Chart-Toppers from Day Two
In the Shore conference, Pinelands took down Jackson Liberty in straight sets last night thanks to the combined efforts of setter Molly Quigley-Sanborn and senior outside hitter Olivia Anderson. Anderson finished last night’s match with 13 kills and an ace.…
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Continue ReadingIn the Shore conference, Pinelands took down Jackson Liberty in straight sets last night thanks to the combined efforts of setter Molly Quigley-Sanborn and senior outside hitter Olivia Anderson. Anderson finished last night’s match with 13 kills and an ace. Only a sophomore, Quigley-Sanborn has already proven herself as a reliable asset to the squad with 17 assists against Jackson Liberty and 12 against Lacey the day before.
Even with a few players out, Jefferson still took a two-set victory over Chatham last night at home. Defensive specialist Gianna Favata stepped up last night to set and managed to earn 21 assists.
Senior Savannah Boyce of Sterling came into the season with 11 kills. This middle/oppo has really started to hit her stride now with three years of varsity playing time under her belt.
Union City took Kearny in a tight first set ending at 29-27 and then again in the second for a 2-set sweep, and it was a fun match to watch. Junior Nathaly Flores Nathaly Flores RS Union City | 2022 State NJ led the squad with 13 kills on the outside. Following closely behind was junior Mathilde Karskens on the outside with 11 kills and 8 digs. With the support of senior setter Natalya Hechavarria, having earned 24 assists last night, these two juniors will have a great season followed by a powerful senior year.
Though they fell in the third set against Pequannock last night, Mountain Lakes put up quite the fight. Six-rotation outside hitter Rachel Curran is the heart and soul of this year’s varsity squad, having put down 12 kills and 4 aces against the Panthers.
Howell took down Marlboro in a 3 set match due in part to the offensive prowess of junior Olivia Hill. With 10 kills, 1 block, and 1 dig, Hill took control of this match to pull out the win in set 3. Senior setter Rachel Ferrara racked up 24 assists that match setting up Hill, Malina Ferrandino, and Emma Spanvill.
Central Regional fell in two sets to Toms River North, but not without a fight. Junior outside hitter Jenna Czajkowski fought hard to earn her 11 kills, 6 digs, and 1 block against North. Unfortunately for her, North’s offense was just more well spread out, their defense was too good with Libero Caitlin Beahm’s 18 digs, and serving too strong with 9 total aces against them.
Barnegat took down Lakewood in two sets thanks to the combination of junior Patria Moreno’s 8 kills and senior Veronica Tikhomirova’s 9 kills. Tikhomirova can actually thank Moreno for the attempts as she was responsible for 13 of the team’s 18 total assists.
Toms River South bounded back from a tough first set loss against Toms River East with two monster sets 25-18 and 25-17. Junior setter Megan Currie worked hard to spread the ball around and even garnered 24 assists for her squad, but it wasn’t enough to finish them.
One of the most nerve-wracking matches of the night was the 3-set cage match of Hunterdon Central against Hillsborough. These athletes took the third set to a final score of 34-32 with Hunterdon Central to take the win. They played a more balanced game with 21 assists by senior Ava Rogerson, and 11 and 9 kills by junior Grace Sollner and senior Sydney Eckhardt respectively. Hillsborough tried to get it done with an impressive 15 kills from senior Zoe Mastakas, 13 kills from junior Josie Marcinek, and 28 assists by senior Kaitlyn Alexander.
Ridge took Montgomery in 3 sets with the combo of junior setter Ryan Ganny’s 20 assists and senior Kristen Hodges Kristen Hodges 5'9" | OH Ridge | 2021 State NJ ’s 10 kills. Montgomery tried to stay alive with digs in the double digits by Georgia Wess Georgia Wess 5'11" | MB Montgomery | 2023 State NJ , Cristina Fogg, and Antonia Ipeker but it wasn’t enough to get it done.
In a close game to 3 sets, Kent Place took down Scotch Plains-Fanwood. Senior Adelina Berisha had a great game with 13 kills, 5 aces, and 11 digs for Scotch Plains-Fanwood and senior Kaelie Chung Kaelie Chung 5'4" | DS/L Scotch Plains Fanwood | 2021 State NJ kept them alive with 24 assists. For Kent Place, freshman setter Margeaux Morial brought it home with 20 assists in her very first high school volleyball match to support fellow freshman outside Lauren Osuala’s 12 kills.