State Tournament: Takeaways from Round 1
Round 1 is complete! Some teams season will continue while others dreams have been dashed. In order to stand on top of the mountain, teams need to step up with key performances. Did any of the top teams struggle? Were…
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Continue ReadingRound 1 is complete! Some teams season will continue while others dreams have been dashed. In order to stand on top of the mountain, teams need to step up with key performances. Did any of the top teams struggle? Were there any upsets? Let’s take a look at what I deem to be the key takeaways from Round 1.
Only One True Upset
There were many upsets in round 1. To be frank, there was only one. The squad to accomplish this was Howell. And in my opinion, you could honestly argue it was not an upset. Howell as the 25 seed in the central took down South Brunswick in three sets: 15-25, 25-14, 25-9. Each set was determined early-on with both teams looking to start fast and pulling away. Howell fell in the first and ended up rallying to dominate the following two sets. How did they do it? Howell locked in defensively with three players racking up 10+ digs.
Top Seeds Cruise
As I stated above, there was only one upset based off seeding. Meanwhile, the top 4 seeds in all four sections cruised to victory in the first round. Some of the top seeds did receive a bye to the second round but those who did play had no issues into advancing. None of the matches were not relatively close either if you look at the scoreboard. Most of them jumped on their opponents early to ensure victory was never in question.
Top Performers
North 1
Peter Shahin (Don Bosco Prep): 27 assists, 3 digs
Collin Mills (Pope John): 9 kills, 11 digs
North 2
Albert Ruff (Harrison): 9 kills, 2 digs
Kelvin Zamor (Newark Tech): 7 kills, 7 blocks
Central
Jake George (Howell): 10 kills, 1 block, 15 digs
Sneh Shah (Colonia): 27 assists, 4 digs
South
Carson Howard (Lacey): 8 kills, 3 blocks
Drew McNellis (Williamstown): 8 kills, 10 digs