers opened a 2 point lead by the Dragons that seemed to be enough to put Kent Place at ease.  

The Dragons held their 2 point advantage through the midpoint of the set at 13-11 when an ace by Casey Nardino and a couple of forced errors by KP had Summit up by 1 at 14-13. The teams traded points until the latter part of the set with neither side being able to gain control.  After an ace by Emani Miles put Summit up by 1 at 19-18, the Hilltoppers looked like they were going to repeat the Union finish of the past match.  Kent Place put a kill away from the right side to end the run and turn the game around.  

Two aces and free ball error later, SHS had their backs against the wall at 19-22 when Coach Martins called a time out.  The team responded and forced a hitting error out of the Dragons and got a crucial kill by Casey Nardino to get within 1 at 21-22.  Summit had KP on the ropes as the team forced the Dragons to free ball the next play over but a key passing mistake at that junction gave the ball to the Dragons and the lead at 23-21. 

Summit could not convert on their attack but KP did and followed it up with their 6th ace of the set to close out the set and match 25-22.

Summit's errors were the key to the set as the team managed only 4 kills to 4 errors on offense.  SHS served well again (19/21 with 2 aces) but the errors occurred at the latter stages of the match which proved to be significant.  The team dug up 11 balls led by Jocelyn Mendes' 4 digs and Julianne Smolyn finished the set with a perfect 9/9 in serve receptions (19/19 in the match).  Summit was out-gunned 8-4 from the front row and 6-2 from the service line which turned out to be the key to the set. 

The Hilltoppers gave up more aces in this set (6) than in the other 2 combined (3 in set 1, 2 in set 2).

The Hilltoppers will participate in the Morristown-Beard Tournament this upcoming Saturday and will resume the regular season on Monday, on the road, versus division and county rival Rahway.

JV WINS FIRST SET AND FALTERS DOWN THE STRETCH VS. DRAGONS

The JV Squad started off well versus KP as the team jumped out to a 14-6 lead they would never relinquish.  Although the Dragons made a 5-0 run late to keep the score respectable at (24-19) a kill by Clara Mussalam closed the set out at 25-19.  This late run though was a harbinger of things to come however.

KP came out on fire in set 2 and quickly established control of the set with their serving and offense.  Summit couldn't break momentum and fell 25-9 to the Dragons.  

Summit and Kent Place were locked in a battle in set 3 but a 5-0 run near the midpoint of the set gave the Dragons a quick 14-9 lead.  Summit would fight back to get within 1 at 16-17 but a missed free attack opportunity at the net gave the Dragons the lead they needed to break the Hilltoppers' momentum.  KP outscored Summit 7-0 down the stretch thanks in large part to 5 serving errors in the last 8 serving rotations by Summit.  Summit bows out in 3 sets 25-19, 9-25, 17-25.

SUMMIT STORMS BACK TO BEAT UNION 2-1

The Hilltoppers took on county foe Union, a team they had not beaten since 2011. Summit came from behind in the 3rd set to beat the Farmers 2-1 and improve their overall record to 2W-5L (2W-2L in division, 2W-2L in county)

The match was tight early with both teams trading errors and kills but a kill from Margo Reigle and an ace from Angela Scott had the Hilltoppers up 7-4 and seemed to be in control.  A quick 3-0 run by Union quickly dispelled that thought but a key attack error by the Farmers sparked a 6-0 run by Summit led by 2 aces from Jess Salter that put SHS up 13-7.

Although the Farmers got the ball back after a free ball error by Summit, the Hilltoppers went on another long run (12-4) led by Margo Reigle with 2 kills and Casey Nardino and Gabby Mejia with 1 kill apiece.

Summit hit for 8 kills (.222 hit %) and Casey Nardino and Margo Reigle led the way with 5 kills combined.  Summit also tallied 5 aces and gave up only 1 ace in the set.

The second set was another tight battle early but Summit once again started to lead near the midpoint of the set at 9-7 before Union made another run and flipped the score on the Hilltoppers after a middle attack gave the Farmers a 10-12 lead.  Summit rallied and tied the set at 12 but it was Union's turn to generate a great run to put them over the top.  Union went on an 8-3 run which gave them enough cushion at 20-15 to finish out the set a few points later at 25-17.

Summit hit for only 4 kills and hit a -.062 for the set.  The team did hit for 3 aces but gave up 4 aces as well. Kathleen Morano led the Hilltoppers with 2 kills and Casey Nardino paced SHS from the service line with 2 aces.

The deciding set saw a much more spirited and aggressive Union team which put the Hilltoppers on the defensive right away.  Down 4-2, the Hilltoppers went on a 3-0 run sparked by Margo Reigle's 2 kills to give SHS the brief lead at 5-4.

With the score knotted at 6-6, Union went on a 3-0 run fueled by an ace and 2 Summit errors that gave the Farmers a 9-6 lead.  SHS got the ball back after a service error but they gave it right back with one of their own.  Down 8-12 after yet another service error, things looked worriesome for the Hilltoppers but Margo Reigle hit for 2 kills and Gabby Mejia added an ace to pull Summit to within 1 at 12-11.

Down 15-12, the Hilltoppers kept the pressure on the Farmers with precise serving and error free offense. Union was not able to match this and saw Summit jump out to a 17-15 lead, completely erasing the lead they had accrued at the midpoint of the match.  Union got to within 1 at 17-16 but 3 straight Farmer errors and a Jess Salter ace had Summit poised to win at 21-15.

Union got to within 4 at 23-19 but 2 aces by Emani Miles sealed the win to complete the comeback.

Margo Reigle led the Hilltopper offense with 4 of the team's 6 kills for the set.  Summit hit for 5 aces and gave up only 2 aces of their own in this crucial set thanks to the passing efforts of Emani Miles, Julianne Smolyn and Rau Soares who combined for a 2.27 pass rating for the set.

Margo Reigle and Julianne Smolyn were keys to the win as Julianne had only 1 passing error for the match and had a team leading 6 digs while Margo carried the team's offense, hitting for 8 of the team's 18 kills and tallying a team high .333 hitting %. Gabby Mejia and Jess Salter combined for 29/31 serving (94%) with 6 aces to lead the serving attack.

Margo Reigle was chosen as MaxPreps Player of the Match (see our MaxPreps site, link on team webpage).



JV Hilltoppers can't stop Union's power

The JV team's record fell to 2W-5L as the squad couldn't deal with Union's power serving or offensive prowess.  Summit bows out in 2-0 loss by 25-12, 25-12 scores.

HILLTOPPERS NO MATCH FOR RIDGE

Summit took on Ridge in an out of conference matchup at home today and the heavily favored Ridge squashed any hope for Summit to stay in the game early as the Hilltoppers could only muster 15 total points in a 25-8, 25-7 2 set defeat.  Casey Nardino led the Hilltoppers with 3 kills in defeat.

The JV Squad did not fair much better as Ridge dispatched Summit in a 2-0 loss for the Hilltoppers.

The Hilltoppers will try to right the ship versus Union, tomorrow, at home, 4pm. 

SCOTCH PLAINS FANWOOD TOURNEY WRAPUP

The Hilltoppers played in the Scotch Plains Invitational today and came away with a solid day of work that saw every Hilltopper on the court for multiple games as the team continues to develop its game.

The scores of the day were:

SHS     v Hillsboro (5-21)

            v Mount Saint Dominick (8-21)

            v Oak Knoll (16-21)

            v Piscataway (10-21)

            v Union City (9-21)

            v Scotch Plains Fanwood (18-21)

            v Roselle (21-15)

TOP KILL PRODUCER: Margo Reigle with 9 kills

MOST EFFICIENT HITTER: Casey Nardino with a .412 hitting % (8k-1 err-17 att)

MOST ACES: Angela Scott with 2 aces

MOST EFFICIENT SERVER: Gabby Mejia 20/21 serves with 1 ace (95%)

BEST PASSER: Margo Reigle 1.72 pass rating

BEST PASSING %:   Jocelyn Mendez 81%

BEST DEFENDER:  Gabby Mejia 10 Digs

HIGHEST TEAM SCORER: Margo Reigle 10 pts. (9k, 1 ace)

HILLTOPPERS LATE SURGE NOT ENOUGH TO OVERCOME LINDEN

Summit took on the Linden Tigers in a divisional match yesterday and came away with a 25-11, 25-22 defeat despite a great effort by the offense on the second set.

Summit was locked up in a tight battle early on in the first set when the serve receive failed again and allowed Linden to go on a 8-0 run to open up a 13-4 lead.  Although the team rallied back  and played fairly even from that point on (8-7 run to an 11-20 deficit) a late serving push by Linden sealed the set at 20-11.

Margo Reigle and Cassidy O’Malley clicked for 4 kills and no errors and Angela Scott  led the team with 3 digs in a set that didn’t yield many positives for the Hilltoppers.

The 2^nd set was a completely different set.  Summit’s passing was steady and the Hilltoppers displayed a much more potent offense.

After trailing 1-5 early, a kill by Casy Nardino sparked a 4-0 run that saw the Hilltoppers knot up the score at 5.  The teams traded shots in the next few points and with the score 8-10 Linden, a service error by the Tigers and another kill by Nardino had Summit tied up again.

A kill by Nardino and Kathleen Morano had the Hilltoppers for the first time at 13-12 and Gabby Mejia hit for an ace that had the team up by 2.  Linden made a quick 2-0 run to knot up the score at 14 but Angela Scott pounded out an ace to give Summit a lead at 16-14. 

After a few points, an attack error by the Linden had Summit up 20-19 but the Summit serve faltered and couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity.  Down 21-22,  Summit’s captain Julianne Smolyn got a crucial kill to even the score at 22. An attack and ball handling error later however, Linden closed out the set 25-22.

7 players combined for 10 kills led by Casey Nardino’s 3 kills out of the middle.  Julianne Smolyn notched 2 aces in the defeat. 

For the match, Cassidy O’Malley led the squad with 4 kills as the team hit for a season high 15 kills.  Gabby Mejia distributed 6 aces and Emani Miles dug up 4 balls in the losing effort.

JV HILLTOPPERS OVERCOME SET 1 LOSS TO EARN 1ST VICTORY

The JV Squad had trouble receiving again and committed too many errors in the front row to ever be close in set 1 versus the Rams of Wardlaw-Hartridge.  Wardlaw jumped out to an early 9-2 lead which it never relinquished.

Summit could not put any string of points together and saw the Rams extend the lead to 20-10 and after a 5-2 run by the Rams, Summit fell 25-12.

Grace Galuppo was active in the set, tallying 1 kill, 1 ace and 2 digs.

Set 2, in contrast, saw the Hilltoppers jump out to an 8-3 lead which exploded to 14-5 as Summit's serving game yielded no errors.  Summit continued to pour it on with a 11-8 run that saw the young Hilltoppers close out their first set win of the season and their first 3 set match of the season.

The Summit passing led to many attack opportunities and kills, 2 by Taylor Thompson, 2 by Alana Gartenberg and 1 by Vanessa Elko.  Vanessa, Madison Young and Grace Galuppo also chipped in with 4 combined aces (2 by Grace).

The 3rd set was hotly contested and was a close affair throughout with both teams making small runs but never being able to create any real separation with the other team.  Summit established a 3 point lead early on (8-5) and despite numerous Ram pushes, the Hilltoppers maintained the lead throughout the set although the Rams came within 1 numerous times.  At 14-15, Summit got a kill by Alana Gartenberg which gave the Hilltoppers the breathing room they needed at 16-14.  Sterling Sidebottom then rattled off 5 service points, including 1 ace, to get Summit a 21-14 lead they would not lose.  The teams traded points from there on out but Summit closed out the set and FIRST WIN with a 25-19 set result.

Sam Auerbach and Alana Gartenberg combined for 4 of Summit's 6 kills in the set to lead the offense.  Taylor Thompson got 2 of the team's 6 digs on defense.  Clara Mussalam and Sterling Sidebottom hit for 2 crucial aces to help seal the victory for the Hilltoppers.