HILLTOPPERS OFFENSE KEY TO WINS OVER LIONS

The Hilltoppers often rely heavily on their serving and defense to give themselves the best chance to win any match but it was the offense on both matches versus the Lions of Roselle Catholic that turned out to be the key in the wins on both levels.

The JV Squad took the first set 25-10 behind the serving of Rebekah Thompson and Hope Basaman who combined for 7 aces but it was the offense in the middle of the match that wrapped it up with Olivia Lawlor putting down 4 kills in the set that swung the set decisively in the Hilltoppers´ way.

The 2nd set was error filled from the service line and the hitting errors were numerous as the Lions turned back offensive attack after attack and got opportune kills and aces to send the Maroon and White packing to a set 2 loss of 25-11.  Catherine Eldrige held the fort through most of the set offensively, throwing down 3 kills but it was not enough to overcome the other miscues.

The decisive 3rd set saw the the JV Lady Hilltoppers find their passing and offensive rhythm with Lawlor getting down another 4 kills and Eva Oberhuber 3 to pace the offense that was supported by consistent serving that prevented the Lions from gaining any momentum in route to a 25-10 set and match win.

JV improves to 7W-1L as they enter a week where the Hilltoppers will have 4 regular season matches and participate in a Varsity Tournament on Saturday at the Rahway Rec Center.

VARSITY FINDS OFFENSIVE RHYTHM, FIGHTS OFF LIONS TO GET BACK TO .500

Varsity needed a victory over the Lions of Roselle Catholic to get back to .500 and erase the anemic offensive performance at New Providence.  The Hilltoppers used an offensive burst from OH Sarah Maldonado and key serving performances from Meghan Tarashuk,  Kiera Stocks and Gabbie Guidetti to stymie the Lions and come away with a 25-16, 25-14 win.

Set 1 began ominously enough for the Top as Roselle Catholic´s #1 server ran off the first 5 points of the match to give the Lions a 5-0 advantage which forced Coach Martins to call an early time-out. RC got the following point off the time-out but Sylvie Goudreau ripped a kill to break serve and send Gabbie Guidetti to the service line.  Guidetti scored an ace that started a 5-0 run fueled by 2 Goudreau kills to get SHS back into the set at 5-6.  SHS continued their offensive assault after the next service break, Summit got the ball to Maldonado for 3 consecutive kills and after a service break by the Lions, Tarashuk stepped up with 2 consecutive aces and Maldonado nailed another kill to give the Hilltoppers a 15-9 lead.

RC would get as close as 5 points at 14-19 but a Krista-Ann Clapp kill followed by another kill by Maldonado and one by Erin Vostal sealed the deal in set 1 by a 25-16 score.

By the time rotation 6 was over in set 2, Summit had amassed a 15-5 lead and the outcome was really never in doubt.  Goudreau hit for 3 kills in the set and Maldonado sealed the deal late with 3 more of her own and SHS walked out on Friday night with a 25-14 set 2 win that got their record even at 4W-4L for the season.

Maldonado was key offensively in the win, hitting for 9 kills and scoring 9 points to lead all players.  Tarashuk was simply unstoppable from the service line, going 12/13 with 5 aces and winning 11 of her 13 served points.

Summit participates in the Fall Classic Tournament at Morristown-Beard School on Sunday, September 22nd.

VARSITY CAN´T FIND OFFENSE VS PIONEERS; JV AND 9TH GRADE ROLL ON TO 2-0 SWEEPS

The Pioneers have proven to be one of the Hilltoppers most difficult opponents over the years with Summit only winning a handful of times at New Providence in the last decade.  Today proved to be another lopsided affair as the Maroon and White could not find any semblance of offensive rhythm and dropped a 2-0 decision to the Pioneers by 25-10, 25-8 scores.

After serving 3 of the first 6 serves for errors, the Hilltoppers were perfect from the service line and hit for 3 aces total in the match.  However, the Pioneer side-out offense out of system was so efficient that the Summit players never got a chance to use their biggest weapon consistently.  Summit managed 47 attacks on the match but 4 kills was the output, thus, the predictable outcome.  The Hilltoppers forced 13 free balls that the team passed perfectly in the match but managed only 1 kill out of those plays, a stat that spelled the end to a divisional match for Summit.

Kiera Stocks was all over the court in this match, the Captain notching a match leading 9 digs, passing at a 2.0 rating, sending 8/15 passes to the setters with a perfect 3.0 rating and going 3/3 from the service line with a serve rating of 2.0.  Stocks also handled 7 free ball passes that rated a perfect 3.0.

The Varsity will attempt to right the ship on Friday at home with a divisional match versus Roselle Catholic.


JV ROLLS TO 6TH WIN AND 9TH GRADERS UPSET PIONEERS FOR 5TH VICTORY!

The sub-Varsity levels kept the good times rolling with JV taking charge early of game 1, getting out to a 23-6 lead after 7 rotations.  New Providence ran through a 9-0 burst that got them to within 8 at 23-15 but SHS slammed the door and took game 1 25-16. 

Game 2 was a different story with SHS struggling off the service line and not getting the offensive production from the front as New Prov not only dug many balls but were not going to give the Hilltoppers any easy error points.  The Pioneers had the game tied at 11 after 6 rotations and were trailing by only 3 by rotation 9 (19-16) but Jaclyn Szabados blew the game open with a 6-0 run that closed out the game and match, setting the run up with 2 aces that sparked the win.

Eva Oberhuber was effective in game 1 with 3 kills and teammates Olivia Lawlor and Sabrina Ippolito also added 3 kills each to balance out the attack but it was again Catherine Eldridge who dominated with 6 kills to pace the Hilltopper offense for the match.  Jordan Parella distributed 7 assists and scored on 4 aces and 2 kills to tie for the team scoring lead. 

Meanwhile, 9th Graders surprised the Pioneer squad with a 2-0 sweep by scores of 25-21 and 25-15 to improve to 5W-1L in their inaugural season!

 

SUMMIT LEAVES COUGAR COUNTRY WITH 2 VICTORIES

Needing a bounce back performance for both levels after the Union match,  the Hilltoppers traveled to the Cranford Cougars for a divisional match-up.  JV had lost twice last year to the Cougars, the last loss in the Union County Tournament in the Quarterfinal Round in a tight 3 game battle.  Varsity had beaten Cranford 4 consecutive matches dating back to 2017, but each of those match-ups had been decided by a handful of points and 2 of those, in tight 3 game battles.

The JV Squad took their match 25-18, 25-21 using timely hitting and their serving production to set the tone and using their size in the front line to get some key points in each game.  The Summit Lady Hilltoppers took control of game 1 near the midway point of game 1,  opening up a 6 point cushion at 18-12 that they did not relinquish on the way to the 25-18 game 1 victory.

Junior Catherine Eldridge led the way for the Hilltoppers in game 1 with 5 kills on 5 swings while Jordan Parella distributed 6 assists.  Olivia Lawlor and Jaclyn Szabados held the fort defensively with 2 blocks and 3 digs respectively to lead the Hilltoppers.

Game 2 saw the Hilltoppers trail the Cougars 18-15 late after numerous lead changes through most of the game.  With the Maroon and White's offense stalling and the service game inconsistent, it looked like Cranford would be able to exploit the opportunity and force the 3rd game.  But Eldridge came through again with 4 of her 6 kills late and Rebekah Thompson hit for 3 aces to give Summit the lead late and the win 25-21.  Of note, Sarah Noa led the way defensively in game 2 with 3 digs.

JV will take their show on the road to New Providence on Wednesday in search of their 6th win.

VARSITY COMES BACK FROM DEFICIT LATE TO STUN COUGARS IN 3

The Hilltopper - Cougar rivalry is a more recent phenomenon as the Cranford squad was part of the Watchung Division until recently.  Summit had very little success against the Cougars until recently, with the Top taking the last 3 consecutive matches.  This has been a highly competitive and close rivalry of late with both teams usually locked up in games settled by 5 points or less.  The first match-up of the 2019 season was no different as the Hilltoppers came out of Cougar Country with a 27-29, 25-18, 25-23 victory.

Game 1 was a battle of separate mini runs by each team. Summit took a 3-3 tie and turned it to a 7-3 lead behind two kills by Sarah Maldonado and one by Krista-Ann Clapp.  Cranford then went on a 5-2 run to cut the  lead to 9-8 before a service break gave SHS a two point cushion.  That break sparked a 4-0 run by SHS led by two aces by Abby Doyle and a Sylvie Goudreau kill.  At 14-8, it seemed all but academic for the Hilltoppers but with Cranford, that just wasn't going to be the case.

A 3-0 run began the Cougar comeback, stalled only because of a Cranford hitting error, 15-11 Summit.  The teams split the next 4 points, 17-13 SHS.  The Cougars then ripped off 5 straight points and the momentum had officially swung (17-18 Cranford).  Another Cougar error gave the ball back to the Maroon and White and the score was knotted up at 18.  From the moment they held the 14-8 lead and Cranford called a time-out, SHS was outscored 16-8 and saw themselves down 22-24 and facing a two game points.

Call it divine intervention or an overzealous middle blocker, but off an overpass by Summit that was unplayable and would have given the Cougars the game 1 win,  a net violation was called instead on Cranford and Summit had new life at 23-24... and no more subs so the front line consisted of Sarah Brennan, Meghan Tarashuk and Goudreau.  With the ball in their half of the court, the Cougars hit the ball out again, tying the score at 24. A down ball hit error by the Hilltoppers gave the lead back to the Cougars and another game point, their 3rd, but, yet again, another hitting error by Cranford had the score knotted up at 25 and the Summit squad was incredibly still alive.  The Cougars provided SHS with their first match point off another hitting error but the Hilltoppers returned the favor and the scoreboard read 26-26.  Kyra Guenther was devastated after a 2nd ball error gave the Cranford team their 4th match point but 30 seconds later she tipped over a high pass that went down for the kill to save another match point, 27-27.  Summit's luck ran out on the next two points and the Cougars had finally completed the comeback at 29-27.

With the match on the line in game 2,  Summit took control again midway through the game and saw themselves up 19-14 after an 11-5 run saw a one point deficit at 8-9 turn into an insurmountable 5 point lead late.  The Hilltoppers closed it out, forcing a deciding game 3, outscoring Cranford 6-4 despite having run out of subs again.

The deciding game was very similar to game one with Cranford taking control of the game near the midway point after a Summit hitting error had the teams knotted up at 12.  A hitting error and an ace by the Cougars forced a quick Summit time-out down 12-14 and the team got a kill by setter Kasey Walsh to get serve back at 13-14.  Two kills by Cranford and a Hilltopper hitting error quickly had the squad down 13-17 and Summit's final time-out soon followed.

The timeout worked again as Kiera Stocks passed up a perfect ball that Walsh set to Maldonado who put it down for Summit's 14th point.  Teams traded points with off-setting kills and Cranford looked the better side to win with a 19-15 lead.  But a Cougar hitting error sparked a Summit 5-2 run that saw  Gabbie Guidetti score on an ace and kill and Erin Vostal drew an ace to get Summit to the edge at a 21-21 score.

Guidetti became a central focus of the game at that point as the team ran out of subs and the DS had to swing out of the OH slot for the remainder of the match.  Next play, hitting error Guidetti,  21-22 Cranford.  Cougars rip a serve to Brennan who does not surrender the ace but the subsequent pass was errant.  However,  Stocks stepped in and set up a hittable ball to Guidetti who ripped a kill to zone 5 off the Cranford defender, 22-22.  Walsh nailed a serve that forced a free ball return, Guidetti another attack, dig Cougars but right to Goudreau who pushed it down to zone 1, kill, 24-22.  Walsh another rip to Cranford side of the court, Cranford sent easy ball back to SHS who turned to Goudreau for the match.  Just out... 24-23.

Cougars sent tough serve to Guidetti who sent a pass to 10 foot line.  Walsh tracked it down and set Sarah Brennan out of the back row.  Swing, hit, off Cougar DS, kill, point, match Hilltoppers 25-23.

Summit hit for 12 aces, 5 of which by Sarah Brennan who also led the team with a 2.54 serve rating.  Sarah Maldonado was simply outstanding with 11 kills from 23 swings with only 1 error.  She was the team leader in kill % (47.8) and efficiency (.435).  Kiera Stocks was a stalwart defensive force with  a team leading 13 digs, 2.30 pass rating and had only 1 passing error the entire match.  Maldonado was the top point scorer with 11 points and Sylvie Goudreau followed suit with 8 points (7 kills and 1 block) .

Summit will try to go back up over .500 Wednesday against Division rival New Providence, a team the Hilltoppers beat for the first time in a while last year.

JV AND VARSITY FALL TO UNION FARMERS; 9TH GRADERS WIN ANOTHER 3 GAME MATCH

All three levels took a quick ride to Union High School to face off against the Union Farmers this past Thursday.  This would be the first time the 9th graders would meet the Farmers but the Varsity and JV Squads are well too familiar with this squad.  JV has gone 2W-2L in the last 2 years and has gone to 3 games two of those matches.  Meanwhile,  Varsity has dropped the last 2 matches to the Farmers in decisive fashion and it has been 4 years since the Hilltoppers have seen a W next to their name in a match-up versus Union.

The 9th graders provided the highlight for the day with a stunning upset of the Farmers in a tight 3 game affair. This victory was a great comeback from the tough three game loss they last had versus Chatham, another established 9th grade program.

The JV Squad dropped a 2-0 decision to the Farmers by a 25-22, 25-19.  Jordan Parella ran off 6 service points early and dished out 3 assists to give SHS an early 7-1 lead.  The Hilltoppers kept and extended that lead to 15-8.  But the Farmers rattled off 7 consecutive points to tie the score at 15-15.  A Hilltopper time-out at 15 all stopped the Farmer roll but the Farmers continued their pressure and extended the lead to 18-15.  Summit finally broke serve but couldn´t muster much as the Farmers extended the lead to 23-19.  Summit fought back to get within 1 but the Farmers did not allow another run and closed it out 25-22.

Despite 6 aces in game 1, the Hilltoppers were unable to generate much offense and that proved to be their undoing with the Maroon and White getting only 6 kills and hitting for 10 errors.  Sabrina Ippolitto kept the Top in the game late with 3 kills to give Summit a chance.

Game 2 was over early as the SHS Squad was not able to muster any serving pressure nor offensive consistency in the first 6 rotations.  Summit found themselves down 10-4 after rotation 4 and suffered another run in rotation 6 that had them down 18-8 by the end of the 6th rotation.  By rotation 9 the match was over despite the fact that Summit was able to muster a 9-4 run to make the final score respectable but the game and match was over much earlier.

Ippolitto and Hope Bassaman were the Hilltopper top point scorers with 4 kills and 4 aces respectively.

VARSITY OFFENSE SPUTTERS LATE GAME 1 AND CAN´T RECOVER

The Varsity Squad started off like a ball of fire.  Kills by Annabella Yorio, Sarah Maldonado and Sylvie Goudreau complementing the aces by Gabbie Guidetti had the Maroon and White up early 5-2.  By rotation 6 it started to become clear that the Summit offense was not able to put down balls as easily as it had in the first 2 rotations as the Farmers went on a 6-2 run that saw 0 points from the Hilltoppers to knot up the score at 9.

With the score at 11 all after a Kyra Guenther and Goudreau combined block, the Hilltoppers suffered a 3-1 mini run that had them down 12-14 but a few rotations later, behind the serving of Kiera Stocks, SHS had knotted up the score at 15. But the Farmers buckled down and forced a break of serve that led to a 10-3 run which gave Union a 25-18 lead, a run that was partially fueled by 3 Summit hitting errors.

Union outscored Summit in game 1 by a 14-9 score with the main difference being the 11-6 lead on kills.  Sarah Maldonado led the team with 2 kills while Stocks had 10 digs in game 1 to pace the defense.  Gabbie Guidetti hit for the only 2 aces the team had in the game.

Game 2 was more of the same in the sense that the Hilltoppers could not finish off points and thus, fell behind the Farmers early and could not come back.  Summit trailed by 3 within the first 2 rotations but by rotation 4, its defense and serving had forced the Union squad into errors that kept the teams close .  A Guenther and Goudreau block had SHS tied at 9 but the team just could not control the game and gave up a 9-0 run that was more than enough cushion for the Farmers to win.  The teams played evenly from that point on (7-7) but Summit could only muster 2 kills by Goudreau at that point and it was just a case of too litlle too late in game 2.  Appropriately enough, Summit lost the game and match on a hitting error.

Meghan Tarashuk and Kiera Stocks had the only 2 aces for the game and Goudreau nailed 4 kills in the game to lead the offensive production in game 2.  Defensively,  Stocks again was stellar,  leading the team with 6.

MATCH LEADERS:
Kills- Goudreau 5
Aces- Guidetti 2
Blocks- Goudreau and Guenther 2
Digs- Stocks 16
TOTAL PTS.- Goudreau 7

9TH GRADERS AND JV SWEEP TIGERS, VARSITY TAKES FIRST BUT CAN´T CLOSE LINDEN OUT

The Hilltoppers took the ride down the Parkway this past week to take on rivals Linden on all 3 levels.  Summit came away with wins on the 9th grade and JV level with 2-0 wins but Varsity drops a 2-1 decision despite winning the first game.

9th Graders bounced back from their first loss of the year with a solid 2-0 victory with a 25-15, 25-22 score over the Tigers to improve their record to 3-1.   The 9th grade used a consistent serving effort and timely defense to beat their divisional rival.

JV defeated the Tigers despite inconsistent offensive production by scores of 25-23 and 25-16.  The JV Squad relied heavily on its service game as the ace production was the sole determining factor in the win.  Summit out-aced Linden 8-2 in game 1 and 5-2 in game 2 for a 13-4 match advantage.  Running out of subs in game 2, Coach Ross left Olivia Lawlor in the match to serve and Lawlor did not disappoint, taking an 18-16 lead in rotation 12 and closing out the match with 7 consecutive service points (2 aces).  Summit improves to 4-0 but is looking at a much tougher match-up against Union, their next opponent, a team who has pushed the Hilltoppers to more 3 game matches than any other team in the last few years.

VARSITY TAKES FIRST SET WITH 11 ACES.  LINDEN GIVES UP 6 NEXT 2 GAMES AND WINS.

The Lady Hilltoppers were looking to bounce back from losing 2 out of the last 3 matches to the Linden Tigers, the last of which was a 2 set loss to Linden in the first round of the Union County Tournament in 2018, that loss being the first time that SHS had not made it past the first round in 3 years.  Unfortunately,  much like the last 3 matches, SHS could not break the Tiger defense and Linden literally outlasted the Summit service attack for the win.

Game 1 could not have started any better for the Hilltoppers. Kasey Walsh started the match with a serve that forced the Linden Tigers to give up a free ball which Annabella Yorio put down for a kill.  That led to straight aces by the setter and SHS was off to a 3-0 lead.  After a Krista-Ann Clapp put the Hilltoppers up 4-1, Gabbie Guidetti hit for another 2 aces and Summit was up 6-1.  Meghan Tarashuk contined the ace party and added 4 aces to get the Hilltoppers to a 13-4 lead.  The game seemed all but over but the Tigers proceeded to go on an 11-3 run in which Summit got 0 kills.

The Hilltoppers got the serve back off a Tiger serving error to regain the lead at 16-15.  The Maroon and White again used their serving to again regain control of the match as Abby Doyle ripped an ace to give SHS a 17-15 lead.  A 5-2 run fueled by a Sylvie Goudreau kill seemed to give the Hilltoppers the room the team needed to take game 1 as the Tigers could not muster more than 2 more points and Guidetti scored on 2 more serves to seal the deal.

Summit was out-killed 8-5 and out-blocked 1-0 in the set but an 11-2 Hilltopper advantage in the ace department  gave SHS all the points it needed to win the game, outscoring Linden 16-9 in the 25-20 game 1 win. The warning signs were already there though in game 1 for the Hilltoppers.  If their serving couldn´t generate enough points,  then Linden might be able to overcome the Hilltoppers´ lack of kills to win the match. 

Unfortunately, despite SHS´s 6-3 advantage in aces in game 2,  that number was not enough to overcome the lack of Hilltopper kills and Summit dropped game 2 25-21.  Linden out-killed the Hilltoppers 8-6 and out-blocked SHS 2-1 which led to a 13-13 scoring tie but the Hilltoppers main issue remained, not enough kills to win. 

The deciding game saw the Top out-kill Linden 5-3 but the Tigers out-scored SHS 8-6 in an error filled game that the Maroon and White lost in a 25-10 score.  The game was over early as the Hilltoppers allowed multiple runs early that sealed the loss.  Linden began game 3 with a 5-1 run which saw SHS miss a serve, commit 1 free ball errors and 2 hitting errors to fuel that run.  Sarah Maldonado hit a kill down the line to get Summit the ball back at 5-2 but another 6-0 run all but sealed the deal.  In that run, Linden managed 1 kill and 1 ace,  with all the other points coming off Summit errors.

Summit had only 10 service attempts in the game but missed 4 of them.  SHS also had 35 attack attempts which yielded only 5 kills.  However, the team committed 10 hitting errors.

For the match, Summit hit for 17 aces to only 7 errors, a serving % of 87.5% and an ace % of 30.4% led by Meghan Tarashuk and Gabbie Guidetti who combined for 9 of the 17 aces.  SHS gave up only 8 aces in 3 games and had 43 digs, led by Kiera Stocks with 11. Annabella Yorio led the hitters with 4 kills.

Summit drops to a 2W-2L record.

SNAPSHOT OF EARLY SEASON

AN EARLY LOOK AT THE SEASON:

We are five matches into the season and I just want to say how happy we are with the start for all three levels. The ninth grade team with hardly any volleyball experience is going up against teams who had ninth grade programs for a long time and we have more than just competed, we have won all but one match. We just split with Chatham and Union, programs that have had a ninth grade level for as long as I can remember and have many kids playing club at lower levels.  

JV is showing the promise of a great season, opening 4-1.  The team is made up of mainly sophomores and their performance thus far has been very good. We have work to do to be more consistent with teams made up of juniors but we can see their potential. 

Varsity has shown the best and the worst they are capable of at this level. With basically an entire new team playing at this level, the starters from last year (Stocks and Goudreau) have been leading the squad on the court from a production standpoint as the team goes through some growing pains.  The great news is that the squad’s identity is solidifying around its serving and defense, a sturdy foundation from which to allow the offense to grow.  With most of the squad returning next year, the goal is to achieve a level of success and consistency that can be a springboard for next year. At 2-3, the goal of a .500 record is very much alive and we are 1-3 in Division entering a big divisional week of matchups. 

JV AND VARSITY USE KEY SERVES AND KILLS LATE TO SEAL 2-0 VICTORIES OVER RAHWAY

The Rahway match-ups have always been tough for any level historically with neither side ever comfortably winning regardless of record entering the match-up.  The 2019 season proved to be much of the same as both the JV and Varsity levels had to hold off or overcome late Rahway runs to seal victories.

JV STAYS UNDEFEATED IN 2-0 VICTORY OVER RAHWAY
JV took the match 25-21, 25-18.  Game 1 was blown open after Rebekah Thompson scored on 8 consecutive serves to take a 12-13 game to an insurmountable 20-13 Hilltopper lead that the Maroon and White used to hold on late for the 25-21 win.

Game 2 looked dire for SHS trailing 8-13 after 6 rotations but key kills by Catherine Eldridge and key serving runs by Jordan Parella (7 service points) and Hope Bassaman late (7 service points ) allowed the Hilltoppers to come from behind and pull away for the comfortable 25-18 win.

Catherine Eldridge led the Hilltoppers offensively and in total points with 6 kills while 5 different players hit for at least 1 ace, led by Rebekah Thompson who ripped 4 aces in the match.


VARSITY IMPROVES TO 2-1 WITH 2 GAME WIN VERSUS DIVISIONAL RIVAL RAHWAY
The Lady Hilltoppers hosted the Indians of Rahway in a key early divisional matchup.  Summit looked to even out its divisional record and improve to 2-1 for the season.  Despite some uneven play at times, SHS used its serving attack and key kills on offense to pull away late in both games and score a 25-22, 25-22 victory.

Summit took control early behind Gabby Guidetti´s serving as she rattled off 5 consecutive service points (1 ace) to give the Hilltoppers an early 6-2 lead.  Summit saw the Indians slowly chip away at this lead through the next 4 rotations and by the 6th rotation, Rahway was knotted up at 11.  An Annabella Yorio kill broke serve and put Kasey Walsh at the line and the setter did not disappoint with 7 service points (1 ace) and 3 assists to 3 different hitters to balloon the lead to 19-12 by the time her serving was completed.  Rahway fought back as before, getting to within 2 at 19-21 but kills by Sarah Maldonado and Annabella Yorio late gave the Top the cushion it needed to close the game out 25-22.
Summit scored 15 points in game 1 led by Maldonado (4k), Yorio (3k) and Sylvie Goudreau (3k) who combined for 10 points.

The path to the game 2 victory was quite different.  It was Rahway who controlled most of the game with SHS producing at one point seven consecutive errors, including 3 consecutive missed serves, to allow the Indians to take what looked like an insurmountable lead of 22-15 after a kill by the Rahway OH.  Another kill by Maldonado stymied the run and brought the Captain, Kiera Stocks to the service line.

Stocks produced one of the best serving runs in recent memory, putting the Indians in a passing bind and allowing the offense to run its most effective plays thanks to easier transition passing because of her serving pressure.  Erin Vostal got involved with a kill to zone 3 to get Summit to within 5 at 17-22.  A couple of scramble plays leading to key digs by Stocks, Maldonado and Walsh eventually led to a Maldonado kill, 18-22.  A Rahway hitting error and a ball handling error had the Hilltoppers at 20-22.  The momentum had swung.  A thunderous kill by Vostal to zone five off a set by Krista-Ann Clapp and followed by a Clapp kill to zone 5 had the Hilltoppers square with Rahway.  The next nail in the coffin came in the form of an ace by Stocks who then followed up with another tough serve that led to yet another Vostal kill. The final ball at match point saw a scramble by Rahway lead to a Stocks dig and an overpass got Vostal an easy attack attempt that the Indians tried to keep alive but to no avail, 25-22;  the comeback, complete.

Summit earned 9 of the 10 points Stocks served in the set with the only miss being when she missed her serve.  Kasey Walsh contributed in the game with 2 of the team´s 4 aces and Maldonado tied for the game lead with 4 kills with Vostal, who got all 4 of her kills in crunch time.

Maldonado led all Hilltopper scorers with 8 points (8 kills) while Stocks dug up 17 balls (5 during the run) and handled almost 50% of the total team receptions.

As a team, SHS outscored Rahway 33-19 including a 23-13 kill advantage which proved to be the difference in the match.