PIONEERS CAN'T SOLVE HILLTOPPERS; SUMMIT GOES 3-0 VS NEW PROVIDENCE

 The ninth grade Volleyball Squad improved to 6W-1L over the Pioneers after a 25-15, 25-22 decision which erased an earlier defeat at the hands of New Providence on the road by a 2-1 set margin, the only loss of this young team's season.  The improvement of the team is quite evident in not only their play but energy and communication.  Credit to the athletes and to Coach Seifert for their steady improvement and wins!

Coach Ross and the JV Team continue to roll with an 8W-2L record after coming out victorious against the Pioneers with 25-14,  25-18 set tallies.  Summit has bounced back nicely from defeats this season,  going 3-0 after each loss.  The team has beaten Linden and New Providence after a setback to Kent Place and will face off against Rahway this Friday on the road.  SHS defeated the Indians by a 2-0 tally but had to come from behind to earn that victory at home so the match at Rahway will be an interesting test for the Junior Varsity Team.

Varsity came off the 2-1 victory over the Linden Tigers and opened up against the Pioneers missing Julia Nardino due to illness.  The sudden loss of the MB put Naya Kim into the starting lineup and scrambled some serve receive rotations.  SHS started the match very much like their old selves however and after a net fault,  a return error and two NP aces,  Summit was right where it seems to want to be early in matches,  down 4-0.  Alison Wauters started to change the dynamic with 4 early kills as Vivian Roberts also notched 3 of her own while Hannah Barlow ripped multiple serves to the opponents,  scoring one ace and giving SHS lots of free ball opportunities to convert which flipped the script midway through the set with the home team up 12-7.  

Despite a service break,  Roberts got the ball right back to the Summit squad with 2 kills and the lead ballooned to 15-9.  Cece Webb followed up one rotation later with a 3-0 serving run (1 ace) and the Pioneers were forced to call a TO with the scoreboard showing 18-10.  The TO worked for the visitors as the Hilltoppers lost the ball and saw the New Prov side cut the lead down to 5 but a service error gave the ball back to the Top and Roberts stepped up to the service line and got a quick ace to begin a 3-0 run which saw Emily Demm step in for Barlow late in the set and notch a kill while teammate Abby Wells came in for Wauters and scored a kill to seal the set win at 25-15.  

Summit out-scored the Pioneers 15-9 and had only 3 service errors but notched 3 aces which seemed to be the key to the set. 

Set 2 saw ninth grade setter Mckenna Welsh take over the setting duties while Wells, Demm and Ana Joseph stepped in on offense as the pin hitters.  Summit held a 3-1 lead early as Welsh distributed the ball to Roberts and Demm for kills in transition while Caroline Henry scored off an ace from the service line.  The Pioneers responded with a 3-0 run of their own and it took a Demm kill to interrupt the momentum but the visitors responded off a hitting error by the Top with another 2-0 run and SHS were down 7-4.  Wells got the ball back with a kill and Wauters scored off an ace to start a 5-1 run which saw Kim get a solo block and Webb hit for another ace to flip the lead to 9-8 SHS.  

Unfortunately the home side could not hold the lead and gave up 6 of the next 7 points and the Summit crew were staring at a 14-10 deficit as they neared a critical junction in the match.  Roberts was inserted back into the lineup and quickly converted on an attack attempt to get the Top to within 3 at 11-14.  Wells continued to produce with another kill but the New Prov side could sense they were within a couple of points away from a set win and delivered with 3 of the next 4 points fueled by a service and tip error by the Top.  With the scoreboard showing 17-13 New Providence,  the next few points would be key in determining the outcome of the match.  

Barlow stepped up to the service line after a Pioneer hitting error and delivered a blistering serve that forced an errant return ball by the visitors.  She then followed that up with an ace and despite a hitting error from the home side,  SHS was back,  down only 18-16.  Another Pioneer service error opened the door for the home side and Webb converted on an attack attempt after a Wauters perfect pass and that was followed by another tough serve by Wauters which led to an eventual hitting error by New Providence which forced a TO as Summit had taken the lead 19-18.  The TO proved fruitless as Wauters delivered another ace and another tough serve that had SHS up 21-19 after a service break occurred.  New Providence continued to fight back and cut he lead down to 22-21 but Kim had a key tip kill to give the home side some breathing room at 23-21.  A service error by SHS gave some hope to the Pioneers but Barlow notched a kill to set up 2 match points and a NP hitting error later,  it was over,  25-22 Summit.

Summit out-scored New Providence 15-8 in the set.

Match Statistical Leaders:

Serving: Webb, Wauters, Barlow 2 aces each

Serve Rating: Zacharias 2.67

Receiving (Perfect Passes): Barlow, Yarden 3 each

Receiving (Pass Rating): Yarden 2.75

Attack (Kills): Roberts 7

Attack (Kill %): Roberts 77.8%

Attack (Efficiency): Roberts .778

Defense (Blocks): Kim 1

Defense (Digs): Barlow 7 

PROGRAM SWEEP OVER TIGERS STARTS SUMMIT'S FINAL WEEK OF SEPTEMBER

 The 9th Graders took a tough 2-0 decision by 25-16, 25-23 tally to move to 5W-1L for the year while Junior Varsity improved to 7W-2L with a 25-22, 25-17 decision over the Tigers.  Varsity struggled early but managed to survive on the road by a 15-25, 25-20, 25-22 decision over a much improved Linden squad.

The Junior Varsity Squad had leads late and held on to wins as their serving attack just produced more points than the Linden offense.  Isabelle Meltzer and Liv Ge were instrumental in late runs in each set to create the buffer the squad would need to close out the Tigers who proved to be a feisty opponent in this 2nd meeting of the season.  

Varsity was down 5-0 before the first set was 3 minutes old (serve error, block error, dig error and 2 Linden aces) and really did not react until the score was way out of hand at 20-9 Tigers.  There was a 4-0 run by the Top then led by two Vivian Roberts kills and one by Hannah Barlow but the 20-13 lead was just too much to overcome and the squad went down 25-15 in set 1.  Summit scored 10 points on 7 kills, 1 block and 2 aces and matched the Linden Tigers point total of 10 (8 aces, 2 kills).  SHS had 9 hitting and serving errors compared to only 4 for the home team which proved to be the main issue for the Hilltop side.  

Set 2 needed a better start for the visitors and it got that with a 3-2 lead early thanks to two kills by Barlow and an ace by Zoe Zacharias.  The set remained tight over the next few rotations and with the score 6-6,  SHS ran off a mini run of 3-0 fueled by Alison Wauters who nailed a kill to get to serve and then delivered on two consecutive serves that forced the Linden side into 2 3rd ball return errors forcing a Tiger TO.

The TO settled the home side and they proceeded to rattle off a 4-0 run before a serving error gave the ball back to SHS tied up at 10.  Yet again the teams traded mini runs over the next 6 rotations and after a serving error by Summit saw the Tigers take a late 18-17 lead,  SHS responded with a 3-0 run that saw the visitors assert their physicality.  Roberts had failed to get a kill on two tough swings but caught the Tigers expecting a third when she tipped for a kill.  Then the senior captain slammed one down for the 19-18 lead and Julia Nardino who was very active all match put down a tip kill for the 20-18 lead.  Linden knotted it back up at 20 but the fans could sense that the Summit squad had turned the corner and they demonstrated it with a 5-0 run to close the set with Roberts ripping four consecutive aces to give SHS a shot at the road win in set 3.

The Hilltoppers scored 17 points in the set (11K, 6 Aces) while Linden managed only 9.  Yet again the early serving errors by Summit continued to be a problem as the team squandered 8 points from the service line.

The deciding set began auspiciously enough for the Top as they found themselves 6-2 down before long with the Linden service attack effectively disrupting the Summit offense.  Barlow stopped the momentum with a kill and Roberts out of system placed the perfect down ball into an empty zone of the defense to bring SHS back to within 2.  Another service error broke momentum but Wauters nailed a crucial kill which was followed by a Barlow ace and the Top had crawled back to within 1 at 7-6.  An attack error saw the Linden squad regain control but again Summit responded with a 3-0 run (Zacharias 2 tip kills, Roberts kill) and despite a hitting error, the visitors had erased the deficit and stood tied at 9.

Four rotations later, very similar to set 2,  neither team was able to pull away or create any meaningful separation but it was SHS who reacted first in the latter stages of the set with a 5-0 run.  Summit prevented Linden's best server from scoring an ace and the subsequent free ball was placed well enough to force an errant return by the home side.  Barlow finished off a play the began with a dug ball by Roberts off a solid Tiger attack.  Zacharias then fooled everyone in the gym by shooting a ball to the OPP Wauters for a bullet down to zone 6 instead of sending it to Barlow and the Linden staff called a TO to gather the troops at 16-14 SHS.  

Summit got a solid serve off the TO by Henry which led to another Barlow kill and then the soph Libero ripped an ace to expand the lead to 18-14 and you could see the Summit confidence growing by the point.  After a break of serve set off a mini Tiger run,  the home side were hit with a foot fault and Summit had a 19-16 lead.  Linden continued to press and with the lead down to 19-18,  Roberts hit for a well placed tip and the lead was back to 20-18.  Yet again, however,  a service error showed its ugly face and it took a good enough reception by Roberts which led to another kill from the back row from the captain to see the Top remain in control at 21-19.  Cece Webb had a solid serve and forced a Tiger passing error which not only had SHS up 22-19 but it also forced a Linden TO.  

Linden was able to cut the lead back down to 1 at 22-21 off the TO, a credit to their resiliency,  but with their backs against the wall on the road,  Summit got an ace late in this set by Roberts and,  appropriately enough,  got a set and game clinching 25th point off a Linden service error to wrap up a less than pretty win on the road.

Summit out-scored Linden 19-9 in set 3 with a whopping 15-3 kill advantage but service errors, 7 of them, made the set much more difficult than it had to be at the end.  

The squad out-scored Linden 46-28 in the match but gave up 20 points on service errors to keep the match closer than it actually was in reality.

Match Statistical Leaders:

Serving: Roberts 7 aces, 2.85 rating

Receiving (Perfect Passes): Barlow 8

Receiving (Pass Rating): Barlow 2.13

Attack (Kills): Roberts and Barlow 13

Attack (Kill %): Roberts 50.0%

Attack (Efficiency): Barlow .300

Defense (Blocks): Zacharias and Wauters 1

Defense (Digs): Roberts 12 

MILESTONES REACHED, PERSONAL RECORDS SURPASSED

 This week was a significant one for the Hilltoppers as a team but was also very significant for a handful of individuals.  Here are the highlights:

Zoe Zacharias - Youngest Player to Reach 500 Assists in SHS History... School Record is 624 by Gabby Mejia... Zacharias is also chasing the single season record of total assists which is held by Lauren Trindell at 426... Zacharias is currently at 168 assists with only 8 matches in the season... Of note,  Zacharias already holds the single season record for assists/set at 8.06 and is currently at 8.80... new career high in digs vs. Kent Place with 6 digs

Vivian Roberts - Only the 3rd Lady Hilltopper to reach the 300 kill mark and 5th player overall in Summit History... School Record is 438 by Lindsay Leiter... Roberts is also chasing Leiter's single season kill record of 230 kills and 4.10 kills/set... Roberts is currently at 78 kills and 3.90 kills/set with only 8 matches into the season...

Hannah Barlow - Set a new career high in kills vs. UNION with 15 kills... new career high in digs vs. Kent Place with 15

Alison Wauters - Set a new career high in kills vs. Rahway with 7 kills... new career high in aces vs. Cranford with 5 aces... new career high in digs vs. Kent Place with 11 digs

MILESTONE VICTORY OVER KENT PLACE IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

 

Summit was finishing this long week of volleyball with their 4th consecutive match versus the Dragons of Kent Place.  Summit was looking to bounce back from their tough loss at Union and regain footing in the conference.  With a win,  the Hilltoppers would cap one of the toughest weeks competitively in recent history with matches versus teams the squad had not beaten in literally an average of a decade (SPF, Union and Kent Place).  The Raiders were a surprise upset and Union survived the Hilltopper attack.  Could Summit cap off the week with another surprising win?  And could Vivian Roberts hit 9 kills to reach the 300 kill mark and become only the 3rd player in Lady Hilltopper history to reach that milestone?

The match began as advertised with SHS trailing the Dragons 4-6 as the Dragon serve attack was proving to be difficult for the Top early on,  a sign of things to come.  Roberts got a couple of kills to help the Summit side to an 8-7 lead but Kent Place broke serve to knot the set at 8.  Roberts got the serve back with another kill and then ripped two aces to push the lead to 11-8.  The Dragons tied it up at 11 but SHS reacted again to the move with another 3-0 run (Roberts kill, Cece Webb block).  The visitors crawled back to within one but the Hilltoppers went on another 3-0 run with Hannah Barlow ripping an ace to push the lead to 18-14.  Seeing the set get away from them,  Kent Place called a TO.  

The Dragons came off the TO and broke serve immediately but the 3 point lead stayed steady with the score 21-18.  A serving error by the Top gave the Dragons hope at 21-19 but Roberts smoked another kill to get the lead back up to 3 and then the team followed up with a 2-0 run that saw Barlow power a kill to force a KP TO at 24-19 Summit.  Zoe Zacharias remained unflinching off the TO and served a tough serve that led to a set ending Alison Wauters kill to finish off the Dragons in set 1.

Set 2 started off rather well for the Top with the home side jumping off to a 3-1 lead with Barlow notching a kill and Julia Nardino getting a stuff block.  But Kent Place fought back using their serving attack and rattled off a 12-1 run that ballooned their lead to 13-4 lead.  The set,  much like the Union match,  seemed over for the Top.  But within 2 rotations,  Summit responded with a 6-1 run thanks to a Barlow kill and Roberts with her 300th kill!!!!!! 

SHS called a TO to have a mini celebration for the senior Captain before resuming the match and hoping the emotional moment would spur the home side to a comeback win.  Kent Place struggled to break momentum and before the smoke cleared,  SHS had gotten back to within 4 at 14-10.  Webb and Roberts combined in the next rotation for 2 kills and the Dragons began to show cracks as Summit saw the score flip to 12-15.  SHS needed a longer run though and down 17-12,  they got one.  

It started with consistent serving by Yarden.  This allowed the defense to step in and the offense to come to life.  A tip kill by Roberts began the run and then followed up with a blast down the line as KP struggled to get any offense going and after it was all said and done,  SHS had fought back to an 18-18 score.  When Roberts and Barlow combined for 2 kills to give the Summit side a 20-18 lead,  it looked like the demons of the Union match had been exercised but,  that was not the case.  

A serving error began the demise.  Then a KP ace followed.  A Dragon service error followed and despite an overpass by the Green and White,  SHS tipped wide to get the score knotted at 21.  KP kill, KP ace, KP kill and a final Summit error on offense sealed the set win for the Dragons, 25-21.

Was this going the route of the Union match?  Was Summit going to lose in consecutive matches after leading in set 2?

To say the third set was a battle is an understatement.  FIFTEEN tied scores,  six lead changes in this deciding set in which both teams were unable to get more than a couple of points away from their opponent.  With the score 15-17 Dragons after a passing error by the Top,  Roberts took over with two kills after key passes and serves by Barlow and Wauters.  Roberts struck again with Summit down 18-17 after a perfect pass by Barlow smothered a blistering KP serve.  A long rally followed that went the Dragons' way but Wauters was again solid on serve receive and it offered Nardino an opportunity to attack.  The lengthy junior did not get the kill but stepped up on a thunderous middle attack and stuff blocked KP's power hitter to tie up the score 19-19.  Roberts then delivered from the service line,  much like she had against Union, and powered 2 aces past the helpless receive unit of the Dragons forcing a KP TO.  The break in action served its purpose in creating a service error and the visitors tied up the score on the next rally but Barlow powered through a kill off the KP block after a Roberts perfect serve reception to give Summit a 22-21 lead.  Zacharias has been really steady from the service line and she delivered again in the clutch.  Caroline Henry started the 3rd set and got a crucial dig off an OH attack that had Barlow up in the air for another rip.  This time though the visitors kept it alive and sent a half speed attack to Zacharias in the hope of taking the setter out of the play.  The ball was dug by the setter perfectly in the hitting path of Wauters who took no chances and swung immediately to the surprise of the Dragons to push the score to 23-21 Summit and the last KP TO.  Zacharias again served perfectly in a clutch situation and forced the Dragons into a hitting error which gave the Top 3 match points.  Summit gave up the first one on a dump error but Barlow got the perfect set on the last ball and split the block for the match point and kill to give the Hilltoppers a once in a decade moment of a win versus the Dragons.

Match Statistical Leaders:

Serving: Roberts 4 aces, 2.20 rating

Receiving (Perfect Passes): Henry 6

Receiving (Pass Rating): Henry and Wauters 2.00

Attack (Kills): Roberts 18

Attack (Kill %): Roberts 46.2%

Attack (Efficiency): Roberts .410

Defense (Blocks): Nardino, Barlow 2

Defense (Digs): Barlow 15 

3W-1L FOR THE WEEK, 3 Teams ranked higher than SHS in njpowerranking at the beginning of the week.

                   KILLS        BLOCKS        ACES        PTS        SERVE ERR        HIT ERR

SHS            95                12                    38                145        37                            28    

OPPON.    69                 12                    34                115        29                            40

VARSITY TOUGH IN DEFEAT TO FARMERS

 The Summit Lady Hilltoppers faced off versus the Farmers of Union High in a divisional matchup that had all the makings of an epic battle.  Summit had just defeated the Raiders of SPF for the first time in at least 8 tries and Union had just had a massive victory over the Ridge Red Devils so both teams seemed poised for a great match.

The beginning of set 1 was an auspicious one for the Top as the team found itself down 4-0 in a blink of an eye but the Top responded with a 4-1 run of their own with Hannah Barlow notching an ace and a kill while Cece Webb got a key block to put Summit right back into the set only down 5-4.  The teams engaged in some rallies and also a rash of early unforced errors over the next few rotations and the separation had grown to 3 at 6-9 when Vivian Roberts had a tip kill that sparked a 7-0 run (Roberts, Julia Nardino kills, Webb ace).  Union called a TO to slow down the Hilltoppers but off the break Summit looked to Nardino who put down an overpass for a 14-9 lead.  A service break was a momentary pause in the SHS momentum as Farmers returned the ball back to the Top with a serving error.  That was the beginning of another long SHS run that saw Roberts put the Farmers under tremendous pressure with her serving that yielded 2 aces in the run.  Union used their last TO at 21-10 but again Summit came off the pause with 2 consecutive aces by Roberts which all but sealed the deal at 23-10.  Barlow and Alison Wauters each struck for a kill and Nardino added another block to close out the set 25-13.

The team knew the Farmers had not played up to the level that had beaten Ridge on Monday but they soon found themselves against the wall as Union found their best form when it counted in set 2.  SHS found themselves down 12-6 in rotation 4 forcing a TO by Coach Martins but it took one more point before the Top got the serve back down 13-6.  Barlow clicked off 2 kills as Roberts was once again doing damage from the service line adding one ace to a run that had Summit back in business at 10-13.  Summit and Union traded points over the next rotation and SHS was again within 3 at 13-16 but a service error by the Top gave Union the opportunity it needed to pull away and they took it with a 3-0 run that saw SHS commit 2 more unforced errors and give the Farmers a 19-13 lead.  The Hilltoppers kept fighting back though and a 4-1 run (Barlow 2 kills, Roberts 1 kill) had Unioin calling a TO with the Top again within 3 at 17-20.  But this time,  the team responding after the TO was Union and a 3-0 run all but sealed the fate of the visitors.  Summit got 2 forced errors out of Union and a kill by Barlow to get to 20-23 but that was as close as the squad got and the Farmers took set 2 25-20.  Union deserved the set with a scoring advantage of 16-12,  nearly the separation of the final set score.

The deciding set saw the Top come out like fire with a 4-1 run that was fueled by two kills by Barlow and one kill by Wauters.  Midway through the set,  despite mini runs by the Farmers,  SHS held a 4 point gap after a Nardino block and a Roberts kill.  But this was the turning point of the game, and not a good one for the Hilltoppers.  

A hitting error by Summit began the avalanche.  Union then ripped 2 kills after tough serving kept the SHS offense at bay.  A net error by the Top and another ace and kill by Union and the home team had effectively taken control of the match at 14-11.  A TO by Coach Martins did not stem the tide as Union ripped another kill until finally the Farmers missed a serve to end the run that started with Summit ahead 11-7 but ended with the Hilltoppers down 15-12.  Barlow tried to continue the brief momentum gained by the missed serve with a kill but the teams were in evenly matched rotations and the points traded by each team kept pushing Union close to the win and Summit closer to defeat.  

Down 3,  Barlow put down a crucial tip and there was hope still at 15-17 but an unforced net error and ace later,  Coach Martins called a TO as the Farmers had extended the lead back 4 at 19-15.  Summit reacted well off the time-out with a good reception by Roberts that helped Zoe Zacharias set up Wauters with a crucial kill to give Summit hope at 16-19.  Roberts then had a huge stuff block that had the squad erupt with emotion but an untimely service error stopped the momentum at 17-20.  A hitting error followed and Union was back up by 4 at 21-17.  Roberts finished off a long rally to get SHS to 18-21 and another long rally ensued that had Summit attempt 5 attacks to no avail but at least it forced Union into bad attacking options which finally yielded an error to get SHS within 2.  Wauters followed it up with a blistering serve that forced a freeball return and Roberts ripped a shot that was dug in desperation but the Farmers were in scramble mode and failed to get the ball over forcing the TO by the home team and Summit found itself only down 21-20.  Unfortunately,  Union came off the TO and stymied a Hilltopper attack which then led to an ace by the Farmers and just like that,  23-20.  An error again saved the Top and Webb got a huge pressurized serve over to force the Farmers to try to score.  Roberts dug an outside attack and then finished the play off to get Summit right back again at 22-23 but a kill by the Union Farmers gave them a 2 point lead and two match points which they would not waste.  Summit had 4 attack attempts to stave off the match point but were unable to convert and an anti-climactic net error ended the comeback.  

The teams scored 14 points apiece in the set but Union generated one more ace and kill in the later stages of the match which proved to be the difference.  For the match,  Union outscored the Top 44-41, which speaks to how close this match really was throughout despite the first set.  

Credit where credit is due... Union faced 89 Summit attacks and the Top could only muster 25 kills.  SHS was outstanding with only 11 hitting errors for the match but the Union "D" and timely offense was the difference late,  creating that small point separation they needed for the win.

Match Statistical Leaders:

Serving: Roberts 5 aces, 2.80 rating

Receiving (Perfect Passes): Roberts 6

Receiving (Pass Rating): Roberts 2.55

Attack (Kills): Barlow 15

Attack (Kill %): Barlow 48.4%

Attack (Efficiency): Barlow .387

Defense (Blocks): Nardino, Webb, Roberts 2

Defense (Digs): Wauters, Barlow 9 

HILLTOPPERS OVERCOME TOUGH RAIDER OPPOSITION ACROSS ALL LEVELS

 The Summit Hilltoppers took on the Raiders of Scotch Plains-Fanwood in a non-divisional conference match across all levels and the SHS squads won on all three levels in tough, competitive matches which went 2-1 to the 9th graders,  2-0 on Junior Varsity and 2-0 on Varsity.

JV MATCHES RAIDER SERVING ATTACK

The JV match was a battle of the servers as both teams went on different runs to seemingly break open the game just to see the other team come back and close the gap.  In the end,  Summit had a more effective offense and SPF committed more errors on attack which proved to be the key to the match.  Early on the teams were locked in a 6-6 tie but the Raider serving power came to the forefront,  providing 6-0 run that forced Coach Ross into a TO down 12-6.  At 9-13,  Emmy Handal stepped up to serve and notched 5 service points to bring the Hilltoppers even at 14 when SPF finally broke serve.  Scotch Plains could not generate anything off their service break and Summit hit them again with a 5-0 run,  this time behind the serving of Isabelle Meltzer and the solid distribution of passes by setter Elizabeth Walsh who kept giving the Top offense good looks to put away.  Up 20-15,  the only question was whether the team was going to suffer through another SPF run but that did not materialize as SHS closed it out a few rotations later 25-18.

Set 2 saw the Raiders go down 8-2 as Gabby Nowicka opened the set with a 4-0 run but the SPF squad responded in rotation 3 again with a 3-0 run and closed the gap to 2 at 10-8.  With the score 9-7,  Summit's Kate Cooper rattled off 3 service points to bring the Top in control again with a 13-8 but the Raiders were able to get within 1 at 15-14 by rotation 7.  But Meltzer was once again a factor as she served up 3 service points to expand the lead to 19-14 and give the Top some relief.  The Raiders whittled that lead down over the next few rotations to 22-20 but Liv Ge slammed the door on any hopes with the final 2 service points to give SHS the 25-21 win to improve to a 5W-1L record.

VARSITY CLEANS UP ERRORS,  COMES BACK TO BEAT SPF FOR FIRST TIME IN 7 TRIES

Scotch Plains had defeated the Top over the weekend at the Healing the Children Tournament by 25-10, 25-14 tallies rather easily.  The Summit crew were looking to overcome the serve receive woes of those two sets with Hannah Barlow in the mix as she was not able to play over the weekend in those sets.  The full SHS lineup and clutch defense versus the SPF middle attack turned out to be the key in the tight 25-23, 25-23 win over the Raiders,  the first win in 10 years (7 matches) over the SPF squad.

SPF jumped out to a 3-0 lead in set 1 but Barlow broke their serve with a tip kill and Zoe Zacharias followed up with an ace along with 2 Raider errors to erase that deficit and give SHS a 4-3 lead.  But the Scotch Plains side was unperturbed and struck back with a 6-0 run that ended on an Alison Wauters dump kill which had the Top down 9-5.  Caroline Henry crushed an ace and forced subsequent Raider errors off her serve to get SHS back to a 9-8 deficit just to see the visitors go on a 3-1 run to put the home side back to a 12-9 deficit.  Vivian Roberts then started to get involved on defense with a dig that led to one of her kills and Julia Nardino started the defensive stops up the middle that began the theme for the Top success with a stuff block and the Hilltoppers found themselves tied at 14.  

After a Barlow kill had the score at 15-15,  SPF ran off 3 consecutive points off 2 unforced Summit errors which forced a TO by Coach Martins.  Off the TO,  Roberts put up a perfect pass that she proceeded to crush down for a kill and Henry followed up with an ace and the Top was back,  down only 17-18.  SPF responded with a brief 2-0 run but Cece Webb put down a kill that spurred a 3-0 run response by SHS before a service break had the score at 21-20 SPF.  The Raiders shot a tough serve across the net that forced Summit to return a free ball that was not handled well by the visitors which led to a service break and a subsequent kill by Roberts forcing a TO by the Blue and White at 22-21 SHS.  Off the time-out,  the Hilltoppers got a block by Webb to push the lead to 23-21 but a service error gave Scotch Plains new life.  However,  any hope was extinguished with another Webb block to give SHS 2 set points which they converted with a kill by none other than Roberts to seal the set 25-23.

The second set saw the SPF squad jump out to a 4-1 lead but Summit battled back with a 5-0 run (Wauters 2 kills, Barlow 1 kill) to take the lead back at 6-4.  The teams traded points over the next few rotations and looked to be at a stalemate after a Roberts tip kill had the home side up 9-8 but the Raiders again found a 3-0 run and flipped the score to 11-9.  The errors began to appear on both sides at this point with teams scoring off each other's unforced errors and the gap remained the same at 11-13 SPF a few rotations later.  Summit then benefited from 2 consecutive attack errors by the Raiders and got an ace from Roberts who had the squads tied at 14 after her service run was over.

The set remained tight with Summit hanging on to a 17-16 lead late in the set but an attack error by the visitors provided the opportunity for SHS to pull away.  Barlow went on a 3-0 run that started with an ace and within 2 minutes,  the home squad had a 21-16 lead.  A service break broke momentum but Roberts again found the floor with another kill and SHS was only 3 away from a huge victory at 22-17.  But the Scotch Plains side would not go away and produced a 3-1 run that pulled them within 3 at 23-20.  Roberts again was the go to choice and produced again for the Top and the match seemed just about over at 24-20 but Summit committed 3 consecutive hitting errors forcing a Martins TO with SPF breathing down the Hilltoppers back at 24-23.  Coming off the TO,  Wauters passed up a perfect ball to Zacharias who delivered an outside ball to Barlow and the junior slammed an attack that was dug but right back to her side of the net and the second time she did not miss and finished the visitors off 25-23.

Match Statistical Leaders:

Serving: Henry 2 aces, 2.67 serve rating

Receiving (Perfect Passes): Barlow, Wauters 5

Receiving (Pass Rating): Wauters 2.57

Attack (Kills): Roberts 7

Attack (Kill %): Barlow 40%

Attack (Efficiency): Roberts .278

Defense (Blocks): Webb, Roberts 3

Defense (Digs): Wauters 4

ROYALS FALL TO HILLTOPPERS AS SHS REGAINS WINNING WAYS

 Summit Varsity looked to keep their momentum going from this past weekend's 2nd place finish at the Healing the Children Tournament as they took on the Oak Knoll Royals at home.

Set 1 began well for the Top as SHS found itself up 5-0after a Hannah Barlow tip kill which was followed by two Zoe Zacharias aces and a  Julia Nardino block.  A Nardino tip kill and a Barlow kill extended the lead to 7-1 but Oak Knoll responded with a 6-1 run and just like that,  Summit only led by one at 8-7.  

A service error by the Royals opened the door for Summit and Alison Wauters did not wait for the invite. The senior ripped an ace while teammate Vivian Roberts scored on a kill and the Top found itself up 12-7.  After a Royal service break,  Roberts crushed 4 more kills and Summit found itself up 17-10.  The Hilltoppers relaxed a bit,  perhaps too much,  and Oak Knoll went on an 8-3 run to close the gap to 2 at 20-18.  The nervousness was palpable but another Oak Knoll service error again shifted the momentum and Cece Webb scored on an ace and forced two errant passes by the Royals to extend the lead to 23-18 lead forcing a Royal TO.  But the stoppage was ineffective as the senior Captain was able to get another service point and ending set 1 on an ace to give the Hilltoppers a 25-18 win.

Set 2 saw a Royal side much more motivated off their late run in set 1 and the Top found themselves down 4-2 early on.  Wauters helped Summit's 9th grade setter,  Mckenna Welsh,  who got her first full set start in a match,  by putting two kills down to knot up the score at 4.   Despite a service error,  Summit regained control in the next serving rotation with Wauters ripping an ace and forcing a number of errant Oak Knoll passes and in a short time,  SHS led 8-5.  Barlow and Roberts continued to hurt the Royal defense with 2 kills while Wauters, Nardino scored on out of system balls to extend the lead to 14-9.  The Nardino kill got Welsh back up to serve and this time the 9th grader struck for four consecutive aces to blow the set open at 18-9.  Even thought SHS gave up the serve,  Webb yet again came through with a key point that led to a 20-10 lead.  Oak Knoll responded with a 4-0 run but at 20-14,  it seemed like it was just a matter of time.  

Oak Knoll suffered a hitting error and that led to Abby Thompson serving for the squad and she proceeded to force two errant passes which led to a 22-14 scoreline.  A TO followed but Thompson seemed unfazed and she proceeded to close out the match with 3 consecutive aces to finish the match and set 25-14.

SHS outscored Oak Knoll 32-5 in total en route to their 4th win of the year!

Next up: Scotch-Plains Fanwood,  tomorrow at 5:15