Powerzone hosts tri-match scrimmage

Getting a team ready for the start of the season isn't easy, so PowerZone Volleyball Center executive director George Mon wanted to try to help out by hosting a series of tri-match scrimmages for girls high school teams at no charge.

"Athletic Directors at schools don't always work that hard to get scrimmages for their teams,'' Mon said. "So we thought we'd try to give some teams an easy opportunity to get together and play. We could give them an easy chance to meet up and scrimmage each other.''

PowerZone, in Denville, hosted the tri-match scrimmages in the afternoon on Aug. 31. The facility has six courts, so the schools could bring their varsity and junior varsity teams and have both play at the same time. The teams were able to condense what could have been a five-or six-hour event at a high school into three hours.

Morristown coach Ron Davenport was glad to get his team a chance to play in the event. The Colonials matched up with Lakeland and Paramus Catholic.

"Any time you can get more games against different teams, that's good,'' Davenport said. "Those are two teams we normally wouldn't play, and by playing two matches, I get more looks at my players, and the players get to see what different teams are doing. Even for the girls who aren't in the games, they're seeing the things the other players are doing, it gives everybody more looks on and off the court.''

Davenport said Paramus Catholic and Lakeland are similar to many of the teams his Colonials will meet during the regular season. He's in his second year as head coach, and the team is looking for its first-ever state tournament berth. The school has fielded a volleyball team for six years.

"This was really good preparation for us,'' Davenport said. "We played some pretty strong teams. We have some really good athletes, but not all of them have a lot of volleyball experience, so this helped get them some exposure.''

Davenport has two senior starters, captains Nicole Omaggio (setter) and Emily Denton (middle blocker) to lead his team. Two sophomores, Kori Reigel and Kendall Ferraro, will play at the outside hitter spots, while junior Christina Epps will be the other middle. Sophomore Alex Taylor will play right side, and junior Leiddy Hormaza is the libero.

"Kori is probably our best all-around player, and Kendall also has good skills,'' Davenport said. "Christina is the county high-jump champion, and she also plays basketball, so she has tremendous jumping ability. It's just a matter of getting the approach down for her. Leiddy is probably the best athlete in the school.''

Julia Cox, a 5-9 junior, could also see a lot of playing time, Davenport said, and he says there are some good athletes on the bench.

"We have a lot of girls who have varsity experience, but this is the first year they'll be the main players on the team,'' he said.

Playing in the scrimmages at PowerZone helped in that area as the team gets ready for its opener at Parsippany on Friday, Davenport said.

"The pieces are all there for us to have a good season, its just a matter of the girls getting the experience and showing the desire to win,'' he said.



Sparta, Parsippany, and Dover also participated in the tri-match scrimmages.

This was the first year PowerZone hosted the scrimmages, and Mon said he plans to do the same for boys teams in March, and again for the girls before the start of the 2008 season.

"This was the first time we've done this, and everyone was really satisfied,'' Mon said. "With six courts, we could get 18 teams in here at one time, if teams wanted that, and then we could match everybody up based on their level of play. Next year, we'll try to do it over two days, the Wednesday and Thursday before Labor Day weekend.''

Lakeland, Hackettstown win divisions

Lakeland High School won the Gold Division title and Hackettstown won the Silver Division crown in the Summer Girls High School League at the PowerZone Volleyball Center in Denville.
Molly McCarthy, who had 7 kills, 10 digs, and 4 aces, was named the Gold Division MVP after helping lead the Lancers to a 25-16, 24-26, 25-19 victory over Randolph in the final. The Lancers beat Hanover Park 25-13, 25-10 in the semifinals.

McCarthy had 3 aces to finish Lakeland's first-game victory over Randolph, then had 4 digs and 5 kills in the Game 3 win. Alex Mendoza led the Lancers with 11 kills in the three games, and also contributed 3 digs, 2 aces and a block to the victory. Krista Constantine had six kills, 3 digs, 2 aces and 2 blocks, while Emily Spirko had 3 kills, 3 digs, and 3 aces.

Vicki Jones had 9 kills, 4 digs, an ace and 2 blocks to lead Randolph, which had earned the top seed in the Gold playoffs with victories over Lakeland (25-23, 29-27) and Hanover Park (25-16, 25-17) in the seeding round.

Jen Ginnini and Kelsey Wolters were the co-MVPs for Hackettstown I, which beat Solomon Schecter 23-25, 25-23, 15-7 in the Silver Division final. Hackettstown I beat Hackettstown II 25-19, 25-23 in the Silver Division semifinals.

Solomon Schecter had earned the Silver Division's top seed with victories over Hackettstown I (25-23, 7-25, 15-7) and Hackettstown II (25-23, 25-16) in the seeding round.

Lakeland won the regular-season title with a 28-2 record, while Randolph was second with a 20-10 mark. Hanover Park finished 12-18, Solomon Schecter was 11-19, Hackettstown II was 11-19, and Hackettstown I was 8-22 during the regular season.

EAST BRUNSWICK REIGNS

By Fred Siegle

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - East Brunswick's seniors all had their moments last night as the Bears beat St. Peters 25-21, 25-22 to win the state title on Friday.

It wasn't just regular starters Eric Corpus, Travis Heilman, Kyle Barry, John McLaughlin, Dan Korten and Sameer Sood. Coach Greg Rutz was able to give his seniors off the bench - Julian Millan and Brian Gieser - a chance to play in the championship match.

"I'm glad all my friends who've been my teammates since freshman year got to play in the state final,'' said Corpus (3 kills, 10 digs). "When we were freshmen, we all talked about winning the title when we became seniors.''

"It was good to get everyone in,'' Barry said. "Everyone on our team is a good player, but we have so many good players that some people didn't always get a chance in our matches all season. For them to be able to play that much tonight, it was great.''
Heilman led the offense with 12 kills, while junior Christian Portera, who became a key player for the Bears as a front-row substitute for Sood during the playoff run, had 6 kills and 3 blocks. Portera also had the match-winning kill after the Bears (29-2) had missed two chances at match point. With East Brunswick leading 24-20, Heilman and middle Alex Rigley (4 kills) both had errors - Heilman hit wide and Rigley hit long - before outside hitter Portera put the game away off a set from Barry (29 assists).

"Obviously, I'm going to go to Travis first in that situation, he's our most dominating hitter,'' Barry said. "But I set him too far in and he had to hit on too much of an angle. Then I set Alex too high and he waffled it. Then I went to Christian, and thankfully he put it down. It was nerve-wracking at the end of that game, I was definitely nervous, I didn't want to go three games.''

"I just hit it like I always hit it,'' said Portera, who had played middle, sharing time with Rigley, prior to the state tournament. "Kyle had set Travis and Alex the two previous plays, so I was pretty sure he was going to set me on that one.''

Even with the errors, Corpus knew the end was inevitable.

"We had a nice passing rhythm,'' he said. "We had three perfect passes, it was bound to happen.''
Matt Whitford led St. Peters with 11 kills, while middles Miles McCann and Nick DeBenedictis each had four. Al Yasneski had 7 digs and libero Kevin McNerney had 11 digs.

It was the Marauders' defense that kept them in the games.

"We played our hearts out,'' Whitford said. "We watched film of their win over Southern on Wednesday, so we knew what was coming. We wanted to put up a good block but we didn't get a lot. But we also were able to position our defense in the right spots.''

East Brunswick won its sixth title, and first since 2004. St. Peters (31-8) had beaten Hudson County rival Bayonne in the NJSIAA north final on Wednesday to earn the school's first state final appearance.

"Our main goal was winning the north championship,'' Whitford said. "We went into this game just trying to do our best, have some fun, and if we won, great. We wanted to start out strong and see what we could do.''

It was in that 2004 championship that Rutz set the precedent that he would play all his seniors in state championship matches. That year, Saif Kawash made a contribution off the bench in the Bears' victory over Fair Lawn.

"I discussed it with (assistant) coach (Anthony) Alexander, that I wanted all the seniors to play,'' Rutz said. "In 2004, all the seniors played regularly except one (Kawash), and when we got to the final, we put him in and he got a big block, and also made a defensive play that we converted for a point. Those kids all worked hard all year, they deserve to play too. This is something I plan to keep trying to do - unless there's a time when we have like 12 seniors.''

East Brunswick tops Southern

By Fred Siegle

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - East Brunswick and Southern were going point-for-point, hit-for-hit, block-for-block, dig-for-dig and even error-for-error in the second game of the NJSIAA South/Central championship match. Finally, the Bears' Eric Corpus came up with the big play to top all the other big plays and finish off his team's 25-19, 31-29 victory.

When Southern middle Bryan Batiste tried to tip past a double block by East Brunswick middle Alex Rigley and Corpus, a play that probably works 90 percent of the time, Corpus didn't let it happen, pushing the ball back across the net and to the floor for the winning point.

"I think adrenalin just got me up a couple extra inches, and I just hung there as long as I could and got it down,'' Corpus said. "They had game point against us a couple times, but we were still really confident. I don't think the idea of losing ever crossed our minds.''

The victory over Southern, which was 40-0 and had beaten the Bears twice this year, erased all memories of those losses, and also enabled East Brunswick to get past the point their season had ended each of the previous two years - one match before the state final.

''I just kept saying to myself, 'I'm not losing three years in a row in the state semifinals,'' said senior Travis Heilman.

"The past two years, all I've wanted was to get the chance to play in the state final,'' Corpus said. "The last three days, that's all I had in my mind.''

East Brunswick had to battle back from a 22-19 deficit in the second game. Two straight Southern errors and then a kill by Corpus tied the score, and after a Southern timeout, Corpus put the Bears (29-2) ahead with a kill on an overpass. Southern had two game-point chances at the end of the game, while East Brunswick had four chances before Corpus made the game-ending play.

"I was starting to think it might never end,'' Corpus said. "It didn't seem like either team could make a play to win.''

"It was a great game, Southern played great, they really battled us,'' Heilman said. "It was real tense at the end.''

"Momentum kept swinging back and forth in the second game,'' said East Brunswick setter Kyle Barry. "But we stayed focused throughout the match, and then Eric came up with that big block.''

"We were one play away from being in a third game,'' Southern coach Eric Maxwell said. "That game was made up of a lot of little plays, if just one of them had come out a little different, we'd still be playing out there (in a third game).''

East Brunswick had come out strong in the first game, with junior Christian Portera providing a big spark. He hadn't played left side in the Bears' two losses to Southern, but played that spot in the front row and had some important blocks and big kills.

"Christian really stepped up and made a big difference,'' Heilman said. "Especially blocking.''

Player-for-player, the Bears are smaller than Southern, but they out-blocked their opponents in the match.

Instead of basic 1-balls in the middle, Rigley and John McLaughlin ran more back slides and 1-aways.
"We tried to move the ball around more, especially with our middles so they couldn't block us as easily,'' Barry said.

"Blocking was a big part of it,'' said Southern's Jeff Elsasser. "They definitely out-blocked us, which is a surprise when you look at the lineups. They came out today and made the right plays and played the right people at the right times. They deserved it.''

While East Brunswick moves into the the state final against North winner St. Peters Prep on Friday, Southern finished with a state record 40 victories while playing a tough schedule that included multiple matches against most of the other top teams in the state.

"Winning 40 in a row against the competition we faced, it's probably the greatest run in the history of the state,'' Maxwell said.

St. Peters wins North

By Fred Siegle

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - St. Peters' seniors crammed most of their final-year highlights into one day.

The Marauders won the NJSIAA North section championship, beating Hudson County rival Bayonne 25-17, 25-20 in a match that started at 5 p.m. Wednesday at South Brunswick High School. Then the seniors rushed back to their school in Jersey City for their high school graduation at 8 p.m.
"That's a pretty nice cap to our senior year, doing all this in one day is great,'' said senior Matt Whitford, who finished with 7 kills, 3 blocks and an ace.

It was aggressive serving that helped St. Peters get an edge over the Bees to even their record at 2-2 in matches against Bayonne. The Marauders advance to the state championship match against East Brunswick on Friday at South Brunswick.
While Whitford had just the one ace, his jump serve kept Bayonne's offense at bay. He had a streak of four service points in the first game, and also served two points in the second. And it was a nice counterpoint to the rest of the Marauders' float serves.

"We knew we had to step up our serving to beat them,'' Whitford said. "We've been working on it for the past couple weeks.''

"We had our floats working well,'' said setter Gil Estupinan, who had 2 kills, 15 assists and an ace. "And Matt was on with his jump serve.''

The Marauders also changed up their offense and blocking schemes from their previous meeting with Bayonne, a loss in the county final. Outside hitter Jerry Santer led the team with 8 kills, while middles Nick DeBenedictis and Miles McCann each had 4 kills each. But those were mostly on 1 balls, rather than the back slides they had run effectively in the past.

"We watched tape of the previous games, and saw that 75 percent of the time, their middles stayed with our middles,'' Estupinan said. "So we tried to set away from that so they'd only have one blocker.''

Bayonne meanwhile, had probably its worst offensive day. Middle Danny Kochanski had 6 kills and a block, while Justin Beaumont had 4 kills and 7 digs. Coco Ostorga had 2 kills and four digs, Pat Rujznica had 2 kills, 3 digs and 2 blocks, and Krzyzstof Bogdan had 4 kills, 2 digs and 1 block.

The Bees, who finish with a 30-5 record, had a particularly rough first game, with 10 hitting errors.

"Everything we did, Prep had an answer for it,'' Bees' coach Pat Longo said. "We're disappointed, but we also had a fabulous year, I'm very proud of these kids. Nobody thought we'd be here. We had a great run.''

After the flurry of errors in the first game, Bayonne settled down a bit in the second and trailed 21-20 before the Marauders finished with a flurry. DeBenedictis had a kill, Peter Jimenez had an ace, Whitford had a kill after a dig by Jimenez, and DeBenedictis closed out the win with a block in the middle.

Prep now gets set to face East Brunswick, which handed Southern Regional its first loss of the season in the South/Central final that followed their victory, which the St. Peters' seniors weren't able to watch because they were on their way to graduation.

"We just have to get ready for Southern or East Brunswick now,'' Estupinan said before leaving.

Bayonne reaches north final, to face St. Peters; Southern, EB advance

By Fred Siegle

BAYONNE - Loser goes home, the season's over. Winner plays for a state section title.
The pressure and intensity, with the crowd chanting throughout three close games, was incredible for the entire match on Friday as No. 2 seed Bayonne beat No. 3 Fair Lawn 22-25, 26-24, 25-23 to advance to the NJSIAA North section championship match.

"Seriously, I was in some kind of zone,'' said Bayonne senior Justin Beaumont. "It felt like we were trapped in a bubble. Everything was moving 100 miles an hour. Whenever I was able to catch my breath, they served the ball again.''

The victory means the cowbell(s) will be heard in South Brunswick High School, the site of the two section title games on Wednesday. The Bayonne fans will be bringing their unique cheering tool, the cowbells used by fans Rob Barowski and Mike Cerretta to lead rhythmic clapping, with them. The Bees will play No. 1 seed St. Peters, which beat No. 5 Livingston in the other semifinal, in the section championship match.

"I'm speechless,'' said junior right side Coco Ostorga. "We've never been this far into the tournament before.''

Bayonne beat Fair Lawn for the second time this year to earn the chance to play St. Peters for the fourth time. They have a 2-1 edge so far against the Marauders, their Hudson County rivals, but they were just points away from elimination in both the second and third games against Fair Lawn, with the Cutters holding leads late in both games.

"I think we weren't focused at all in the first game,'' said Ostorga, who finished with 9 kills, 3 digs and 4 blocks. "We might have been too pumped up.''

Fair Lawn led 18-14 in the third game when a disputed touch call - the Bayonne linesman was the only one who saw the touch - seemed to spark the Bees. Danny Kochanski (7 kills, 2 blocks) got credit for the kill, then Ostorga had a solo block and then teamed with Kochanski for a block to make it 18-17. An error by Fair Lawn tied the game, but Artem Makarenko (13 kills) put the Cutters back on top.

Bayonne won a long rally on the next point, but setter Mark Gacki had a back-row attack in the middle of the rally and the referees made the call at the end of the point, giving Fair Lawn a 20-18 lead. Krystof Bogdan (5 kills, 11 digs, 1 block) had a kill and Ostorga got another block to tie the game again before Makarenko answered with another kill.

Ostorga and Makarenko traded kills to make it 22-21 Fair Lawn, but two errors by Fair Lawn gave Bayonne a 23-22 lead, its first edge since 12-11. A service error tied the game again, but Justin Beaumont (11 kills, 13 digs, 3 blocks) converted a dig with a kill to put Bayonne up 24-23, and Gacki set Kochanski for a 1-ball in the middle off a free-ball pass to end the match.
"Coco's blocks were a key for our momentum,'' coach Pat Longo said. "We built off of them.''
"I was mad at myself, I had to do something,'' Ostorga said. "I didn't perform well in the first two games. I had to make up for it.''

Bayonne also came back in the second game after trailing 23-20. Ostorga had a kill, then two Fair Lawn errors made it 23-23. But Jamie Oliver had one of his 10 kills to give Fair Lawn a 24-23 lead, putting the Bees on the brink. But Beaumont had a kill on a 10-ball to tie it before 2 errors by Fair Lawn finished the game.
The Bees (28-4) have reached the state final with only 3 seniors - Beaumont, Gacki and libero James Capello - who play. Ostorga, Kochanski and Bogdan are juniors, and middle Pat Rujznica (2 kills, 3 digs, 2 blocks) is a sophomore.

"We're a young team, our lack of experience caught up with us in the first game,'' Beaumont said. "I thought that might happen to us at some point during the season. Today, it wasn't fatal.''

"We were inconsistent in the first game,'' Gacki said. "Our passing was off a little. But we came back strong, we were able to make an offense out of it (the inconsistent passing).''

As the only senior who hits, Beaumont wanted the responsibility in the key moments.

"I wanted the ball (to get set) every time at the end of the games,'' Beaumont said. "In the third game, points 0 to 25, I wanted the ball every time.''

Fair Lawn (23-8) played without junior right side Matt Agnew, who injured his ankle in the team's win over Passaic Valley on Wednesday. Because of that, Makarenko and Oliver had to shoulder more of the load. "We became a 2-pronged offense, pretty much with just the two outsides,'' coach Pete Zisa said. "Those guys were constantly going against double blocks and getting the job done.''

Zisa said there shouldn't have been student linesmen in the state semifinals, and that NJSIAA rules say there should have been four officials - first and second referees and two linesmen.

"That call changed the momentum,'' he said. "In a game this important, that shouldn't happen.''

Southern Regional, now 40-0, will play East Brunswick (25-2) in the South/Central section championship match on Wednesday at South Brunswick. Southern beat Old Bridge in the semis on Friday, while the Bears beat St. Joseph. The two section winners will play for the overall state title on Friday at South Brunswick.

Fair Lawn advances in playoffs

By Fred Siegle

FAIR LAWN - It took Fair Lawn's volleyball team a little time to find its rhythm. But once they did, the Cutters
looked like a team that could definitely be playing for the NJSIAA North section championship.

Senior Artem Makarenko had 11 kills to lead the third-seeded Cutters (23-7) to a 25-21, 25-11 victory over No. 11 Passaic Valley in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Fair Lawn plays at No. 2 Bayonne in the section semifinals on Friday.

"That second game was probably one of the best games we've played this year,'' Makarenko said. "We only made a few errors.''

"We always start out a little slow,'' said setter Jon Bashan, who had 23 assists. "It takes us a little time to get in the swing. But once we get going, we're able to play with a lot of emotion and that helps carry us.''

Fair Lawn led for most of the first game, but it was pretty much back-and-forth. The Cutters had a 19-15 lead, but two straight kills by Mike Hrehovcik made it 19-17 before a service error gave Fair Lawn its 20th point. The Cutters went up 21-17 on a kill by Makarenko, but a kill by Hrehovcik, a Fair Lawn error, and an ace by Matt Billig cut the score to 21-20. But, after a time out, Makarenko had another kill and the Cutters finished out the game. Jamie Oliver had 2 of his 5 kills during that stretch.

Fair Lawn took a 6-2 lead in the second game, stretched it to 14-4 after three straight aces by Ryan Kolenovic, and cruised from there.
"In the second game, our passing dropped off,'' said co-coach Tom Deeney.
Hrehovcik and Colin McNeill each had 7 kills to lead Passaic Valley (14-12), which had upset No. 6 seed Garfield in the previous round. The Hornets played the end of the first game and the whole second game without senior left side Joe Altomonte, who had tried to play on an injured ankle.
"When Joe went out, I think it took something out of us,'' Deeney said. "The other guys got a little nervous.''

The Cutters will be trying to avenge a regular-season loss to Bayonne, which beat No. 7 Vernon on Wednesday. But they'll probably be playing without right side Matt Agnew, who suffered an injury, probably to a ligament, late in the second game when he landed on McNeill's foot on a play at the net.
"As much as it sucks that Agnew's hurt, we're not a one-man team,'' Makarenko said. "We have other players who can come in and hit and block.''

Makarenko and Bashan said their team will try to put on a better performance than the first meeting with Bayonne.
"I feel like they didn't see us at our best when they came here to play us,'' Bashan said. "Now we have to go there and beat them. We have to play clean volleyball, we lost the first time because of errors, I think we had 37, and out of 50 points, that's a lot.''
''Whoever comes out and plays the best defense is going to win that,'' Makarenko said. "I feel like our defense is going to win it.''

Note: The first official in the match was Tom San Giacomo, who coaches the Fair Lawn players on their club team. It's possible Passaic Valley officials will question the situation with the NJSIAA.

Bayonne repeats in Hudson County

By Fred Siegle

JERSEY CITY - Last year wasn't a fluke.

That's what the players for Bayonne were determined to show when they met St. Peters Prep for the second straight year in the Hudson County Tournament final. The Bees had ended St. Peter's long reign as the top team in the county with an upset victory in 2006.

On Wednesday, Bayonne made it two in a row with a 25-17, 25-20 victory at St. Peters College.

"Last year, everybody thought it was a fluke, we just got lucky and had a good day,'' said Bayonne senior Justin Beaumont. "This proves it wasn't a fluke, we deserved to win.''

Beaumont finished with 13 kills, 5 digs and 5 blocks and was named Bayonne's MVP for the tournament. None of his kills was more important than his 13th, which came with the score tied 20-20 in the second game. Beaumont ended a long rally by putting away a back-row attack on the second touch after a dig by a teammate, choosing to hit instead of setting someone else. That made it 21-20, and and the Bees went on to score the next 4 points - a St. Peters error, a St. Peters net violation, a big kill by Coco Ostorga (3 kills, 2 digs), and a block by Pat Rujznica (5 kills, 2 digs, 2 blocks).

"I just wanted to attack on that play, if we kept giving them free balls, they're a good team when they're passing well,'' Beaumont said. "I just wanted to be aggressive. We came into this match determined to be aggressive and to play good defense.''

Bayonne survived a scare midway through the second game when setter Mark Gacki (2 aces, 21 assists, 8 digs) cut his chin while diving in a save attempt. When he hit is chin on the floor, he reopened a cut that first occurred during the Livingston Tournament three weeks ago. Bayonne led 12-7 when Gacki left the game to get the injury taken care of, and the lead was down to 12-10 when he returned. The Bees had lost the game at Livingston when he was hurt.

"When that happened at Livingston, we broke down without Mark in the game,'' said middle blocker Danny Kochanski (4 kills, 2 blocks). "We knew we had to play harder with him out.''

Matt Whitford led St. Peters with 9 kills, while libero Kevin McNerney, who was named the Marauders' MVP, had 6 digs. Nick DeBenedictis had 4 kills and 3 digs, and setter Gil Estupinan had 16 assists.

"We just didn't pass at all,'' coach Don Guide said. "If we don't pass well, we can't win.''

Bayonne (26-4) took a 2-1 edge in their rivalry with St. Peters for 2007. The two teams could meet again in the North section final of the NJSIAA Tournament in two weeks, but both will have to win three matches before they get that chance. No. 1 seed St. Peters hosts No. 16 Wayne Valley, while No. 2 Bayonne hosts No. 15 Montclair in matches on Thursday.

"We played a lot better today (than their last meeting with St. Peters, which St. Peters won),'' Gacki said. "We know we have to come out strong against them. Hopefully, we'll keep playing well throughout the states.''

"We just have to concentrate on Wayne Valley right now,'' Guide said.

If both teams do make it to the North final, which will be played June 6 at South Brunswick High School, they'll be ready for each other.

"We know who their go-to guys are, we know what they like to do,'' Kochanski said. "We just had to put up a block and play defense. They know what we like to do, too.''

State seeding (south/central)

Here's the South/Central seeding with record and winning percentage at the time of the state cutoff (May 15).

1. Southern (31-0, 1.000). Head-to-head with anybody that would have been considered.

2. East Brunswick (21-2, .913). Head-to-head with St. Joes (2x).

3. St. Josephs (19-6, .760). Head-to-head over CBA.

4. CBA (18-3, .857). Only losses to No. 1 and 3 teams. Head-to-head over Old Bridge.

5. Old Bridge (15-7, .682). Strength-of-schedule (Only losses were to already seeded teams and No. 1 St. Peters in North).

6. Washington Township (13-3, .813). Head-to-head over Williamstown, RPI and winning percentage.

7. Williamstown (18-7, .720). Strength-of-schedule, winning percentage.

8. South Brunswick (14-6, .700). Win over seeded team (St. Joes). (One of the more contentious debates at the meeting. "It (seeding South Brunswick over Eastern) will have an opportunity to be verified next Thursday,'' said Eastern coach Tom Armour.)

9. Eastern (13-4, .765). Head-to-head over Cherry Hill West.

10. Cherry Hill West (17-8, .680). Head-to-head over Moorestown. Wins over seeded teams Williamstown and Washington Township.

11. Moorestown (16-10, .615). Strength-of-schedule over Bridgewater, Hillsborough.

12. Bridgewater-Raritan (9-6, .600). Strength-of-schedule over Hillsborough (split matches with them).

13. Hillsborough (15-3, .833). Common opponent victory (Bridgewater) vs. West Windsor-South.

14. West Windsor-Plainsboro South (10-8, .556). Wins over seeded teams South Brunswick, Hillsborough.

15. Clearview (14-5, .737). Head-to-head over Collingswood.

16. Collingswood (13-5, .722). Win over seeded team (Moorestown).

17. Howell (11-5, .688). Win percentage, RPI over J. P. Stevens.

18. J.P. Stevens (11-9, .550). Win over seeded team (West Windsor South).

19. Long Branch (12-9, .571). Wins over Colts Neck and Manchester, strength-of-schedule.

20. Cherry Hill East (9-9, .500). Head-to-head over Cinnaminson.

21. Cinnaminson (11-8, .579).

22. Manchester (10-8, .556). Head-to-head over Colts Neck.

23. Colts Neck (14-7, .667). Wins over seeded teams Howell, Long Branch.

24. Sterling (12-9, .571). Head-to-head over St. Augustine.

25. St. Augustine (11-8, .579).

26. Marlboro ?????

State seeding (north)

Here's the north seeding (with record at time of the cutoff date - May 15):

1. St. Peters (24-5, .828 winning percentage). Split matches with Bayonne, earned seed based on strength-of-schedule.

2. Bayonne (23-4, .852 winning percentage). Split with St. Peters, head-to-head win over Fair Lawn.

3. Fair Lawn (21-7, .75). Based on strength-of-schedule, with all losses coming against top teams (St. Joes 2x, Bayonne, St. Peters, Southern 2x, East Brunswick).

4. Clifton (21-2, .913). Head-to-head win over Livingston.

5. Livingston (16-3, .842). Head-to-head win over Garfield (2x).

6. Garfield (14-5, .737). Head-to-head win over Vernon.

7. Vernon (15-3, .933). Head-to-head win over Wayne Hills (2x), strength-of-schedule.

8. Wayne Hills (10-5, .667). Victory over seeded team (Garfield).

9. Don Bosco (15-3, .833). Higher win percentage, RPI than Lakeland.

10. Lakeland (12-8, .600). Strength-of-schedule, head-to-head win over Passaic Valley (2x).

11. Passaic Valley (11-8, .579). Strength-of-schedule, victory over seeded team (Clifton).

12. Bloomfield (16-5, .762). Winning percentage, RPI higher than Wallington.

13. Wallington (11-4, .733). Winning percentage higher than Belleville, victory over seeded team (Passaic Valley).

14. Belleville (12-8, .600). Victory over common opponent (Bloomfield) with Montclair.

15. Montclair (15-7, .682). Strength-of-schedule, winning percentage.

16. Wayne Valley (12-8, .600). Victories over seeded teams (Garfield, Lakeland, Passaic Valley).

17. Lincoln (19-6, .760). In three-way head-to-head with Memorial and North Bergen (all were 2-2 vs. each other), North Bergen got the last spot because of a loss to Union Hill, which the other two beat. Lincoln then got spot based on head-to-head, better RPI, and winning percentage vs. Memorial.

18. Memorial (16-7, .696). See above.

19. North Bergen (16-9, .640). Winning percentage over Hackensack.

20. Hackensack (12-8, .600). Winning percentage.

21. Kennedy (10-10, .500). RPI, wins over seeded teams (Don Bosco, Hackensack).

22. Ridge (11-2, .846). Strength-of-schedule.

23. Millburn (7-5, .583). NOTE: Millburn had to take two forfeit losses in order to meet NJSIAA requirement of 12 matches.

NOTE: Union Hill chose not to enter because of a conflict with their prom.

Southern sweeps to 30-0

By Fred Siegle

METUCHEN - Another Saturday playing some of the top teams in the state, and Southern Regional remains unbeaten.

The Rams, No. 1 in the Powerzonevb.com rankings, won four matches at the St. Joseph Super Six Showcase on Saturday, including three-set victories over No. 2 East Brunswick and No. 3 St. Joseph to improve to 30-0. They also beat No. 5 Bayonne and No. 8 Fair Lawn and are sure to be the top seed in the NJSIAA South/Central playoffs.

Each of the third-game wins were mirror images for the Rams. They had to come back from 14-11 deficits in both, and won both 25-21. Southern has now beaten its top rivals five times (3 wins over St. Joes, and two over East Brunswick).

"It's huge, having had to come back,'' coach Eric Maxwell said. "As good as we've played all year, we felt we had to beat St. Joes and East Brunswick again today to solidify our spot. It was good in a way that we had to come back in both, because it forced us to battle a bit. We fought off some tough situations.''

The Rams almost had a miraculous comeback in Game 2 against East Brunswick, which would have eliminated the need for the third game. They trailed 24-17 after a kill by Fran Hodgson (15 kills, 5 blocks in the match) when Nolan King went back to serve. They then scored 8 straight points, with King earning two aces, to take a 25-24 lead. But Travis Heilman kept East Brunswick alive with a kill (he had 3 more, 2 on 10-balls) and the Bears won 30-28.
He finished with 14 kills in the match.

King had 6 kills, Jeff Elsasser had 8, Bryan Batiste contributed 7 kills, and Eric Sharkey contributed 5 kills in the win over East Brunswick. Hodgson, Southern's 6-7 middle, helped Southern control the third game with 5 kills and 3 blocks.

"The thing about Fran, he's so physically imposing,'' Maxwell said. "When he decides to take over, that's a great weapon to have on your side.''

Southern has played an impressive schedule in amassing its 30 wins, with much of its toughest competition coming in Saturday events like its tournament last week where it played and beat No. 5 St. Peters, No. 7 Old Bridge, and Fair Lawn, and a quad earlier in the season with East Brunswick, St. Joes and Moorestown.

This week, they play No. 7 Old Bridge in a doubleheader on Wednesday, face No. 4 CBA for the third time on Friday, and then participate in the St. Peters tournament on Saturday.

"We still have a tough schedule, that will keep us on top of our game,'' Maxwell said. "Winning these games today when we were down, that has to give us confidence. You have to figure, sometime in the state tournament, we're going to run into some tough situations.''

East Brunswick (19-2) and St. Joes (19-8, with five losses against Southern and East Brunswick) each went 3-1 at the Showcase, beating Bayonne, Fair Lawn and Moorestown. Bayonne (22-3) and Fair Lawn (20-7) each beat Moorestown (15-9).

"We're going to keep practicing hard, we're going to practice for them (Southern),'' East Brunswick coach Greg Rutz said. "They're our nemesis right now.''

WEEK 5 TOP 10

A little late, but here we go. Records through Monday's matches.

1. Southern (23-0). Last week: 1. Week 3: 2. Week 2: 3. Preseason rank: 3. The Rams have now beaten nearly every top team in the state, and will get their chance vs. Bayonne on Saturday at the Super Six. They put up a better block than nearly every team they play, but still have solid ball control skills. They also serve more aggressively than most teams. Another win over East Brunswick on Saturday makes Southern the unchallenged top seed in the NJSIAA South/Central playoff bracket.

2. East Brunswick (16-1). Last week 2, Week 3: 1. Week 2: 1. Preseason rank: 2. Of the top South/Central teams, the Bears play the least aggressive schedule. Often, the best competition they're getting in a given week is at their practices between their first and second string. They'll face some tough teams at the Super Six, where they'll get their second chance against Southern. But even with a victory, the Rams' strength of schedule may be too much to overcome when it comes time for seeding.

3. St Josephs (14-5). The Falcons finished 7th at the tournament in Ohio over the weekend, where one of their losses was to the 4-time defending state champions from the host state. Their loss to South Brunswick doesn't hurt them much because of all their victories over the other top teams.

4. CBA (14-3). St. Peters' wins over Old Bridge and Fair Lawn help the Colts move up because of their victory over the Marauders early in the season. There are many similarities between Bayonne and CBA. Neither team is very big, but both are highly skilled. Teamwork is also a strength for each, and they also play hard on every point. The Colts won't give up against anybody. They play Old Bridge on Saturday.

5. Bayonne (19-0). The Bees have a big match with St. Peters on Thursday, where the top seed in North Jersey will probably be decided. Wins or losses at the Super Six probably won't mean much for seeding, but will show where the Bees stand against the top teams.

6. St. Peters Prep (20-5). Every loss for the Marauders has been to teams ranked ahead of them. They face their biggest match of the season on Thursday when they host Bayonne.

7. Old Bridge (9-6). The Knights lost twice - to St. Peters and Southern - at Southern's tournament last Saturday to drop them in the rankings. They still are one of the most feared teams in the state, but haven't really put together a complete match against any top team. The Greater Middlesex Tournament, which starts next week, might be their last chance before the state tournament to show that they can live up to their potential.

8. Fair Lawn (16-4). The Cutters have also failed against every top team they've faced. They have two solid options for setter John Bashan in Artem Makarenko and middle Alex Bylinkin, and right side Matt Agnew has also been able to put the ball down. But they just don't seem to be able to finish against the top teams.

9. Clifton (16-1) The Mustangs played Passaic Valley in the Passaic County Tournament on Wednesday. Their record is nice, but the only top 10 team they've played is Old Bridge, which accounts for their one loss. Matches against St. Joes and Bridgewater were canceled.

10. South Brunswick (13-4). The Vikings have to get some kind of credit for the win over St. Joes. Plus, they've beaten Hillsborough as well.

(I'll add in the extras, like previous rankings and such, when I get a chance!)
Fred

Southern stays unbeaten; St. Peter's beats Fair Lawn

By Fred Siegle

MANAHAWKEN - It's looking more and more like the road to the NJSIAA finals is going to go through Southern Regional for the South/Central bracket, and Hudson County in the North bracket.

Southern, No. 1 in the the Powerzonevb.com rankings, won four matches Saturday to capture the title at the Southern Invitational, staying unbeaten for the year. They beat St. Peter's (19-5) in the final, but the Hudson County power showed that it may be the only real challenger to unbeaten Bayonne, their Hudson County counterpart, for the No. 1 seed in the north by going 3-1, including victories over Fair Lawn and Old Bridge, which were both ranked higher.

Old Bridge, ranked No. 4, lost to St. Peters in pool play and also lost to Southern in the semifinals, and went 2-2 for the day. Fair Lawn, ranked No. 5, lost to Southern in pool play and St. Peters in the semis and also was 2-2. Cherry Hill West (1-3 for the day) and Williamstown (0-4) were also at the tournament.

Southern's Nolan King was named the tournament MVP, registering 28 kills for the day, including 12 in leading the Rams to a comeback win over Old Bridge in the semis, and 5 in the final against St. Peter's.

The Rams beat Old Bridge 25-22, 25-17, but the Knights had a 7-1 lead in one of the games before King took over.

"In that game, he carried us for a little while until everyone else got back on track,'' said Southern coach Eric Maxwell. "We had to fight our way back into it in that game, and Nolan got extremely hot. He kept us close, 2-3 points behind, by siding out. Then we broke through and won.''

The Rams beat St. Peter's 25-10, 25-19. Fran Hodgson had 9 kills and 5 blocks in that match, while Jeff Elsasser contributed 7 kills and 2 blocks. Both were also named to the all-tournament team.

The tournament provided the Rams with their first real test since they took over the No. 1 spot by going undefeated in a quad match with former No. 1 East Brunswick and No. 3 St. Josephs.

"We're just trying to stay consistent,'' Elsasser said. "We know the competition is going to come after us, so we're trying to step up and play better every match, every week. At this point we've played just about everyone, we know what we have to do. And being No. 1 puts extra pressure on us, because everyone wants to beat us.''

St. Peters beat Fair Lawn 25-19, 25-19. Matt Whitford led the way with 11 kills in that match, while libero Kevin McNerney had 10 digs. Both were named to the all-tournament team.

The Marauders lost to Bayonne earlier in the season, but will meet their county foes again on Thursday, probably with the top seed in North Jersey on the line. Bayonne has already beaten the Cutters.

"That's a big game no matter what happened here,'' coach Don Guide said. "But I think North Jersey seeding comes down to that match now. Fair Lawn doesn't have any way to recoup from those losses. There might be another team or two that might think they have a claim to the top spot, but in my mind, whoever wins on Thursday won't have to play away from home in the playoffs until the tournament shifts to neutral sites. (For the final in each section).''

Also named to the all-tournament team were Lance Rogers and Joe Nemeth of Old Bridge, and Alex Bylinkin of Fair Lawn.

Bayonne defeats Fair Lawn

By Fred Siegle

Bayonne staked its claim to supremacy in the north section of the state on Tuesday with a 25-16, 33-31 victory over Fair Lawn.

The Bees, ranked 7th in the Powerzonevb.com top 10, remain unbeaten at 17-0, while No. 5 Fair Lawn suffered its second loss and first against a team from the north. Bayonne has also already beaten St. Peters, another top contender in the north.

"We've beaten both of them, now we have to keep moving forward,'' said senior Justin Beaumont, who led the Bees with 10 kills, 10 digs, 4 blocks and 4 aces. "This shows we're the best team in the north.''

Bayonne still plays St. Peters a second time, on May 10, and will also play in the Super Six Showcase at St. Josephs on May 12. That will feature top teams Southern, St. Joes, East Brunswick, Moorestown and Fair Lawn.

Coco Ostorga had 6 kills, 6 digs and 3 blocks for Bayonne, while Danny Kochanski added 6 kills and 6 blocks. Krystoph Bogdan had 3 kills and 3 digs, James Capello had 12 digs, and setter Mark Gacki contributed 18 assists and 2 aces.

"It was a good match, and the best thing was, we didn't let up,'' Beaumont said. "Against St. Peters, we kind of let down a little in the second game, we got nonchalant. This time we pushed hard all the way through.''

Week 4 Top 10

This is based on matches before Tuesday!

Powerzone has been busy, so I haven't had a lot of time. Here's the top 10, I'll try to add more info when I get a chance - Fred.

1. Southern

2. East Brunswick

3. St Josephs

4. Old Bridge

5. Fair Lawn

6. CBA

7. Bayonne

8. St. Peters

9. Moorestown

10. Washington Township

WEEK 3 TOP 10

Thanks to Charlie Ginex for the photo (East Brunswick's Sameer Sood, the tournament MVP, passes the ball during the Bears Invitational.)

By Fred Siegle

Not many changes here from last week. But some more big matches this week - St. Josephs at East Brunswick today, and both those teams along with Moorestown at Southern on Saturday in a quad match could bring a shakeup next week.

1. EAST BRUNSWICK (8-0). Preseason ranking: 2; last week: 1. The Bears had a relatively uneventful week since the last ranking with wins over Bridgewater, South Brunswick, and West Windsor Plainsboro-South. They also went 13-1 in games as they won their Bears Invitational on Saturday. First real test of the season is Tuesday when they host St. Joseph.

2. Southern (13-0). Preseason ranking: 3; last week: 2. The Rams won their Shore Conference rivalry match with CBA last Monday. Now they can look forward to their big quad on Saturday when they host the No. 1, 3, and 9 teams.

3. St. Josephs (9-1). Preseason ranking: 1; last week: 3. The Falcons continued their ambitous schedule on Monday with a win over No. 5 Fair Lawn. They've already played six of the top 10 teams and will add East Brunswick (twice) and Moorestown this week. Coach Miguel Cabrita has invited Bayonne, the only other top 10 team the Falcons haven't played, to the Super Six Showcase (May 12). The other invitees: Fair Lawn, East Brunswick, Southern and Moorestown.

4. Old Bridge (5-2). Preseason ranking: 4; last week: 4. The Knights reached the semifinals at the Bears Invitational on Saturday, losing in one game to St. Joes. they had compiled a 7-5 record in pool play at the event.


5. Fair Lawn (7-1). Preseason ranking: 5; last week: 5. The Cutters suffered their first loss of the season against St. Joseph on Monday. They'll get another chance against the Falcons at the Super Six Showcase on May 12, when they'll also play East Brunswick, Southern and Moorestown. They reached the final at the Clifton Tournament on Saturday, losing to North Pocono of Pennsylvania.

6. CBA (8-3). Preseason ranking: 7; last week: 6. The Colts' only losses have been to No. 2 Southern (twice) and No. 3 St. Joes. The reached the semifinals at the Clifton Tournament on Saturday, going 6-2 in pool play, and beating Livingston in a 1-game playoff. They lost to North Pocono of Pennsylvania in semis. Brendan Corley was named to the all-tournament team.

7. Bayonne (10-0). Preseason ranking: 8; last week: 8. The Bees won their battle for supremacy in Hudson County with a 25-18, 19-25, 26-24 victory over St. Peters last Thursday. The two teams meet again on May 10 at St. Peters. This weekend, they'll be at the Livingston Tournament.

8. St. Peters (9-4). Preseason ranking: 6; last week: 7. The Marauders drop another notch after the loss to Bayonne, but aren't likely to fall any further in the foreseeable future. They won their pool with a 7-1 record at the Clifton Tournament.

9. Moorestown (6-0). Preseason ranking: 9; last week: 9. The Quakers are the only school in the 18-team Olympic Conference without a loss. They beat Eastern and Washington Township last week, and also captured the title at the Collingswood Classic on Saturday.

10. Bridgewater-Raritan (6-1). Preseason rank: unranked (teams to watch); last week: teams to watch. There's no shame in a loss to East Brunswick. The Panthers beat a quality team in Hillsborough last Thursday. While they barely made the state playoffs last year, Bridgewater seems to be cruising toward the postseason now.

Teams to watch: Clifton (still unbeaten and host Old Bridge on Friday); Livingston (beat Vernon last Friday); Williamstown (knocked Eastern from the unbeaten ranks last Wednesday); Bridgewater-Raritan (beat Hillsborough in a 3-setter last week); Eastern (still a talented team despite back-to-back losses to Williamstown and Moorestown.)

(edited on 4/24 to reflect loss by South Brunswick (to West Windsor South) last week that I hadn't taken into account - Fred).

St. Joseph beats Fair Lawn

By Fred Siegle

METUCHEN - When the games were on the line, St. Joseph's volleyball team was unfazed by the pressure.

In both games against Fair Lawn on Monday, the teams battled back and forth until the score was 18-18. And in both games, the Falcons came through with strings of points to emerge with a 25-19, 25-21 victory.

Senior middle Drew Colon, who finished the match with a solo block, his second in three points, said it was simply a matter of figuring out the opponents.

"Their whole team hits angle, none of them ever hit line,'' Colon said. "It's easy to block when you know where they're going.''

Fair Lawn had a 21-20 lead in game two, but a service error tied the score. Then, Colon had a dig that enabled setter Steve Korbos to feed Marcin Midura (5 kills, 2 blocks) for a kill, Colon put up a block for a point, Keith MacDonald earned his 7th kill of the match, and Colon blocked for the match. He finished with 3 kills and 3 blocks in the two games.

"When it comes down to the crucial points, we have to learn to play the way we've played in the rest of the game,'' Fair Lawn coach Pete Zisa said. "It's all about playing those big points, we need all cylinders firing.''

"We gained momentum from our hitting as the games went on,'' MacDonald said. "I thought Fair Lawn played well, and our passing got a little shaky at one point. We have to work on that. But we kept swinging and stayed aggressive.''

Middle Paul Konapacki had 6 kills and 3 blocks for the Falcons, who are ranked third in the Powerzonevb.com top 10 and improved to 9-1.

The Falcons will be tested again on Tuesday when they visit No. 1 East Brunswick in a makeup match from last week.

"It's obviously a big game and it'll be intense, we'll be in their place and I'm sure it will be loud,'' Colon said. "But we know the most important thing will be how well we're playing when we get to the state tournament.''

Artem Makarenko led Fair Lawn, now 7-1 and No. 5 in the Powerzonevb.com rankings, with 7 kills. Alex Bylinkin had 5 kills, and Matt Agnew contributed 3. Setter Jon Bashan had 15 assists.

"We still haven't played our best yet,'' Zisa said. "But I saw some good things today. St. Joes
is a real good team with no weak points.''

EB keeps BI Jug

Thanks to Charlie Ginex for the photo (East Brunswick's Kyle Barry sets John McLaughlin in a game against Old Bridge during the Bears Invitational.)

By Fred Siegle

EAST BRUNSWICK - John McLaughlin warmed up his jump serve in East Brunswick's last pool play game at the Bears Invitational. By the time the Bears were in the final, it was on fire.

East Brunswick beat St. Josephs 25-14 in the final on Saturday to keep the B.I. Jug that goes to the tournament winner and remain the only team to capture the title in the event's three-year history. McLaughlin played a huge role in the victory with two aces and nine service points, with most of those coming because of St. Joes errors or off easy defensive plays for the Bears because of the pressure McLaughlin's tough serves put on the Falcons' offense.

"It started working for me in the second Bayonne game (the Bears' last pool-play game), and I just started getting more and more confident in it,'' McLaughlin said. "Once it started working for me, I just kept ripping it.''

McLaughlin, a senior middle blocker, also started for the Bears last year. But he didn't jump serve then.

"I would try it once in a while in practice, but I always hit it out of bounds,'' McLaughlin said. "It would sail all over the place, most of the time into the wall.''

But he stuck with it at practice this year.

"I've been working on it,'' he said. "Today, it started working in that one game. I start out with just a float, and if we get a point off that I'll go with a harder jumper.''

In the final, McLaughlin's first flurry of jump serves came at the start of the game. His fifth point came on an ace that hit the net and trickled over for his second ace and gave the Bears a 7-1 lead. It also forced the Falcons to take a time out, after which they were able to side out on a kill by Keith MacDonald.

McLaughlin also had a four-point streak at the end of the game, all St. Joes' errors, that made the score 24-13. The Bears, who went 11-1 in pool play in the 7-team event, went on to finish the game with a block by Alex Rigley and retain the jug. Senior Sameer Sood of the Bears was named the tournament MVP.

Since the final was only one game, it won't count on either team's record. But the two teams , ranked first and third in the Powerzonevb.com top 10, will meet with even more on the line on Tuesday in a match postponed from last week.

"Playing them (St. Joes) today gives us a chance to see what they have,'' McLaughlin said. "We know they're a good team and won't lay down. We have to come out just as hard on Tuesday.''

St. Joes was erratic all day, going 7-5 in pool play, which was still good enough for the second seed in the playoffs.

"We were kind of chippy all day,'' coach Miguel Cabrita said. "This really doesn't mean anything, win or lose. It was more about feeling each other out to see what each team can do. ''

The Falcons have a tough week, with a home match against No. 5 Fair Lawn on Monday, the match vs. East Brunswick on Tuesday, a meeting with perennial state power Bridgewater-Raritan on Wednesday, and then a quad match involving the Bears (again), No. 2 Southern, and No. 9 Moorestown on Saturday at Southern.

East Brunswick beat Bayonne (6-6 in pool play, including wins over the Bears and Falcons) in the semifinals, while St. Joes beat Old Bridge (7-5 in pool play). Bayonne beat Bridgewater (5-7) in the quarterfinals, while Old Bridge beat Hillsborough (4-8). West Windsor-Plainsboro South went 3-9 in pool play.

No. 8 Bayonne edges No. 7 St. Peters

By Fred Siegle

Bayonne - Round One of the battle for supremacy in Hudson County, and maybe North Jersey, went to Bayonne.

The Bees earned a 25-18, 19-25, 26-24 victory over St. Peters on Thursday in the first of at least two, and possibly four or more, meetings.

Sophomore Patrick Rusznica and junior Coco Ostorga combined for a block for the match-winning play in the third game. Rusznica finished with a team-high 7 blocks and also had 4 kills. Danny Kochanski (5 blocks) and Justin Beaumont each had 12 kills to lead the Bees' attack.

"It was 18-18 in the third game, and to me it just came down to desire and mental toughness,'' said Bayonne coach Pat Longo, who's team remained unbeaten. "I think it was a great match, it's unfortunate someone had to lose.''

Kochinski and Ostorga combined for a block that gave Bayonne a 23-19 lead in the third game, but St. Peters battled back with five straight points - a great save by libero Kevin McNerney (21 digs), who had a bump-kill from a harsh angle that Bayonne's defense couldn't play, a Bayonne error, an ace by Nick DeBenedictis, a kill by Matt Whitford (15 kills in the match), and a triple block as Kochinski hit out of the middle.

But Bayonne took a time out and stared down the possible game point at 24-23 as Kochanski powered the ball through the block from the right side. A St. Peters error gave Bayonne game point before the block of Whitford by Rusznica and Ostorga.

"We knew they'd set Matt a lot, and he hits hard angle and tries to go around the block,'' Kochinski said.

"We knew where they were going to go, hitting-wise, and they knew where we were going to go,'' Longo said. "Those were two teams that really know each other well.''

Bayonne's passing broke down a bit in the second game, especially against a flurry of floaters by the Marauders. Stan Gasiewski sparked St. Peters with two aces in that game, and also had two more in Game 3. But Bayonne's serve-receive was more consistent in the finale.

"Our passers, especially James (Capello, the Bees' libero) stepped up in the third game,'' Kochanski said. "But we have to work on passing floaters, we're used to balls being pounded at us.''

"We knew if we got back to our style - passing well and aggressive hitting, we'd be fine,'' Longo said. "

Ostorga finished with 7 kills and 11 digs, Krystoph Bogdan chipped in 3 kills, 14 digs and 3 blocks, Capello had 24 digs, and setter Mark Gacki had 27 assists, 18 digs, and 3 blocks.

"I thought we underperformed, we weren't executing,'' St. Peters coach Don Guide said. "We can't let them (Bayonne) lay back and dig balls, and for their size, they put up a good block.''

"The level of play was so high, the balls both teams kept in play were amazing,'' Longo said.

The two teams will meet again on May 10 at St. Peters, will likely face each other again in the Hudson County Tournament, and also could meet in the NJSIAA playoffs at the end of the season.

"I'm happy Bayonne has a good team,'' Guide said. "That's the kind of competition we need here in Hudson County.''

"It was a great game,'' Longo said. "It's the kind we need to see here.''

NEW TOP 10

By Fred Siegle

Here's the new top 10! Don't count on it staying the same, with some big matches this week including St. Joseph at East Brunswick and Fair Lawn at Old Bridge on Monday April 16.

1. East Brunswick (5-0). Preseason ranking: 2. The reasoning - I just can't jump Southern over the Bears unless they either have a head-to-head or common-opponent victory. That said, the Bears have only been tested by Old Bridge so far, while other teams have been getting better competition. They did win the Eastern Tournament on Saturday with a one-game victory over the hosts. While the Eastern event has always been top notch, its quality took a hit this year with most of the state's best teams going to Bloomfield. The Bears step it up a notch this week with matches against St. Joes, Bridgewater and South Brunswick.

2. Southern (9-0). Preseason ranking: 3. The Rams have the most significant win of the season so far after beating previous No. 1 St. Joes on April 10. They also beat ranked teams CBA and St. Peters that day, and also have a win over Williamstown, which is doing well in South Jersey. They lost, 27-25, to St. Joes in the final at Bloomfield on Saturday, but went undefeated against the rest of the high-quality competition. They host a quad with East Brunswick, St. Joes and Moorestown on April 28, another high-quality day that could shake up the rankings.

3. St. Josephs (5-1). Preseason ranking: 1. The victory over Southern in the final at Bloomfield on Saturday can't erase the match loss to the Rams on Tuesday, but it does show the Falcons haven't let it affect them, either. The truth is, any of the top 3 teams can win when they meet, it's simply a matter of who's more at the top of their game. Junior middle Paul Konopacki led St. Joes at Bloomfield with 23 kills for the day. The Falcons also have already beaten top 10 teams Old Bridge, CBA, and St. Peters.

4. Old Bridge (2-2). Preseason ranking: 4. The Knights opened with a brutal schedule, losing to East Brunswick and St. Joes. But they rebounded with two straight victories since, including a
moved star Lance Rogers to left side, and switched junior Eddie quality win over South Brunswick on Friday. After the two losses, coach Andrew HopmanBucior to right side. Bucior responded with 5 kills in the 25-17, 25-14 win over South Brunswick.

5. Fair Lawn (5-0). Preseason ranking: 5. The favorite in the NJSIAA's North Jersey section has already beaten rivals Lakeland and Wayne Hills. The Cutters were the only top 10 team that was inactive on Saturday (it was their prom weekend), but they jump right into the fire on Monday with a visit to No. 4. Old Bridge. Junior right side Matt Agnew had 6 blocks in the 25-20, 25-18 victory over Wayne Hills.

6. CBA (6-2). Preseason ranking: 7. The Colts move up a spot after jumping into the fire at the St. Joes quad on Tuesday and coming out with a victory over the previous No. 6, St. Peters. They lost to St. Joes and Southern that day. CBA takes another shot at Southern today when the Rams visit in Lincroft. Most of the Colts' players participated in a prom (Colts Neck High School) on Friday night, but they still went 4-1 in pool play at the Bloomfield Tournament on Saturday. They were eliminated in a hotly contested playoff game with St. Peters.

7. St. Peters (4-3). Preseason ranking: 6. The Marauders came out on the short end of the quality quad against CBA, St. Joes and Southern, but rebounded with an easy victory over Lincoln on Friday and a strong showing (4-1 in pool play, advancing to the semifinals before losing to St. Joes) at the Bloomfield Tournament. They visit Bayonne in Hudson County's version of St. Joes vs. East Brunswick on Thursday.

8. Bayonne (6-0). Preseason ranking: 8. The Bees have feasted on the weaker teams in Hudson County so far, but face their moment of truth on Thursday when they host St. Peters. They had a strong showing at Bloomfield on Saturday, going 3-2 in pool play and then beating Livingston in the playoffs before being knocked out by St. Joes. They should get a boost this week with the return of right side Coco Ostorga, who missed their games last week and the tournament at Bloomfield while away on a trip.

9. Moorestown (3-0). Preseason ranking: 9. The Quakers squeaked by Clearview on Thursday with an 18-25, 25-23, 26-24 victory. According to a story by Kevin Callahan of the Cherry Hill Courier-Post, the turning point came with the third game tied 23-23. Ryan Tuck had a kill and Christian DePew finished the match with an ace. In yet another big match this week, the Quakers host unbeaten Eastern on Thursday.

10. South Brunswick (5-1). Preseason rank: unranked (teams to watch). The Vikings take the spot of Hillsborough, which they beat 25-17, 23-25, 25-22 on Thursday. Their only loss is to Old Bridge. They also captured the Hillsborough Tournament title with a victory over Vernon in the final. The Vikings get another big test on Thursday when they visit East Brunswick.

Teams to watch: Eastern (still unbeaten and battled their way to the final at its tournament); Clifton (also still unbeaten); Bridgewater-Raritan (went 3-2 in pool play and advanced to the Gold Division playoffs at the Bloomfield Tournament despite playing without regular setter Andrew Conkin); Vernon (5-0 after beating Wayne Valley on Friday); Wayne Valley (tough day in a tough pool (1-4) at Bloomfield Tournament, 4-1 in matches after losing to Vernon on Friday); Don Bosco (the Silver Division champs at Bloomfield, also still unbeaten in matches).

(Thanks to Coach DeYoung for the correction involving the Vernon-Wayne Valley result).
Also, feel free to email me (fsiegle@powerzonevb.com) with any corrections/questions/comments. You can also post comments on the blog.

Pictures from 2006

Check out the website www.sjtphotos.com, there are pictures there from the 2006 East Brunswick Tournament.
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ST JOES WINS AT BLOOMFIELD

By Fred Siegle

BLOOMFIELD - It doesn't completely erase the sting of a 25-8 loss in the second game on Tuesday, but St. Joseph's 27-25 victory over Southern in the final at the Bloomfield Tournament on Saturday definitely helps.

"We played a lot better this time,'' setter Richie McCobb said. "We came together as a team and stuck it out until the end.''

"We know this really means nothing, its just one game and not a match, but they're still a great team and we won this time,'' said middle blocker Drew Colon, who provided the game-winning point with a solo block.

Southern seemed to have momentum in the back-and-fourth final when the Rams took a 23-22 lead on a serve by Nate Lee that hit the top of the net then trickled over for an ace. But Falcons' coach Miguel Cabrita called time out and the Falcons went back to the court and tied the game on a kill by Keith MacDonald.

After the team traded side outs twice, junior Kyle Ditmars ended a long rally with a powerful hit from the left side to end a long rally, then Colon registered his block against Southern senior right side Nolan King, who ran a play in the middle off serve receive.

"I knew Nolan runs middle in that rotation,'' Colon said. "It was basically a guess on my part on where he would be swinging. I won the lottery.''

Most of the St. Joes and Southern players have been friends for several years since they play on the same club teams in the offseason, and they enjoyed the chance to play each other in the final of the 18-team tournament. Both teams went undefeated in pool play (5-0), then beat the other top teams from the 3-pool event on their way to the final.

"It's a fun rivalry between us,'' Colon said. "It's obviously intense, both teams are playing at a high level. But when we play, there's a lot of smiles out there, too. It's fun to play them. There was a play where someone had a big hit and a player on the other team got hit, and I just looked over at Nolan, and we both just laughed.''

St. Joseph beat Bayonne, 25-19, and St. Peters, 25-19, in the playoff quarterfinals and semis. Southern beat Bridgewater-Raritan 25-19 in the quarterfinals and Old Bridge 25-19 in the semis.

The Falcons had a balanced offense throughout the day, with middle Paul Konopacki leading the way with 23 kills, 4 blocks and 4 aces. Ditmars had 19 kills, 5 aces and 14 digs, Colon contributed 19 kills, 2 aces and 20 digs, MacDonald had 17 kills, 5 aces and 22 digs, Eddie Rossiter had 10 kills, 5 aces and 20 digs, and libero Aidan Nemergut had 17 digs.

BLOOMFIELD TOURNAMENT GOLD PLAYOFF AND POOL PLAY RESULTS

GOLD PLAYOFFS

Final: St. Joseph d. Southern, 27-25.

Semifinals: St. Joseph d. St. Peters, 25-21; Southern d. Old Bridge 25-19.

Quarterfinals: St. Joseph d. Bayonne 25-19; St. Peters d. CBA 25-21; Southern d. Bridgewater 25-19; Old Bridge d. Newark Eastside.

Preliminary: Bayonne d. Livingston 25-23.

SILVER PLAYOFF CHAMPION: Don Bosco Prep.

POOL PLAY RESULTS

St. Josephs (5-0): d. Don Bosco 25-17, Newark East Side 25-8, Williamstown 25-13, Bayonne 25-17, Watchung Hills 25-10.

Don Bosco (2-3): lost to St. Joes 17-25, lost to Newark East Side 25-22, d. Williamstown 27-25, lost to Bayonne, 23-25, d. Watchung Hills 25-15.

Newark Eastside (3-2): lost to St. Joes 8-25, d. Don Bosco 25-22, lost to Williamstown 19-25, d. Bayonne, 25-21, d. Watchung Hills 25-12.

Williamstown (1-4): lost to St. Joes, 13-25, lost to Don Bosco 25-27, d. Newark Eastside 25-19, lost to Bayonne 21-25, lost to Watchung Hills 23-25.

Bayonne (3-2): lost to St. Joes, 17-25, d. Don Bosco 25-23, lost to Newark Eastside 21-25, d. Williamstown 25-21, d. Watchung Hills 25-8.

Watchung Hills (1-4): lost to St. Joes 10-25, lost to Don Bosco 15-25, lost to Newark Eastside 12-25, d. Williamstown 25-23, lost to Bayonne 8-25.

Bridgewater-Raritan (3-2): lost to Old Bridge 21-25, lost to St. Peters 16-25, d. Memorial 25-20, d. Bloomfield 25-17, d. Millburn 25-13.

Old Bridge (5-0): d. Bridgewater 25-21, d. St. Peters 25-18, d. Memorial 25-17, d. Bloomfield 25-13, d. Millburn 25-13.

St. Peters (4-1): d. Bridgewater 25-16, lost to Old Bridge 18-25, d. Memorial 25-13, d. Bloomfield 25-18, d. Millburn 25-8.

Memorial (1-4): lost to Bridgewater 20-25, lost to Old Bridge 17-25, lost to St. Peters 13-25, lost to Bloomfield 16-25, d. Millburn 25-22.

Bloomfield (2-3): lost to Bridgewater 17-25, lost to Old Bridge 13-25, lost to St. Peters 18-25, d. Memorial 25-16, d. Millburn 25-15.

Millburn (0-5): lost to Bridgewater 13-25, lost to Old Bridge 13-25, lost to St. Peters 8-25, lost to Memorial 22-25, lost to Bloomfield 15-25.

Southern (5-0): d. Livingston 25-16, d. CBA 25-17, d. J.P. Stevens 25-23, d. Roselle Catholic 25-16, d. Wayne Valley 25-20.

Livingston (3-2): lost to Southern 16-25, lost to CBA 20-25, d. J.P. Stevens 25-20, d. Roselle Catholic 25-13, d. Wayne Valley 27-25.

CBA (4-1): lost to Southern 17-25, d. Livingston 25-20, d. J.P. Stevens 25-20, d. Roselle Catholic 25-17, d. Wayne Valley 27-25.

J.P. Stevens (2-3): lost to Southern 23-25, lost to Livingston 20-25, lost to CBA 20-25, d. Roselle Catholic 25-19, d. Wayne Valley 25-21.

Roselle Catholic (0-5): lost to Southern 16-25, lost to Livingston 13-25, lost to CBA 17-25, lost to J.P. Stevens 19-25, lost to Wayne Valley 19-25.

Wayne Valley (1-4): lost to Southern 20-25, lost to Livingston 25-27, lost to CBA 15-25, lost to J.P. Stevens 21-25, d. Roselle Catholic 25-19.

No. 3 SOUTHERN SWEEPS IN QUAD MATCH

By Fred Siegle

METUCHEN - Southern entered Tuesday's quad match against St. Joseph, St. Peters and CBA - three teams in the Powerzonevb.com state top 10 - as a very good team. The Rams left with a confidence that could help them become a GREAT team. Maybe even great enough to win a state title.

The Rams, No. 3 in the pre-season top 10, emerged as the only unscathed team from the early season battle of titans. St. Joes, which was No. 1 in the pre-season, went 2-1, No. 7 CBA went 1-2, and No. 6 St. Peters was 0-3.

In the premier matchup of the day, Southern beat St. Joes 25-22, 25-8. The key, Rams' coach Eric Maxwell said, was closing out the first game.

"We were up 22-20, and if they had found a way to come back and win, I don't think the second game would have happened that way. We took advantage after winning that close game.''

The Rams opened the day by beat CBA 25-17, 25-10, then earned the victory over St. Joes. They then had a letdown in Game 1 against St. Peter's, losing 25-20, but rebounded to win Games 2 and 3 25-15, 25-13. Maxwell played his backup setter through the entire first game against St. Peters.

"I think it was good for us to lose that game,'' he said. "We're going to have to play three games again this year, so it was good to face that adversity. I didn't particularly like it as it was happening, but when we came back and won, it was a good learning experience. It all worked out in the end.''

In the victory over St. Joes, left side Jeff Elsasser had 6 kills and right side Nolan King had 7, while middles Fran Hodgson and Bryan Batiste helped take the Falcons out of their game with their imposing block. Paul Konopacki led St. Joes with 4 kills.

"We just came ready to play today,'' Elsasser said. "We know St. Joes and their players well, we know their strengths and weaknesses. We just keyed on stopping Keith (MacDonald) and Drew (Colon) and we served at their weak spots. We know they have good middles so we tried to double block on them and then did the best we could on the outsides.''

Against CBA, Hodgson had 6 kills and 3 blocks, Elsasser contributed 5 kills, a block and 5 digs, King had 4 kills and 2 blocks, and setter Steve Vaughan dished out 17 assists and added 2 kills and 8 digs. In the win over St. Peters, Elsasser had 10 kills and 15 digs, Hodgson had 6 kills and 3 blocks, King added 6 kills, and Batiste contributed 3 blocks.

"When you have players like Jeff, Nolan and Fran - those are three seniors who are quality, all-around players - there are times you're team is going to be great,'' Maxwell said. "When those guys are on, we can beat anybody. They can carry us.''

Maxwell summed up Southern's performance pretty easily: "We had a pretty good day here.''

But he knows it's still early in the season. "I know we're good enough to play anybody,'' Maxwell said. "It feels good winning out here, but if we had lost, it wouldn't have changed anything, we'd go on from here and keep working and try to find the way to beat these type of teams. We're going to keep trying to improve and try to maintain the level we played at today.''

St. Joes rebounded from the loss to Southern by beating CBA 25-20 25-18. The Falcons opened the day by beating St. Peters, 25-21, 25-19. In one of the strangest games ever, St. Joes started the first game with an 18-0 lead before St. Peters battled back.

Marcin Midura had 7 aces, 9 kills and 8 digs against No. 6 St. Peters, while MacDonald added 6 kills. Against CBA, MacDonald had 7 kills, and Colon and Konopacki each had 5.

Right side Brendan Corley had 7 kills to lead CBA in its win against St. Peters.

"We know what it takes now to beat good teams,'' setter Austin Hagaman said. "We have to go home now and work on our defense, work on our plays. We have to get quicker with our offense.''

St. Peters coach Don Guide said the experience of playing the top teams will help his team in the long run as well. "We know now we're not passing hard jump serves real well, we just haven't had a chance to play that kind of competition. We see what we have to do.''

No. 1 ST. JOSEPHS BEATS NO. 4 OLD BRIDGE

By Fred Siegle

OLD BRIDGE - When it won the state championship last year, St. Joseph's volleyball team set the bar high for all the school's future teams to measure their success against.

And coach Miguel Cabrita said his team, No. 1 in the Powerzonevb.com State Top 10 preseason rankings, started the 2007 campaign in mid-season form after beating No.4 Old Bridge 25-18, 25-20 on Thursday.

Of course, the Falcons have plenty of weapons, with middles Drew Colon (7 kills) and Paul Konapacki (4 kills, 5 blocks), and right side Keith MacDonald (10 kills) back from last year and new stars Marcin Midura (4 kills, 1 ace in one game), Kyle Ditmars (2 kills), Eddie Rossiter (2 kills) and Aidan Nemergut (19 digs).

"I'm happy,'' Cabrita said. "My thing - I know we have a great offense. It's ball control and passing I was looking for today. And to me, that was at mid-season level. I think we played well as a team. But we have to keep improving from here.''

Old Bridge, meanwhile, is in need of a break after starting the season with losses to No. 1 St. Joes and No. 2 East Brunswick. Lance Rogers led the Knights with 8 kills, but that was off 21 attempts. Joe Nemeth had 5 kills and Elvis Obi had 4.

St. Joes hopes to keep up the pace on Tuesday when it hosts No. 3 Southern, No. 6 St. Peters, and No. 7 CBA on Tuesday in a quad match starting at 10 a.m.

BAYONNE DEFEATS MEMORIAL

By Fred Siegle

BAYONNE - Even after a dominating 25-10 Game 2 win completed their victory over Memorial, Bayonne's players weren't satisfied.

"We can play better,'' senior Justin Beaumont said. "Our passing was terrible today.''

Even so, the Bees' offense was nearly flawless in that second game, which completed the two-set win after they won 25-20 in the first game. Beaumont finished with a match-high eight kills, four in each game.

Setter Mark Gacki spread the ball around well, with right side Coco Ostorga (6 kills, two aces in the match) and middle Danny Kochanski (7 kills, 2 blocks) also each posting four kills in the game.

Beaumont put an exclamation point on the victory with the final kill after a dig by libero James Capello. The Bees, No. 8 in the Powerzonevb.com state top 10, are now 2-0. Beaumont said everything the team does now is aimed toward preparing for important matches down the road. The Bees play Hudson County rival St. Peter's Prep in the first of at least two meetings on April 19th, and also are looking forward to the state tournament.

"We're trying to work on plays, make our offense quicker,'' Beaumont said. "So that when we get further into the season, we're ready for tough competition. That match on April 19th really determines what we'll be doing the rest of the season.''

The Tigers, who fell to 1-2 (their other loss is to St. Peter's), were led by David Lopez, who had four kills and two blocks. Marvin Regalado contributed three kills and two blocks.

No. 2 East Brunswick defeats No. 4 Old Bridge

By Fred Siegle

EAST BRUNSWICK – It may be better known for its floor defense, but East Brunswick’s volleyball team can also put up a pretty decent block when it’s necessary.

The Bears, ranked No. 2 in the Powerzonevb.com state rankings, registered five blocks in the second game as they beat No. 4 Old Bridge 25-22, 25-19 in the season opener for both teams.

Of course, floor defense and their control on serve receive – East Brunswick had a quality pass on nearly every Old Bridge serve - also played a big part in the Bears’ win.

“I think our passing and defense were the key to the win,’’ said senior right side Travis Heilman, who led the Bears with eight kills and combined with teammates on three of the blocks. “We were a little sloppy today, but it wasn’t bad for the first match of the season.’’

Two of the blocks came late in the second game against Lance Rogers, Old Bridge’s 6-8 go-to hitter who finished with 9 kills. John McLaughlin and Eric Corpus teamed for the first, stopping a 10-ball attack by Rogers to give East Brunswick a 20-13 lead. Alex Rigley and Heilman combined for the second, which put the Bears on the verge of victory at 24-19.

While Old Bridge - which also features 6-5 middle Elvis Obi (5 kills), 6-2 middle Joe Nemeth (3 kills), and 6-2 outside Tom Mullan along with Rogers - is one of the taller teams in the state, East Brunswick is relatively undersized, with four starters 6-foot or under.

“We knew the ball was going to Lance more than the other hitters, especially at the end of the game, we just had to wait patiently and time it well,’’ Heilman said. “We’re small, but athletic. Defense is a big part of our game.’’

Sameer Sood finished off the win with his 7th kill after another of the Bears’ many defensive plays. Eric Corpus had 6 kills and McLaughlin and Rigley each had 3 for East Brunswick.

It doesn’t get any easier for Old Bridge, which next plays against No. 1 St. Joseph in a home match on Thursday.

“I thought we were a little confused about our assignments on back-row defense,’’ coach Andrew Hopman said. “We’re trying a different offense and defense than we used last year, so these things are going to happen at the beginning of the season. I know it’s going to take time. Hopefully, we’ll be better at the end of the season.’’

BOYS PRESEASON TOP TEN

POWERZONEVB.COM PRESEASON TOP 10

Another year, time for another Top 10. Some quick notes:

There seem to be a lot more quality teams this year. Most of the top teams are better, some are greatly improved. The senior class this year might be the best ever. There are 11 new teams this year, with 46 in the North section and 46 in the Central-South section when it comes time for the NJSIAA Tournament. The area designated as Central-South by the NJSIAA continues to include most of the top teams.

1. St Joseph.
2. East Brunswick
3. Southern
4. Old Bridge
5. Fair Lawn
6. St. Peter's
7. CBA
8. Bayonne
9. Moorestown
10. Hillsboro

1. St Joseph. The Falcons have three key starters - middles Drew Colon and Paul Konopacki and right side Keith MacDonald - back from the team that won the state championship last year. And they are probably even better than they were. Transfer Marcin Midura, a 6-4 left side, is an impact player and one of the biggest hitters and has one of the best jump serves in the state. Junior Eddie Rossiter, a year-round player, will be the other left side. Senior Aidan Nemergut will play libero and anchor the defense.. The only question mark for the Falcons is who the setter will be, but either senior Richie McCobb or junior Steve Brandenburg will be able to get the job done once coach Miguel Cabrita decides. The other top contenders should be wary after St. Joes, which has always had the talent, finally put it all together and finished strong last year. They open the season at No. 4 Old Bridge on Thursday at 5 p.m., then host a quad match with St. Peter's, Southern and CBA on Monday, April 9.



2. East Brunswick. As usual, the Bears will field a quality lineup and will have plenty of depth on the bench. They have more seniors who are top players - Eric Corpus (left side), Travis Heilman (left or right side) Kyle Barry (setter), John McLaughlin (middle), Dan Korten (libero or left side), Sameer Sood (left or right side), Brian Gieser (middle or setter) and Julian Millan (libero) - than they have starting positions. And they have juniors - Alex Rigley (middle), Christian Portera (middle or left side) and Greg Zegarek (left side), and Brian Murphy (setter/right side) - who are also top players who could start. Sophomore Mike Kvidahl is 6-6 and athletic and plays year-round and is likely to work his way into the starting lineup, probably at right side, sometime during the season. The Bears' bench at any given time would be a top 10 team in the state. The biggest problem they face is a tendency to falter at the end of the season that has developed over the past few years.


3. Southern. I may have been a year too early when the Rams started as the pre-season No. 1 team last year, because too many of their key players were juniors. This year, those players are seniors and they may be ready. Southern is big - Fran Hodgson (middle) is 6-6, Bryan Batiste (middle) is 6-5, Jeff Elsasser (left side) is 6-4, and Nolan King (right side) and Steve Bischoff (left side) are both 6-3. Hodgson, King and Elsasser have years of experience. Hodgson will be a force blocking and hitting, King is a big lefty hitter from the opposite position, and Elsasser is probably the most improved player in the state and might have the best jump serve when he's on. Setter Steve Vaughan, a junior, has worked hard in the offseason.



4. Old Bridge. The Knights have the state's most dominant player, 6-8 right side Lance Rogers, and two top-of-the line middles in seniors Joe Nemeth and Elvis Obi. Libero Scott Behnke also returns from last year's team, which made it to the South semifinals with a loss to East Brunswick. Setter Matt Guzzo, a junior, has good hands and instincts. The outsides, seniors Eddie Bucior and Tom Mullan, are unproven, but good athletes. The Knights joined the state's elite teams last year, and this year they'll show they're likely to stay. They get things started with a bang, since their first match is Monday (April 2) at East Brunswick at 10 a.m., then they host St. Joes on Thursday at 5 p.m.



5. Fair Lawn. The Cutters lost only one starting senior from last year's team, which lost in the North semifinals in an upset against Clifton and will be the odds on favorite to win the North crown. The team will be led by senior setter John Bashan, one of the best in the state, and Artem Makarenko, who will play either middle or left side.



6. St. Peter's. The Marauders have a go-to hitter in senior Matt Whitford and one of the state's best passers and defensive players in libero Kevin McNerney. The rest of the starting lineup, setter Gil Estupinian, left side hitter Jerry Santer, and middles Nick DeBenadictis, and Miles McCann, are all solid. The Marauders lost the Hudson County Tournament title to Bayonne last year, so one of their first orders of business will be to get that title back. The Mauraders will get a good test on Monday, April 9, when they face St. Joes, Southern and CBA in a quad match at St. Joes.



7. CBA. After a 14-6 season last year, the Colts are ready to join the state's elite. Senior Brendan Corley was the setter last year but moves to right side and will be the team's go-to hitter, including when he's in the back row. Senior Austin Hagaman takes over at setter and is one of the state's best. Tom Celiano (middle) and Adam Smith (left side) also are returning starters from last year. Smith has one of the most consistent and tough jump serves in the state. Junior Justin Legrottaglie (middle) and sophomore Neil Slattery (left side) will be the other starters. All the CBA starters played club during the off-season, most of them on the same team.



8. Bayonne. The Bees upset St. Peter's in the Hudson County Tournament last year, and have almost their entire starting team back. Their one drawback is lack of height - they may field a starting lineup with no player over 6-feet tall - but they'll try to make up for that with speed and control. They have legitimate hitters in senior Justin Beaumont (left side), junior Coco Ostorga (right side) junior Danny Kochanski (middle) and junior Krystoph Bogdan (middle) for senior setter Mark Gacki to feed, and Gacki is very good at spreading the ball around. Senior James Capello (libero) and either Michael Vasquez (senior) or Michal Kucza (sophomore) will be the other left side. The Bees worked hard in the off-season, playing in several leagues and also playing for club teams, and that should help pay off.



9. Moorestown. The Quakers finished 17-10 last year and has a solid starting lineup which could help the team become the leaders in the Olympic Conference down in South Jersey, where the competition for the top spot will include Eastern and Cherry Hill West. The starters will include seniors Jon Pelosi (left side) Andrew Sexton (middle) and Ryan Tuck (right side), and juniors Joe Aaron (left side), Skyler Heyman (setter), Will Cosden (middle)and Kyle Sutcliffe (defensive specialist). They'll be seeking to repeat as Olympic Conference Patriot Division champions. The Quakers will get a feel for where they stand against the rest of the state when they play in a quad match at Southern on April 28, where they'll also face East Brunswick and St. Joes.



10. Hillsboro. Only a third-year program, Hillsboro seems ready to make a jump into the group of top teams after failing to qualify for the state tournament by one game last year. Seven of the team's nine varsity players also played soccer. Setter Jared Himelfarb is only a sophomore, but is very athletic. Middles Joe Carotozolo and Sean Kelly are both solid hitters and blockers. Chris Fedroff, Alex Miska and Mike Argueta are solid passers and hitters from the outside. Hillsboro hosts its own tournament on April 14th, with Vernon, Passiac Valley, South Brunswick, Lincoln, Ferris, Toms River North, Hunterdon Central and West Windsor Plainsboro North all set to attend. They'll also play at the East Brunswick Tournament on April 21.



Teams to watch: Bridgewater (coach Corey Romanak always has his team playing at the top of its game at the end of the season and has returning starters Chris Metzger, Andrew Conkin, and Norbert Mikolajewski to rely on). Passaic Valley (a team that has worked hard in the off-season). Lakeland (the Lancers were near the top last year, and have a good group of players to try to blend together this year). Eastern (Brian Bertucci returns for his senior year with the Vikings). South Brunswick (This team started to put things together last year and has a strong core back from that team). Clifton (the Mustangs could be ready to make an impact when the state tournament rolls around). Livingston (Brandt Grobies is one of the state's best setters).