Maybe it was the emotional drain of the Varsity match, maybe it was overconfidence, maybe a little of both but the JV Hilltoppers were not the same team against the Tigers of Linden that had opened up the 2015 with 2 wins. Summit fell a little short to the Tigers 25-21, 25-19.
SHS trailed early and was never in control of game 1 although the team fought back twice from deficits of 5 points in the game to tie the score (12-12 and 19-19). The team gave up 6 points on service errors and that turned out to be the difference in the game as the Tigers took game 1 25-21. Despite Summit's serving inconsistency on this day, the team got a spark by Bella D'Ambrosi who had 6 service points, including 4 aces, to give Summit a chance in game 1. Linden, however, committed less errors late in the game which led to their game 1 victory.
Game 2 provided much of the same with SHS trailing early and fighting to stay relevant throughout the game. Despite brief spurts of good play, the Hilltopper effort was largely inconsistent and Linden took full advantage closing out the game and match 25-19.
Taylor Thompson led the team with 18 assists and Julianna Fiore and Captain Madison Young spearheaded the offense with 4 kills apiece in a losing effort.
The team will attempt to right the ship and pick up a 3rd win agains Union, a team they lost to twice last year, this Friday at home.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
HILLTOPPERS STUN TIGERS FOR 2ND WIN OF THE SEASON
The Summit Hilltoppers traveled to Linden to take on the Tigers who sat on top of the Mountain Division with a 3W-0L record. Summit had not beaten Linden since 2011 when the team beat Linden 2-0 in each of the 2 meetings that year. After the 25-16 score this past weekend at the Raider Tournament, Summit had very little to hang onto coming into this regular season matchup with Linden. But new serve receive rotations and a tweak of the receiving personnel made all the difference today as Summit upset Linden on the road by a 25-22, 21-25, 25-20 score.
Summit had the best start of the season behind Val Guzman's serving as the Hilltoppers jumped on the Tigers 6-1 early. Linden clawed back to tie the score at 11-11 after an ace but Summit regained the lead at 12-11 after an Angela Scott kill. The teams battled back and forth without gaining any advantage. Casey Nardino had a kill late to knot things at 17 but a Summit error and a kill out of the middle by the Tigers had SHS down 19-17 late. Summit came out of a Martins time-out and forced a Linden middle attack error, saw Grace Galuppo hit for a kill and Rau Soares sent the team into a frenzy with a solo block and a kill that had Summit up 21-19 and in control. To Linden's credit, the Tigers did not buckle and roared back to tie the score at 21 but a Guzman kill changed the tone of the game as Summit rattled off 3 more points behind a Soares ace and a Scott kill to seal game 1 25-21.
Summit hit for 9 kills and 5 aces in a 15 point game performance while Linden hit for only 14.
In game 2, It was Linden who got off to a quick start as the Tigers got on Summit early 3-0. Guzman hit for an ace, Scott and Nardino added kills to bring Summit back to 3 all and the game settled down at that point as neither team could get a run going. At 8-8, Nardino slammed an ace and Linden added a few errors as the Hilltoppers jumped out to an 11-8 lead. Summit held that 3 point cushion until 17-14 when the Tigers took advantage of 4 SHS errors to tie the score at 18. The teams remained deadlocked at 21 but 3 straight aces by Linden sealed the deal at 25-21, forcing the 3rd set.
Summit hit for only 7 kills and 12 points total while Linden scored 15.
In the deciding game 3, Summit again took off to a 4-1 lead after Guzman serves forced Linden into 3 consecutive errors. but much like the other 2 prior sets, Linden clawed back and nearly halfway through the match, the teams were deadlocked at 10 after kills by Guzman and Scott. But much like the adversity the team faced in Plainfield, SHS saw themselves down by 4 at 14-10 before a hitting error by Linden gave the Hilltoppers the ball back. Guzman nailed a kill and hit for an ace in a 4-0 run that brought Summit back to a 14-14 tie. The teams traded points and found themselves knotted up at 20 late. Guzman stepped up as she had done all match and had Summit's next 2 kills to help open up a 22-20 lead. Behind a perfect 4 service points by Soares, Summit forced Linden into 2 hitting errors and scored an ace to close out game 3 and the match 25-20.
Summit outscored Linden 16-11 in the last set and hit for a match high 12 kills and a .218 hitting % to take the match. Val Guzman led the Hilltoppers with 6 kills in 8 attempts for the set and added 1 ace to lead the Summit scoring.
The team's record is now 2W-1L and Summit sits in 3rd place in the division behind 2nd place Kent Place and leader Linden.
1st- Linden 3W-1L
2nd- Kent Place 2W-0L
3rd- SHS 2W-1L
4th- Union 2W-1L
5th- New Providence 1W-1L
6th- Plainfield 0W-3L
7th- Rahway 0W-3L
Summit had the best start of the season behind Val Guzman's serving as the Hilltoppers jumped on the Tigers 6-1 early. Linden clawed back to tie the score at 11-11 after an ace but Summit regained the lead at 12-11 after an Angela Scott kill. The teams battled back and forth without gaining any advantage. Casey Nardino had a kill late to knot things at 17 but a Summit error and a kill out of the middle by the Tigers had SHS down 19-17 late. Summit came out of a Martins time-out and forced a Linden middle attack error, saw Grace Galuppo hit for a kill and Rau Soares sent the team into a frenzy with a solo block and a kill that had Summit up 21-19 and in control. To Linden's credit, the Tigers did not buckle and roared back to tie the score at 21 but a Guzman kill changed the tone of the game as Summit rattled off 3 more points behind a Soares ace and a Scott kill to seal game 1 25-21.
Summit hit for 9 kills and 5 aces in a 15 point game performance while Linden hit for only 14.
In game 2, It was Linden who got off to a quick start as the Tigers got on Summit early 3-0. Guzman hit for an ace, Scott and Nardino added kills to bring Summit back to 3 all and the game settled down at that point as neither team could get a run going. At 8-8, Nardino slammed an ace and Linden added a few errors as the Hilltoppers jumped out to an 11-8 lead. Summit held that 3 point cushion until 17-14 when the Tigers took advantage of 4 SHS errors to tie the score at 18. The teams remained deadlocked at 21 but 3 straight aces by Linden sealed the deal at 25-21, forcing the 3rd set.
Summit hit for only 7 kills and 12 points total while Linden scored 15.
In the deciding game 3, Summit again took off to a 4-1 lead after Guzman serves forced Linden into 3 consecutive errors. but much like the other 2 prior sets, Linden clawed back and nearly halfway through the match, the teams were deadlocked at 10 after kills by Guzman and Scott. But much like the adversity the team faced in Plainfield, SHS saw themselves down by 4 at 14-10 before a hitting error by Linden gave the Hilltoppers the ball back. Guzman nailed a kill and hit for an ace in a 4-0 run that brought Summit back to a 14-14 tie. The teams traded points and found themselves knotted up at 20 late. Guzman stepped up as she had done all match and had Summit's next 2 kills to help open up a 22-20 lead. Behind a perfect 4 service points by Soares, Summit forced Linden into 2 hitting errors and scored an ace to close out game 3 and the match 25-20.
Summit outscored Linden 16-11 in the last set and hit for a match high 12 kills and a .218 hitting % to take the match. Val Guzman led the Hilltoppers with 6 kills in 8 attempts for the set and added 1 ace to lead the Summit scoring.
The team's record is now 2W-1L and Summit sits in 3rd place in the division behind 2nd place Kent Place and leader Linden.
1st- Linden 3W-1L
2nd- Kent Place 2W-0L
3rd- SHS 2W-1L
4th- Union 2W-1L
5th- New Providence 1W-1L
6th- Plainfield 0W-3L
7th- Rahway 0W-3L
Monday, September 14, 2015
OPENING WEEK WRAPPED UP, MOUNTAIN DIVISION STARTS TO TAKE SHAPE
After the opening week of the season, the Mountain Division standings are already taking early shape as all of the teams saw action last week.
At the Scotch-Plains Fanwood Tourney this past weekend, Linden, New Providence and SHS met each other in non-regular season action that produced some exciting volleyball action and early previews of future encounters.
SHS dropped 2 sets to Linden (25-15, 25-18 and continued to struggle versus New Providence losing to the Pioneers in the quarterfinals 25-16.
Meanwhile, New Providence took 2 sets from Linden in their bracket matchup.
As of 9/12, the Mountain Division looks this way:
1st- Linden 2W-0L
2nd- Kent Place 1W-0L
3rd- New Providence 1W-0L
4th- SHS 1W-1L
5th- Union 1W-1L
6th- Plainfield 0W-2L
7th- Rahway 0W-2L
SHS has a tough away match versus Linden on Wednesday as the team will attempt to make adjustments from this weekend's matchup and earn a victory over the Linden Tigers.
The team comes back on Friday and hosts the Union Farmers whom they split with last year, winning a 2-1 decision at home and dropping a 2-0 decision away. The team will still be without the services of Libero Captain Emani Miles for the week although Jocelyn Mendes looks ready to return on Wednesday and Amanda Fonseca is day-to-day at this point with a heel bruise.
The JV Squad enters the week 2W-0L and hopes to buck the losing streak from last year to Union. SHS was overpowered by the Farmers both at home and away as Union beat the 2-0 both home and away and Summit was no match for the height and serving prowess of the Farmers. JV earned a split with the Tigers last year, beating Linden early away but dropping a 3 set decision late at home.
A 4W-0L start would be the best start of any JV Squad in SHS's history.
At the Scotch-Plains Fanwood Tourney this past weekend, Linden, New Providence and SHS met each other in non-regular season action that produced some exciting volleyball action and early previews of future encounters.
SHS dropped 2 sets to Linden (25-15, 25-18 and continued to struggle versus New Providence losing to the Pioneers in the quarterfinals 25-16.
Meanwhile, New Providence took 2 sets from Linden in their bracket matchup.
As of 9/12, the Mountain Division looks this way:
1st- Linden 2W-0L
2nd- Kent Place 1W-0L
3rd- New Providence 1W-0L
4th- SHS 1W-1L
5th- Union 1W-1L
6th- Plainfield 0W-2L
7th- Rahway 0W-2L
SHS has a tough away match versus Linden on Wednesday as the team will attempt to make adjustments from this weekend's matchup and earn a victory over the Linden Tigers.
The team comes back on Friday and hosts the Union Farmers whom they split with last year, winning a 2-1 decision at home and dropping a 2-0 decision away. The team will still be without the services of Libero Captain Emani Miles for the week although Jocelyn Mendes looks ready to return on Wednesday and Amanda Fonseca is day-to-day at this point with a heel bruise.
The JV Squad enters the week 2W-0L and hopes to buck the losing streak from last year to Union. SHS was overpowered by the Farmers both at home and away as Union beat the 2-0 both home and away and Summit was no match for the height and serving prowess of the Farmers. JV earned a split with the Tigers last year, beating Linden early away but dropping a 3 set decision late at home.
A 4W-0L start would be the best start of any JV Squad in SHS's history.
Friday, September 11, 2015
JV NOTCHES 2ND WIN, DOMINATE CARDINALS FROM SERVICE LINE
Fresh off their first win over New Providence, SHS looked to continue its early season success against the Cardinals of Plainfield. Last year the team split with Plainfield, losing at home but earning a win on the road later in the season.
The Hilltoppers were dominant from the service line as server after server scored on the Plainfield serve receive. Summit rattled off at least 6 aces in each game and never looked uncomfortable in a 25-10, 25-15 sweep of the Cardinals.
In game 1, Summit had a 13-6 lead through the first rotation of the lineup and by the 8th server they had expanded the lead to 19-11 and never looked back.
The 2nd game was a bit more competitive but Summit's dominance from the service line was never in question so although the score was 10-8 SHS at the end of 1 rotation through the lineup, it was clear that the Summit serving attack was far more dangerous than that of Plainfield. Bella D'Ambrosi was the key in Game 2 as she broke the game open when she came to serve in the top of the order and had Summit up 16-8 after a few aces. Summit was never really challenged at that point and when Lauren Trindell came in and rattled off a few service points which pushed the Hilltopper lead to 22-13, the match was essentially over.
The JV Squad will look for its 3rd win next week against a Linden team that the Hilltoppers split with last year.
JV is now 2W-0L.
The Hilltoppers were dominant from the service line as server after server scored on the Plainfield serve receive. Summit rattled off at least 6 aces in each game and never looked uncomfortable in a 25-10, 25-15 sweep of the Cardinals.
In game 1, Summit had a 13-6 lead through the first rotation of the lineup and by the 8th server they had expanded the lead to 19-11 and never looked back.
The 2nd game was a bit more competitive but Summit's dominance from the service line was never in question so although the score was 10-8 SHS at the end of 1 rotation through the lineup, it was clear that the Summit serving attack was far more dangerous than that of Plainfield. Bella D'Ambrosi was the key in Game 2 as she broke the game open when she came to serve in the top of the order and had Summit up 16-8 after a few aces. Summit was never really challenged at that point and when Lauren Trindell came in and rattled off a few service points which pushed the Hilltopper lead to 22-13, the match was essentially over.
The JV Squad will look for its 3rd win next week against a Linden team that the Hilltoppers split with last year.
JV is now 2W-0L.
SHS WINS TIGHT BATTLE VS. CARDINALS OF PLAINFIELD
Every team has to face and overcome adversity before achieving success and perhaps the 2015 edition of SHS Volleyball began on that path to success last night at Plainfield as the team got their first win of the season in a 2-1 match win (22-25, 25-20, 27-25) behind clutch hitting and sound defense.
The Cardinals proved to be a great early season test for a Hilltopper squad missing 2 of its starters due to injury as the team attempted to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat to New Providence in a match that yielded more questions than answers for the team. Summit trailed early 6-4 and the Cardinals had extended the lead to 10-6 as the Hilltopper offense was just generating too many errors and too few kills. Sandra Bazalar rattled off 3 service points to knot the score at 10 but Plainfield responded with a 6-0 run that saw SHS behind 16-11. SHS got as close as 18-20 behind Val Guzman's serving but Plainfield seemed to be able to do enough to keep a 2-3 point cushion till the end as the Hilltopper offense just couldn't get consistent.
In game 2, Plainfield and Summit were fairly even through 6 rotations as neither team was able to generate consistent offense (12-11 Cardinals). Tabatha Meneses was the difference in the set from a serving perspective as her consistent balls had Summit up 17-16 late in game 2. Val Guzman and Angela Scott's offense then got on track and key kills propelled SHS to 22-18 lead after a 5-2 mini run. Summit closed out the game 25-20 as the Cardinals just could not overcome the deficit.
Could the Hilltopper squad close out the match in game 3? Summit looked like it was going to make it a laugher early as the team jumped out to a 7-3 lead behind solid serving by Guzman and Meneses. At the end of the first rotation through the lineup however, SHS was deadlocked at 11 but Val Guzman stepped up as she had all match and pushed the Hilltoppers to a 15-11 lead from the service line. The Hilltoppers still led 19-16 late and the game had seemed to settle to a back and forth affair when the errors began from the offensive side of the ball and Plainfield took full advantage, jumping to a 21-20 lead before SHS broke serve. With the score 24-23 Summit, SHS had a serving error but the Cardinal celebration was short lived as a Casey Nardino kill had the Hilltoppers up again 25-24. Once again a service error unnerved the SHS faithful but a Grace Galuppo ace after another Nardino kill sealed the match at 27-25.
SHS improves to 1W-1L overall and in division.
Look at MaxPreps for stats and Player of the match.
The Cardinals proved to be a great early season test for a Hilltopper squad missing 2 of its starters due to injury as the team attempted to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat to New Providence in a match that yielded more questions than answers for the team. Summit trailed early 6-4 and the Cardinals had extended the lead to 10-6 as the Hilltopper offense was just generating too many errors and too few kills. Sandra Bazalar rattled off 3 service points to knot the score at 10 but Plainfield responded with a 6-0 run that saw SHS behind 16-11. SHS got as close as 18-20 behind Val Guzman's serving but Plainfield seemed to be able to do enough to keep a 2-3 point cushion till the end as the Hilltopper offense just couldn't get consistent.
In game 2, Plainfield and Summit were fairly even through 6 rotations as neither team was able to generate consistent offense (12-11 Cardinals). Tabatha Meneses was the difference in the set from a serving perspective as her consistent balls had Summit up 17-16 late in game 2. Val Guzman and Angela Scott's offense then got on track and key kills propelled SHS to 22-18 lead after a 5-2 mini run. Summit closed out the game 25-20 as the Cardinals just could not overcome the deficit.
Could the Hilltopper squad close out the match in game 3? Summit looked like it was going to make it a laugher early as the team jumped out to a 7-3 lead behind solid serving by Guzman and Meneses. At the end of the first rotation through the lineup however, SHS was deadlocked at 11 but Val Guzman stepped up as she had all match and pushed the Hilltoppers to a 15-11 lead from the service line. The Hilltoppers still led 19-16 late and the game had seemed to settle to a back and forth affair when the errors began from the offensive side of the ball and Plainfield took full advantage, jumping to a 21-20 lead before SHS broke serve. With the score 24-23 Summit, SHS had a serving error but the Cardinal celebration was short lived as a Casey Nardino kill had the Hilltoppers up again 25-24. Once again a service error unnerved the SHS faithful but a Grace Galuppo ace after another Nardino kill sealed the match at 27-25.
SHS improves to 1W-1L overall and in division.
Look at MaxPreps for stats and Player of the match.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
JV SQUAD OUT SERVES AND OUT HUSTLES PIONEERS FOR OPENING DAY WIN
The JV Team opened its season on a great note defeating the Pioneers by a 25-22, 25-16 margin in a match that saw the Hilltoppers be more productive from the service line and out hustle their opponent on out of system balls.
This is the first time SHS has defeated New Providence at the JV level in recent history. The squad, led by Taylor Thompson's serving and Christina Gangi's and Captain Madison Young's offense, out-aced and out-killed New Providence en route to the victory.
In game 1, the Hilltoppers held an 6-5 lead when Thompson then stepped up to serve and rattled off 3 aces and 5 service points to bring SHS to a seemingly comfortable 11-5 score. On the next few switches of serve New Providence was not able to generate much on their serve but neither could Summit and the 15-9 score reflected that fact. But New Providence soon reacted behind their best server and went on an 8-0 run that had the Pioneers in the lead 18-17. The game settled to a back and forth affair at that point until Bella D'Ambrosi rattled off a couple of aces to give SHS a lead at 22-21. This was a lead the team would not give up and soon closed out New Providence 25-22.
In game 2, the pattern continued as Summit's service attack had New Providence on the ropes and led to a 14-6 lead that the team would not give up in route to a 25-16 win that saw Young and Gangi hit for 5 total kills as the Hilltopper defense was able to generate good transition offense for points.
This is the first time SHS has defeated New Providence at the JV level in recent history. The squad, led by Taylor Thompson's serving and Christina Gangi's and Captain Madison Young's offense, out-aced and out-killed New Providence en route to the victory.
In game 1, the Hilltoppers held an 6-5 lead when Thompson then stepped up to serve and rattled off 3 aces and 5 service points to bring SHS to a seemingly comfortable 11-5 score. On the next few switches of serve New Providence was not able to generate much on their serve but neither could Summit and the 15-9 score reflected that fact. But New Providence soon reacted behind their best server and went on an 8-0 run that had the Pioneers in the lead 18-17. The game settled to a back and forth affair at that point until Bella D'Ambrosi rattled off a couple of aces to give SHS a lead at 22-21. This was a lead the team would not give up and soon closed out New Providence 25-22.
In game 2, the pattern continued as Summit's service attack had New Providence on the ropes and led to a 14-6 lead that the team would not give up in route to a 25-16 win that saw Young and Gangi hit for 5 total kills as the Hilltopper defense was able to generate good transition offense for points.
HILLTOPPERS CAN'T OVERCOME SLOW START, DROP HOME OPENER
The Hilltoppers drop a 10-25, 20-25 decision to the Pioneers of New Providence in their home and season opener.
The start of the first game set the tone for the entire match as the Hilltoppers could not muster consistent passing and were trailing 11-0 within the first 10 minutes of the match. Summit finally broke serve. The string of 11 points saw the Pioneers hit for 4 aces and SHS commit 5 errors.
The rest of the game was fairly close as SHS actually outscored the Pioneers 10-8 but another late run by New Providence fueled by 3 kills closed out the set 25-10.
The second set was by far a better performance by the squad. Val Guzman's serving was again a key to the early success of the Hilltoppers as 3 aces helped Summit jump out to an early 5-2 lead. The Pioneers then went on a 7-2 run sparked by 4 aces of their own to take the lead 9-7. In a game filled with runs, SHS had the next one, a 5-0 run, fueled by a couple of Casey Nardino kills that seemingly had the Hilltoppers in a good position at 12-9 but New Providence rallied with a 6-3 run to knot things up at 15. A kill by Angela Scott had SHS up by 1 at 16-15 but the lead was short lived as Summit then allowed New Providence to go on a 7-0 run thanks to 2 Pioneer aces and 3 kills which put the game and match seemingly out of reach at 22-16. Summit rallied though and cut the lead to 3 at 23-20 behind the serving of Gabby Mejia and another kill by Nardino but a hitting error later the Pioneers found themselves at the doorstep to a win which they promptly took after another bad pass by Summit permitted the Pioneers to get a final kill to seal the game and match.
Summit travels to Plainfield on the 10th of September to try to even out their record in the division and the season.
The start of the first game set the tone for the entire match as the Hilltoppers could not muster consistent passing and were trailing 11-0 within the first 10 minutes of the match. Summit finally broke serve. The string of 11 points saw the Pioneers hit for 4 aces and SHS commit 5 errors.
The rest of the game was fairly close as SHS actually outscored the Pioneers 10-8 but another late run by New Providence fueled by 3 kills closed out the set 25-10.
The second set was by far a better performance by the squad. Val Guzman's serving was again a key to the early success of the Hilltoppers as 3 aces helped Summit jump out to an early 5-2 lead. The Pioneers then went on a 7-2 run sparked by 4 aces of their own to take the lead 9-7. In a game filled with runs, SHS had the next one, a 5-0 run, fueled by a couple of Casey Nardino kills that seemingly had the Hilltoppers in a good position at 12-9 but New Providence rallied with a 6-3 run to knot things up at 15. A kill by Angela Scott had SHS up by 1 at 16-15 but the lead was short lived as Summit then allowed New Providence to go on a 7-0 run thanks to 2 Pioneer aces and 3 kills which put the game and match seemingly out of reach at 22-16. Summit rallied though and cut the lead to 3 at 23-20 behind the serving of Gabby Mejia and another kill by Nardino but a hitting error later the Pioneers found themselves at the doorstep to a win which they promptly took after another bad pass by Summit permitted the Pioneers to get a final kill to seal the game and match.
Summit travels to Plainfield on the 10th of September to try to even out their record in the division and the season.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)