After the tough loss to a very good Linden Team in the County Tournament, the Hilltoppers finished the season on a 3W-1L run, with the loss to the highest ranked team the SHS squad faced all year. 2022 ended with a bitter taste of disappointment as the squad felt they let an opportunity slip away against Millburn after a dominant set 1 victory against the Millers in the quarter-finals. The team dropped the next 2 sets and thus ended the season. The 2023 season ended as well in a loss in the quarter-finals but the feeling was quite different.
This is a quick look back at the last 4 matches to put the season in perspective.
Oak Knoll was the Senior Night Match and the contest was the Hilltoppers' first after the Linden loss. Although the loss was disappointing, the team refocused for the state run and looked to get back on a winning roll entering the state tournament. Summit earned a 2-0 victory over the Royals with a 25-11, 25-8 victory set score win in a match that saw SHS out-score the Royals 28-11 for the match with a decided advantage in kills (15-7) and aces (12-4).
HIGHLIGHT PLAYERS:
ACES: Zacharias 4
SERVE RATING: Smidt 2.67
PASS RATING: Barlow 2.20
KILLS: Barlow 8
HIT EFFICIENCY: Barlow .375
KILL %: Barlow 40%
DIGS: Henry and Barlow 4
BLOCKS: Nardino 1
ASSISTS: Welsh 7
PTS. SCORED: Barlow 8
NET PTS. TOTAL (+PTS - ERR): Nardino, Smidt, Barlow +3
The very next day the Hilltoppers faced off against the Rockets of Raritan HS, a team that was ranked 20 places ahead of SHS and that had defeated the Top during an August scrimmage. The Rockets had lost a tough 2-1 decision to the Hilltoppers late in 2022 and the team was very motivated to right that loss while the Summit Squad was looking to get back on the winning track versus a very tenacious defensive visiting squad. Summit won the first set 25-21, dropped the second 21-25 but came back to win the decisive 3rd set 25-17 in a very spirited and competitive match.
HIGHLIGHT PLAYERS:
ACES: Henry 2
SERVE RATING: Thompson 2.89
PASS RATING: Barlow 2.35
KILLS: Barlow 17
HIT EFFICIENCY: Nardino .444
KILL %: Nardino 55.6
DIGS: Henry 12
BLOCKS: Nardino 3
ASSISTS: Zacharias 18
PTS. SCORED: Barlow 19
NET PTS. TOTAL (+PTS - ERR): Barlow +9
With the tough win versus the Rockets, SHS felt like it was ready for the State Tournament gauntlet. In 2022, the team dropped a 2-0 decision to Mendham in the last week of the season and dropped a 2-1 match to Dayton as the last 2 games prior to the State Sectional Tournament. Iselin Kennedy, a very low ranked sectional opponent last year vs the Hilltoppers (the #3 team), gave the Top a major scare in the first round as SHS escaped the match with a 2-1 win that saw the home side have to fight back from a 1-0 deficit and a slight deficit in set 2 to finally move on to the quarter-finals.
2023 had the Hilltoppers up against Ferris HS, a team much higher ranked than Iselin had been last year and an early test for the squad to see if they could live up to its ranking. The outcome was very positive in 2023 and the mood after the 2-0 (25-15, 25-14) victory was radically different from the 2022 first round match.
HIGHLIGHT PLAYERS:
ACES: Zacharias 5
SERVE RATING: Zacharias 2.50
PASS RATING: Henry 2.40
KILLS: Barlow 11
HIT EFFICIENCY: Barlow .450
KILL %: Barlow 55%
DIGS: Henry 3
BLOCKS: n/a
ASSISTS: Zacharias 15
PTS. SCORED: Barlow 12
NET PTS. TOTAL (+PTS - ERR): Barlow +6
The task was a tall one, Mendham, despite its sectional playoff placement, was ranked far higher (about 50 places) than the Hilltoppers due to their strength of schedule, wins over opponents ranked higher than themselves and overall points differential in wins/losses. But the Top had faced these type of opponents before this season (Kent Place - Win, SPF - 2/3 in Rahway Tourney) and had built confidence in the results they had achieved so despite the prediction of a 2-0 easy win by Mendham, Summit had other plans.
Summit took set 1 25-21 despite 6 service errors because the squad nailed 5 aces and hit for 13 kills and added 2 blocks to score 20 of their 25 points and out-scoring Mendham 20-12. The team committed only 2 hitting errors and 1 net fault to add to the 6 service errors which gave Mendham the 21 points on the scoreboard. Could the team cut down the service errors and continue their amazing hitting efficiency? It seemed to be the formula for the win.
Set 2 was a Mendham 25-14 win and the numbers looked radically different. 7-5 kill advantage for Mendham. 5-2 ace advantage somewhat mitigated by a 2-0 block advantage by the Top. In summary, a 12-9 point advantage for the Minutewomen but they won by 11 so the error story must have been the key to the set and when the home squad looked at that number, it spoke volumes. 6 hitting errors, 4 service errors, 2 faults and 1 free ball return error were the difference in the set as the Top got only 3 hitting errors and 2 free ball return errors from the Mendham side. The visitors did not miss one serve in set 2 and put the Top under tremendous pressure, forcing a decisive set 3.
The deciding set 3 would answer the question of whether the Hilltoppers could find their receive game and earn the decided point advantage they would need to earn an upset victory and move on to the semi-finals. Final point tally, Mendham 16 - SHS 11... Summit passed at 1.98 and Mendham 1.82. Summit committed only 2 service errors but Mendham was one better... The most important number was the 13-8 kill number earned by the Minutewomen which set up the 7 point differential in the final score tally.
The effort and desire and fight were all there in set 3. The Top left it all out on the court with a 22 dig effort in the set alone (43 for the match!) and 3 blocks! The squad served only at 1.95 rating with only 1 ace to their match low 2 errors but Mendham were slightly better with a 2 ace 1 error performance and a 2.35 serve rating. The Top clicked for 8 kills but were forced into 7 hitting errors while Mendham struck for 13, many on serve receive, and only 5 hitting errors despite passing at a much lower rating than Summit.
The Hilltoppers fell a little short but the Minutewomen earned the victory with a much cleaner performance out of system offensively and a much tougher performance from the service line in the last 2 sets with a combined 7 aces and 1 error to SHS 3 aces and 6 errors and an offensive 20-12 advantage in kills over the last 2 sets with an 8-13 error advantage for a 33-20 net kill advantage over the last 2 sets.
But the highlight was truly the defensive effort of the squad with 22 digs and 3 blocks in the last set alone to give the Top a chance to comeback. SHS was down 18-5 and all seemed lost but Nowicka stepped up with a kill and get herself to the service line. Barlow got a big kill after a Henry dig and earned another one after a Thompson dig with Nowicka serving the Mendham side tough and Zacharias running the offense to perfection. Timeout Mendham, 18-8 as the visitor's Coach sensed the momentum swing. Nowicka ace, Nowicka 2 tough serves leading to freeball return errors, timeout Mendham 18-11. The match felt like it might have been 18-17 which is why the Minutewomen had called the two TOs this early. Nowicka another tough serve off the TO and dug up a huge attack to set up a swing by Barlow. Mendham dug it up but out of system leading to a hitting error and suddenly 18-12.
Two hitting errors by the Hilltoppers stopped the run and pushed Mendham to 20-12. The teams split the next 2 points and the scoreboard read 21-13. Did the Top have another run in them? Barlow and Heary dug up 2 attacks from the Minutewomen on the subsequent service run and it led to a Mendham hitting error that had SHS back at 21-14 but the visitors not only broke serve but got the next point to go up 23-14. Barlow got a huge kill and followed it up with a tough serve that led to a hitting error by the Minutewomen and 23-16 was the score but the Top ran out of points despite another Barlow kill after a Nowicka attack that led to a freeball that the senior crushed for a point but the Hilltoppers' run in states ended at 25-18. The character of this team, unquestionably courageous and defiant. Proud of these ladies!
HIGHLIGHT PLAYERS:
ACES: Nowicka 4
SERVE RATING: Nowicka 2.31
PASS RATING: Barlow 2.23
KILLS: Barlow 13
HIT EFFICIENCY: Nardino .400
KILL %: Nardino 40%
DIGS: Henry 8
BLOCKS: Barlow 4
ASSISTS: Zacharias 17
PTS. SCORED: Barlow 18
NET PTS. TOTAL (+PTS - ERR): Barlow +8
ANNOUNCED 2024 VARSITY (5 slots open at tryouts)
*alphabetical by last name
Molly Davies OPP/OH
Ava Feuerstake OH/OPP
*Liv Ge OH/DS
*(based on 2022 and 2023 JV performance)
Maren Heary DS
Caroline Henry L
Emma Herring MB
Gabby Nowicka OH
Mackenna Welsh S
SUMMER LEAGUE
End of June to 3rd week of July... Invites will be sent out in May... This is the unofficial start of the 2024 Season
TRYOUTS 2024
TRYOUTS START - AUGUST 26
FIRST SCRIMMAGE - SEPTEMBER 2ND
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