By Fred Siegle
SOUTH BRUNSWICK - At some point early in the season, St. Joseph's found it's "A'' game. And after that, the Falcons played at that level day after day, match after match, as the wins piled up.
On Thursday, the Falcons won their 43rd straight match, as they finished the season again playing their best, beating St. Peter's Prep 25-14, 25-18 to win the state championship.
"We knew as long as we brought our "A'' game, we'd do well,'' said setter Steve Brandenburg. "When we play like this, we're not getting beat.''
"We were really prepared for this,'' said senior right side hitter Marcin Midura, who finished with 11 kills and 10 digs. "Every aspect of the game, we were perfect.''
The Falcons took control right from the start, jumping out to a 9-1 lead in the first game. Senior middle blocker Paul Konopacki had three kills and two blocks during that stretch.
"We started really strong, everything was on,'' Midura said. "Our serves were strong, Paul was blocking, the defense and passing was very good, and Steve's sets were awesome.''
"We didn't want to get a start like EB (in their south section final win over East Brunswick, the Falcons had fallen behind by 6 points early in the first game), that would allow their fans to get into it,'' Brandenburg said.
Prior to the game, coach Miguel Cabrita had emphasized serving tough to his team as a key to victory. The Falcons did just that, forcing the Marauders out of their game and making it easier to stop the Marauders' top hitters, Miles McCann and Jake Blicharz.
"He (Cabrita) guaranteed us that if we served tough, it would start to wear them down, and it definitely worked,'' said senior libero Eddie Rossiter, who had 13 digs. "Their passing broke down, it forced them to give us free balls, which we converted. Everything clicked for us.''
The closest St. Peters was able to get in the first game was a 6-point deficit, 14-8.
"Our passing killed us,'' said Blicharz, who finished with 7 kills and 11 assists. "We knew coming in St. Joes would be tough, but we felt like we had a chance. We were well prepared, but I don't think we left it all on the court. I loved being here, but when you come this far and don't get the title, that's tough ... I'm not saying it wasn't worth it, but it was definitely disappointing.''
The Marauders were able to regroup and held a 6-3 lead in the second game. But kills by Midura, Konopacki, and Midura again gave the Falcons a 12-8 lead and St. Peters never got closer than 3 points.
"We had a little drop off at the start of the second game, but we got it back at around 10 points and then just kept going,'' Midura said.
Brandenburg finished with 23 assists and 6 digs, while Konopacki had 8 kills. Danny Vaccariello had 3 kills and Kyle Ditmars had 2, while Bobby O'Grady contributed 2 blocks.
The Falcons won 43 matches in a row after losing their first match of the season, on April 1, to arch-rival East Brunswick.
"That was a wakeup call for us,'' Rossiter said. "We didn't like how we played, and we got down on each other. But we talked about it afterward, and we promised each other it wouldn't happen again. It's been an amazing season, everybody on this team played up to their potential.''
"We worked hard for this all season,'' Midura said. "Everything we did wrong in that first match, we talked about it and tried to eliminate the mistakes. For us, it wasn't just about the skills, it was the mental part, also. That was our biggest challenge all season, the mental game.''
McCann had 8 kills and Al Yasneski had 4 kills and 4 digs for St. Peters, which finished with a 32-8 record. Jeremy Bonafe had 3 digs and 9 assists, while Ben Brenneis and Peter Jimenez had 2 kills each.
The Marauders repeated as NJSIAA North champions with a win over Vernon on Tuesday, and were in the state final for the second straight year.
"We have practically a whole new lineup, Jeremy is a first-year setter, I had never set before, everything was new for us this season,'' Blicharz said. "But we pulled together fast, we know we did well after losing all the seniors from last year.''
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
St. Joes rules South
By Fred Siegle
SOUTH BRUNSWICK - Falling behind by 6 points once, and 7 points later, in the first game couldn't stop St. Josephs from winning its 42nd straight match and the NJSIAA South championship on Tuesday.
The Falcons trailed 8-2 and and 16-9 in the first game against East Brunswick, but came back to win 26-24. The second game was anti-climatic as the Bears made numerous errors and St. Joes won 25-18. They'll face NJSIAA North section winner St. Peter's Prep for the overall state championship on Thursday.
"That first game, that was exactly what this season has been about for our team,'' said libero Eddie Rossiter. "We were down 7 points, but not once did I think we were going to lose. We have so much faith in each other. Our passing wasn't there in the beginning, and they were fired up. But once we started passing, everything clicked.''
After setter Andy Balint's ace gave East Brunswick a 16-9 lead, the Falcons took control, with tough serves by Danny Vaccariello disrupting the Bears' offense. A service error made it 16-10, then Bobby O'Grady had a block. Three straight East Brunswick errors made it 16-14, then Marcin Midura had a kill to make it 16-15. East Brunswick finally sided out with a kill by Mike Kvidahl, but the Falcons had the momentum.
They took their first lead, 22-21, on a kill on a 10-ball by Midura. East Brunswick earned a game-point attempt after a kill by Kvidahl made it 24-23, but Midura's kill tied the score. An East Brunswick error made it 25-24 in favor of the Falcons, and Rossiter had a dig that Midura converted into a kill for the game-winner.
"We served tough, and their passing broke down,'' Rossiter said. "And Marcin was a monster in this match.''
East Brunswick had beaten St. Joes in the first match of the year, on April 1, for the Falcons' only loss.
"The way we started tonight, the same thing happened in the first match this year, they beat us because we had a rough stretch and we lost focus,'' said setter Steve Brandenburg. "We kind of turned on each other. This time, we knew we had what it takes to come back, and we just put it into action.''
The poor performance was a tough way to end the season for the Bears, who were the defending state champions.
"We were playing great, then we just lost the momentum,'' said senior Christian Portera. "I don't mind losing to them - they're a great team - but I still think we can play better than we did. We just lost this one ourselves.''
SOUTH BRUNSWICK - Falling behind by 6 points once, and 7 points later, in the first game couldn't stop St. Josephs from winning its 42nd straight match and the NJSIAA South championship on Tuesday.
The Falcons trailed 8-2 and and 16-9 in the first game against East Brunswick, but came back to win 26-24. The second game was anti-climatic as the Bears made numerous errors and St. Joes won 25-18. They'll face NJSIAA North section winner St. Peter's Prep for the overall state championship on Thursday.
"That first game, that was exactly what this season has been about for our team,'' said libero Eddie Rossiter. "We were down 7 points, but not once did I think we were going to lose. We have so much faith in each other. Our passing wasn't there in the beginning, and they were fired up. But once we started passing, everything clicked.''
After setter Andy Balint's ace gave East Brunswick a 16-9 lead, the Falcons took control, with tough serves by Danny Vaccariello disrupting the Bears' offense. A service error made it 16-10, then Bobby O'Grady had a block. Three straight East Brunswick errors made it 16-14, then Marcin Midura had a kill to make it 16-15. East Brunswick finally sided out with a kill by Mike Kvidahl, but the Falcons had the momentum.
They took their first lead, 22-21, on a kill on a 10-ball by Midura. East Brunswick earned a game-point attempt after a kill by Kvidahl made it 24-23, but Midura's kill tied the score. An East Brunswick error made it 25-24 in favor of the Falcons, and Rossiter had a dig that Midura converted into a kill for the game-winner.
"We served tough, and their passing broke down,'' Rossiter said. "And Marcin was a monster in this match.''
East Brunswick had beaten St. Joes in the first match of the year, on April 1, for the Falcons' only loss.
"The way we started tonight, the same thing happened in the first match this year, they beat us because we had a rough stretch and we lost focus,'' said setter Steve Brandenburg. "We kind of turned on each other. This time, we knew we had what it takes to come back, and we just put it into action.''
The poor performance was a tough way to end the season for the Bears, who were the defending state champions.
"We were playing great, then we just lost the momentum,'' said senior Christian Portera. "I don't mind losing to them - they're a great team - but I still think we can play better than we did. We just lost this one ourselves.''
St. Peters wins North crown
By Fred Siegle
SOUTH BRUNSWICK - St. Peter's Prep is getting used to playing, and winning, at South Brunswick High School.
The Marauders repeated as NJSIAA North Section champions on Tuesday, beat Vernon 25-22, 25-19 in the championship game, and earning them a chance to win the overall state title when they face St. Josephs on Thursday.
"We weren't near as nervous as last year (when they beat Bayonne in the North final before losing to East Brunswick), one of our players threw up before that match,'' said senior Al Yasneski. "We didn't have anything like that this year. We spent the whole season getting ready for this game, and we were ready.''
"Having been in this game last year, that definitely helped tonight,'' said senior Jake Blicharz. "That's probably a part of why we won ... they (Vernon) were ready, but experience definitely matters. There's a big crowd, your season is on the line, and having already been through that helps. We had that.''
After the close first game, St. Peters went ahead 12-7 on a rotation call against Vernon in the second game, and the Vikings were never able to close the gap to under four. An ace by Austin Both got Vernon to 19-15, but after a timeout, Blicharz had a kill to make it 20-15. Yasneski teamed with middle Miles McCann for a block for the match winning point.
Blicharz finished with 8 kills, 16 assists, 4 digs, and 3 blocks, while McCann had 8 blocks, 6 kills and an ace. Yasneski contributed 8 kills and 4 digs, while Peter Jimenez had 3 kills, 2 blocks, 6 digs and an ace and Jeremy Bonafe 11 assists and an ace.
"We were able to just pull it out tonight,'' Yasneski said. "The first game, their blocking was effecting us, but we pulled through. We neutralized (middle Tom) Burke pretty well for the whole match. And in the second game, our passing was good, so we were swinging.''
"The key for us was that we stuck together,'' Blicharz said. "There was no negativity on the court. I think if everybody stays positive, and we just take one point at a time, we have a chance against any team. Thursday's game is going to be tough, real tough, but we feel we have a chance.''
Kyle Washburn and Miles Eustace each had 6 kills for Vernon, which finished 26-2 and had earned it's first-ever spot in the final four by beating Bayonne last Friday. Burke had 4 kills and 2 blocks, and setter James Gibson had 2 kills and 15 assists.
"I have no complaints,'' coach Jeff DeYoung said. "We could have played a little better, our serve-receive was definitely off a little. There were 100 other teams that would have loved to have been here, but it was us.''
SOUTH BRUNSWICK - St. Peter's Prep is getting used to playing, and winning, at South Brunswick High School.
The Marauders repeated as NJSIAA North Section champions on Tuesday, beat Vernon 25-22, 25-19 in the championship game, and earning them a chance to win the overall state title when they face St. Josephs on Thursday.
"We weren't near as nervous as last year (when they beat Bayonne in the North final before losing to East Brunswick), one of our players threw up before that match,'' said senior Al Yasneski. "We didn't have anything like that this year. We spent the whole season getting ready for this game, and we were ready.''
"Having been in this game last year, that definitely helped tonight,'' said senior Jake Blicharz. "That's probably a part of why we won ... they (Vernon) were ready, but experience definitely matters. There's a big crowd, your season is on the line, and having already been through that helps. We had that.''
After the close first game, St. Peters went ahead 12-7 on a rotation call against Vernon in the second game, and the Vikings were never able to close the gap to under four. An ace by Austin Both got Vernon to 19-15, but after a timeout, Blicharz had a kill to make it 20-15. Yasneski teamed with middle Miles McCann for a block for the match winning point.
Blicharz finished with 8 kills, 16 assists, 4 digs, and 3 blocks, while McCann had 8 blocks, 6 kills and an ace. Yasneski contributed 8 kills and 4 digs, while Peter Jimenez had 3 kills, 2 blocks, 6 digs and an ace and Jeremy Bonafe 11 assists and an ace.
"We were able to just pull it out tonight,'' Yasneski said. "The first game, their blocking was effecting us, but we pulled through. We neutralized (middle Tom) Burke pretty well for the whole match. And in the second game, our passing was good, so we were swinging.''
"The key for us was that we stuck together,'' Blicharz said. "There was no negativity on the court. I think if everybody stays positive, and we just take one point at a time, we have a chance against any team. Thursday's game is going to be tough, real tough, but we feel we have a chance.''
Kyle Washburn and Miles Eustace each had 6 kills for Vernon, which finished 26-2 and had earned it's first-ever spot in the final four by beating Bayonne last Friday. Burke had 4 kills and 2 blocks, and setter James Gibson had 2 kills and 15 assists.
"I have no complaints,'' coach Jeff DeYoung said. "We could have played a little better, our serve-receive was definitely off a little. There were 100 other teams that would have loved to have been here, but it was us.''
Friday, May 30, 2008
East Brunswick reaches Final Four
By Fred Siegle
EAST BRUNSWICK - The defending state champions are back in the Final Four.
No. 2 seed East Brunswick beat No. 3 Southern, 26-24, 25-19 on Friday in the NJSIAA Central South section semifinals to earn a spot in the Final Four at South Brunswick High School next Tuesday. They'll play No. 1 seed St. Joseph's in the South/Central final, while North top seed St. Peters plays No. 3 Vernon in the other match.
The Bears were at their best in earning their way to the Final Four.
"This was our best game all year,'' said senior outside hitter Greg Zegarek. "They pushed us, and we answered. We're excited to get another chance to play St. Joes on Tuesday.''
Southern had leads in both games, going up by three points three different times, 13-10, 14-11, and 19-16, in the first game. But when the Rams had a swing with a chance to go up 20-16, Brian Murphy and Rohan Patel combined for a block to get East Brunswick the point. The Bears later tied it at 21-21 on a combined block by Christian Portera and Mike Kvidahl.
Zegarek had a dig that Portera converted into a point with a kill to give East Brunswick a 22-21 lead, then Portera had a block to make it 23-21. The game ended on a combined block by Patel and Murphy.
"Christian and Rohan dominated the middle,'' Zegarek said. "Our defense, with Ryan (Norland) at libero and us getting digs, and with the blocking, was very good. In this match, we were able to supplement our offense, which is always good, with strong defense.''
Southern's Rob Kraft went on a blocking run for 4 straight points early in the first game, giving the Rams a 10-6 lead. But East Brunswick battled right back with a kill by Kvidahl, an error by Southern, and a combined block by Patel and Kvidahl.
After a kill by Eric Sharkey tied the score at 16-16, East Brunswick took the lead for good on a kill by Portera and a block by Zegarek and Portera. After Ken Connolly blasted the ball through a triple block for Southern's last point (23-19), Zegarek made a diving save that was converted into a kill by Kvidahl for the 24th point, and setter Andy Balint served an ace to end the match.
"They (East Brunswick) played a great game,'' Southern coach Eric Maxwell said. "They kept some balls alive where I was sure they'd hit the floor. We had some leads in both games, but they were able to stop us from going on scoring streaks.''
East Brunswick had shifted its lineup before the the match, moving Murphy to right side and Kvidahl to left, and the players felt it contributed to the strong effort.
"It's like fitting together the pieces of a puzzle, and I think we've got it together now,'' Murphy said. "We have all these good players, we just have to arrange everyone the right way. My defense is just naturally best from right side, and we can get the ball to Mike easier with him on the left.''
Kvidahl finished with 13 kills and Portera had 9 for the Bears and Zegarek had 4 kills and 10 digs. James Mancini and Sharkey each had 5 kills for Southern.
"I love playing Southern,'' Zegarek said. "They bring a lot of fans to the games, they're a tough team to play. In both games, we were down by a few points, and we were able to fight back.''
"I'm disappointed, but not angry,'' Maxwell said. "I guess their best game is a little better then our best game. They were ready today. The credit goes to them for being ready to play their best.''
EAST BRUNSWICK - The defending state champions are back in the Final Four.
No. 2 seed East Brunswick beat No. 3 Southern, 26-24, 25-19 on Friday in the NJSIAA Central South section semifinals to earn a spot in the Final Four at South Brunswick High School next Tuesday. They'll play No. 1 seed St. Joseph's in the South/Central final, while North top seed St. Peters plays No. 3 Vernon in the other match.
The Bears were at their best in earning their way to the Final Four.
"This was our best game all year,'' said senior outside hitter Greg Zegarek. "They pushed us, and we answered. We're excited to get another chance to play St. Joes on Tuesday.''
Southern had leads in both games, going up by three points three different times, 13-10, 14-11, and 19-16, in the first game. But when the Rams had a swing with a chance to go up 20-16, Brian Murphy and Rohan Patel combined for a block to get East Brunswick the point. The Bears later tied it at 21-21 on a combined block by Christian Portera and Mike Kvidahl.
Zegarek had a dig that Portera converted into a point with a kill to give East Brunswick a 22-21 lead, then Portera had a block to make it 23-21. The game ended on a combined block by Patel and Murphy.
"Christian and Rohan dominated the middle,'' Zegarek said. "Our defense, with Ryan (Norland) at libero and us getting digs, and with the blocking, was very good. In this match, we were able to supplement our offense, which is always good, with strong defense.''
Southern's Rob Kraft went on a blocking run for 4 straight points early in the first game, giving the Rams a 10-6 lead. But East Brunswick battled right back with a kill by Kvidahl, an error by Southern, and a combined block by Patel and Kvidahl.
After a kill by Eric Sharkey tied the score at 16-16, East Brunswick took the lead for good on a kill by Portera and a block by Zegarek and Portera. After Ken Connolly blasted the ball through a triple block for Southern's last point (23-19), Zegarek made a diving save that was converted into a kill by Kvidahl for the 24th point, and setter Andy Balint served an ace to end the match.
"They (East Brunswick) played a great game,'' Southern coach Eric Maxwell said. "They kept some balls alive where I was sure they'd hit the floor. We had some leads in both games, but they were able to stop us from going on scoring streaks.''
East Brunswick had shifted its lineup before the the match, moving Murphy to right side and Kvidahl to left, and the players felt it contributed to the strong effort.
"It's like fitting together the pieces of a puzzle, and I think we've got it together now,'' Murphy said. "We have all these good players, we just have to arrange everyone the right way. My defense is just naturally best from right side, and we can get the ball to Mike easier with him on the left.''
Kvidahl finished with 13 kills and Portera had 9 for the Bears and Zegarek had 4 kills and 10 digs. James Mancini and Sharkey each had 5 kills for Southern.
"I love playing Southern,'' Zegarek said. "They bring a lot of fans to the games, they're a tough team to play. In both games, we were down by a few points, and we were able to fight back.''
"I'm disappointed, but not angry,'' Maxwell said. "I guess their best game is a little better then our best game. They were ready today. The credit goes to them for being ready to play their best.''
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Bayonne gets past Clifton
by Carlo Edra
BAYONNE - With Coco Ostorga, Bayonne High School's starting setter out with a stomach virus, the second seeded Bees were at risk of an early exit. Back-up setter Nick Stanlaw more than made up for Ostorga's absence and led Bayonne with a 25-18, 25-16 victory over the 7th seeded Clifton in the New Jersey North Sectional Quarterfinals on Wednesday. Stanlaw spread the ball beautifully and provided the Bees with 21 assists and 2 aces.
Game one started out "ALL GUNS BLAZING". Both teams traded points until the game was tied 10-10, then the turning point. Bayonne was able to sideout making the score 11-10 before Sophomore opposite Richie Boyle exploded on the net. He provided Bayonne with their 12th point on an assisted block, forced a Clifton hitting error by smothering the hitter for the 13th point, and finally finishing a 4 point run with a solo block for Bayonne's 14th point. Throughout the run, the crowd and the team errupted and gave the Bees tons of momentum. Bayonne showed multiple options on offense and pinpoint serving causing Clifton's serve receive to breakdown and make their offense rely soley on an outside attack. These keys were the reason Bayonne wins game one 25-18.
Game two saw Bayonne carry on their play from the previous game by bursting out to a 7-1 lead. In this run, the Bees notched 2 aces and forced multiple passing errors causing free-ball after free-ball that they were able to easily transition for kills. Clifton unable to overcome their passing seemed like they had already given up. They completely lost the fire that was very apparent at the beginning of the match. Bayonne cruises to win game two 25-16.
The Clifton High School Mustangs finish their season with a record of 25-6. In today's match they were led by Eddie Colon with 6 kills and Christian Hyra with 5 of his own.
Carlo Edra is head men's volleyball coach at New Jersey City University.
Friday, May 16, 2008
South/Central seeds and seeding committee reasoning
Here's the South/Central seeding with record, winning percentage, RPI and deciding seeding criteria (where available/applicable).
1. St. Josephs (36-1, .973, 9.53); all criteria.
2. East Brunswick (23-3, .885, 6.78); strength of schedule (win over top seed).
3. Southern (22-4, .846, 7.64); head to head win over CBA.
4. CBA (18-4, .818, 4.00); strength of schedule.
5. West Windsor-Plainsboro South (15-3, .833, 5.33); Head to head win over Cinnaminson.
6. Cinnaminson (19-2, .905, 3.37); Head to head over Eastern.
7. Eastern (16-6, .727, 5.38); head to head, strength of schedule.
8. Washington Township (14-3, .824, 3.29); head to head over Williamstown.
9. Williamstown (13-11, .542, 4.46); head to head win over Old Bridge.
10. Old Bridge (18-9, .667, 4.56); strength of schedule (all teams that beat them are seeded ahead of them).
11. Howell (16-4, .800, 3.13); head to head wins over Colts Neck.
12. Colts Neck (17-5, .773, 1.76); strength of schedule (win over No. 4 seed).
13. Collingswood (12-4, .750, 2.67); strength of schedule (win over No. 8 seed.)
14. Cherry Hill West (13-10, .565, 3.69); strength of schedule.
15. Clearview (14-6, .700, 4.86); strength of schedule (including win over No. 6 team).
16. South Brunswick (11-6, .647, 1.82); strength of schedule (including win over No. 5 team).
17. Hillsborough (16-4, .800, 2.25); loss to Hunterdon Central hurt.
18. Moorestown (16-6, .727, 3.25); head to head win over Sterling.
19. Sterling (12-12, .500, 0.83); quality win over Cherry Hill West.
20. Cherry Hill East (13-9, .591, 1.39); quality win over Clearview.
21. Hunterdon Central (13-10, .565, 1.69).
22. Toms River North (12-8, .600, 0.50); Beat Manchester.
23. Manchester Township (10-10, .500, 0.40); Beat Toms River South.
24. Toms River South (9-9, .500, 0.89); Split with Toms River North.
25. Roselle Catholic (10-6, .625, 1.60); Only team left with wins over tournament-qualifiying teams (Summit).
26. St. Augustine (11-8, .579, 0.00); winning percentage.
27. Wall (9-7, .563, 0.00); winning percentage.
28. Kingsway (7-6, .538, 0.00).
1. St. Josephs (36-1, .973, 9.53); all criteria.
2. East Brunswick (23-3, .885, 6.78); strength of schedule (win over top seed).
3. Southern (22-4, .846, 7.64); head to head win over CBA.
4. CBA (18-4, .818, 4.00); strength of schedule.
5. West Windsor-Plainsboro South (15-3, .833, 5.33); Head to head win over Cinnaminson.
6. Cinnaminson (19-2, .905, 3.37); Head to head over Eastern.
7. Eastern (16-6, .727, 5.38); head to head, strength of schedule.
8. Washington Township (14-3, .824, 3.29); head to head over Williamstown.
9. Williamstown (13-11, .542, 4.46); head to head win over Old Bridge.
10. Old Bridge (18-9, .667, 4.56); strength of schedule (all teams that beat them are seeded ahead of them).
11. Howell (16-4, .800, 3.13); head to head wins over Colts Neck.
12. Colts Neck (17-5, .773, 1.76); strength of schedule (win over No. 4 seed).
13. Collingswood (12-4, .750, 2.67); strength of schedule (win over No. 8 seed.)
14. Cherry Hill West (13-10, .565, 3.69); strength of schedule.
15. Clearview (14-6, .700, 4.86); strength of schedule (including win over No. 6 team).
16. South Brunswick (11-6, .647, 1.82); strength of schedule (including win over No. 5 team).
17. Hillsborough (16-4, .800, 2.25); loss to Hunterdon Central hurt.
18. Moorestown (16-6, .727, 3.25); head to head win over Sterling.
19. Sterling (12-12, .500, 0.83); quality win over Cherry Hill West.
20. Cherry Hill East (13-9, .591, 1.39); quality win over Clearview.
21. Hunterdon Central (13-10, .565, 1.69).
22. Toms River North (12-8, .600, 0.50); Beat Manchester.
23. Manchester Township (10-10, .500, 0.40); Beat Toms River South.
24. Toms River South (9-9, .500, 0.89); Split with Toms River North.
25. Roselle Catholic (10-6, .625, 1.60); Only team left with wins over tournament-qualifiying teams (Summit).
26. St. Augustine (11-8, .579, 0.00); winning percentage.
27. Wall (9-7, .563, 0.00); winning percentage.
28. Kingsway (7-6, .538, 0.00).
North seeds and seeding committee reasoning
Here's the North seeding with record, winning percentage, RPI and deciding seeding criteria (where available/applicable).
1. St. Peter's Prep (25-5, .833, 5.12); strength of schedule over Bayonne (victory over higher-ranked team, East Brunswick).
2. Bayonne (25-5, .833, 5.52); head to head victory over Don Bosco, RPI, strength of schedule over Vernon.
3. Vernon (20-1, .952, 4.60); strength of schedule (wins over 5 and 6 seeds, compared to Don Bosco's wins over 7 and 9).
4. Don Bosco Prep (19-3, .864, 4.95); RPI, winners of league.
5. Wayne Hills (14-3, .824, 4.43); RPI, strength of schedule over Livingston.
6. Livingston (19-2, .905, 4.00); strength of schedule over Clifton.
7. Clifton (21-5, .808, 4.29); RPI over Fair Lawn.
8. Fair Lawn (13-8, .619, 3.08); RPI? Strength of schedule.
9. Bloomfield (21-4, .840, 3.43); Head to head over Belleville.
10. Belleville (21-7, .750, 3.24); strength of schedule, RPI.
11. Memorial, West N.Y. (20-5, .800, 2.60); strength of schedule.
12. Passaic Valley (12-7, .632, 2.50); Wins over 5, 8 seeds.
13. Wayne Valley (13-6, .684, 2.46); Strength of schedule.
14. Lakeland (12-7, .632, 3.83); RPI, strength of schedule.
15. Newark Eastside (15-8, .652, 1.87); Strength of schedule (win over Livingston).
16. Union Hill (17-6, .739, 0.59); Strength of schedule.
17. Bergen Tech (12-8, .600, 0.17); Head to head over Hackensack.
18. Hackensack (10-9, .526, 2.00); RPI.
19. North Bergen (14-12, .538, 0.14); strength of schedule.
20. McNair Academy (13-11, .542, 0.15); RPI.
21. East Orange Campus (13-5, .722, 0.00) strength of schedule.
22. Wallington (12-4, .750, 0.00); strength of schedule.
23. Summit (7-5, .583, 0.00).
1. St. Peter's Prep (25-5, .833, 5.12); strength of schedule over Bayonne (victory over higher-ranked team, East Brunswick).
2. Bayonne (25-5, .833, 5.52); head to head victory over Don Bosco, RPI, strength of schedule over Vernon.
3. Vernon (20-1, .952, 4.60); strength of schedule (wins over 5 and 6 seeds, compared to Don Bosco's wins over 7 and 9).
4. Don Bosco Prep (19-3, .864, 4.95); RPI, winners of league.
5. Wayne Hills (14-3, .824, 4.43); RPI, strength of schedule over Livingston.
6. Livingston (19-2, .905, 4.00); strength of schedule over Clifton.
7. Clifton (21-5, .808, 4.29); RPI over Fair Lawn.
8. Fair Lawn (13-8, .619, 3.08); RPI? Strength of schedule.
9. Bloomfield (21-4, .840, 3.43); Head to head over Belleville.
10. Belleville (21-7, .750, 3.24); strength of schedule, RPI.
11. Memorial, West N.Y. (20-5, .800, 2.60); strength of schedule.
12. Passaic Valley (12-7, .632, 2.50); Wins over 5, 8 seeds.
13. Wayne Valley (13-6, .684, 2.46); Strength of schedule.
14. Lakeland (12-7, .632, 3.83); RPI, strength of schedule.
15. Newark Eastside (15-8, .652, 1.87); Strength of schedule (win over Livingston).
16. Union Hill (17-6, .739, 0.59); Strength of schedule.
17. Bergen Tech (12-8, .600, 0.17); Head to head over Hackensack.
18. Hackensack (10-9, .526, 2.00); RPI.
19. North Bergen (14-12, .538, 0.14); strength of schedule.
20. McNair Academy (13-11, .542, 0.15); RPI.
21. East Orange Campus (13-5, .722, 0.00) strength of schedule.
22. Wallington (12-4, .750, 0.00); strength of schedule.
23. Summit (7-5, .583, 0.00).
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Passaic County Tech wins tournament
By Fred Siegle
DENVILLE - After a first-game loss, Passaic County Tech went on a roll and cruised to the title on Tuesday in the New Jersey Technical School Tournament.
The Bulldogs lost their first game at the event, 15-9 to Pennsauken Tech. But they rebounded with a 15-6 victory, then went 6-0 in pool play for the rest of the day. They beat North 13th Street in the semifinals, then rolled past Pennsauken Tech, 25-13, in the final.
"We wanted to come here and win, we felt like we had to step up,'' said senior Manny Alvarez, who led the Bulldogs with 10 kills in the final game and was named to the all-tournament team. "I tried to be more aggressive today.''
Tournament MVP Louis Granizo had 2 kills and a block for Passaic Tech in the final, while Shamarr Jacobs had 2 kills, a block and an ace, and setter Jorge Castriolo had 3 aces.
The Bulldogs are 5-14 so far in only their second year as a program. They play a tough schedule that includes two matches each against Wayne Hills, Wayne Valley, Lakeland and Vernon.
"We're playing all these good schools, and we're close against all of them,'' coach Allan Zudick said. "We just can't get over the top. This was a great day for us, we get to bring home some hardware. I'm really pleased, these kids have all worked hard, they put in a lot of time and effort, I couldn't be happier that they won this.''
Passaic Tech was the top seed in the playoffs after compiling their 7-1 record in pool play. North 13th Street and Pennsauken Tech tied for second in pool play with 5-3 records and met in the semifinals. Camden Tech finished fourth in pool play and beat No. 5 Gloucester County Tech in the opening round of the playoffs, then lost to Passaic Tech in the semifinals.
"There was a little pressure on us to do well after winning pool play,'' said Alvarez, who will play for Ramapo next year. "But as soon as we started, we just played our game and relaxed.''
Keenan Bailey had 2 blocks and Darius Lofland and Walter Moore each had 1 for Pennsauken Tech in the final. Lofland was named to the all-tournament team.
"We did well today,'' coach Rhonda Ritz said. "We handled that team pretty well in the first round robin game, I thought we could have been closer in the final.''
North 13th Street won the consolation game against Camden Tech to finish in third place. Jorge Garcia was the all-tournament team selection for North 13th Street.
DENVILLE - After a first-game loss, Passaic County Tech went on a roll and cruised to the title on Tuesday in the New Jersey Technical School Tournament.
The Bulldogs lost their first game at the event, 15-9 to Pennsauken Tech. But they rebounded with a 15-6 victory, then went 6-0 in pool play for the rest of the day. They beat North 13th Street in the semifinals, then rolled past Pennsauken Tech, 25-13, in the final.
"We wanted to come here and win, we felt like we had to step up,'' said senior Manny Alvarez, who led the Bulldogs with 10 kills in the final game and was named to the all-tournament team. "I tried to be more aggressive today.''
Tournament MVP Louis Granizo had 2 kills and a block for Passaic Tech in the final, while Shamarr Jacobs had 2 kills, a block and an ace, and setter Jorge Castriolo had 3 aces.
The Bulldogs are 5-14 so far in only their second year as a program. They play a tough schedule that includes two matches each against Wayne Hills, Wayne Valley, Lakeland and Vernon.
"We're playing all these good schools, and we're close against all of them,'' coach Allan Zudick said. "We just can't get over the top. This was a great day for us, we get to bring home some hardware. I'm really pleased, these kids have all worked hard, they put in a lot of time and effort, I couldn't be happier that they won this.''
Passaic Tech was the top seed in the playoffs after compiling their 7-1 record in pool play. North 13th Street and Pennsauken Tech tied for second in pool play with 5-3 records and met in the semifinals. Camden Tech finished fourth in pool play and beat No. 5 Gloucester County Tech in the opening round of the playoffs, then lost to Passaic Tech in the semifinals.
"There was a little pressure on us to do well after winning pool play,'' said Alvarez, who will play for Ramapo next year. "But as soon as we started, we just played our game and relaxed.''
Keenan Bailey had 2 blocks and Darius Lofland and Walter Moore each had 1 for Pennsauken Tech in the final. Lofland was named to the all-tournament team.
"We did well today,'' coach Rhonda Ritz said. "We handled that team pretty well in the first round robin game, I thought we could have been closer in the final.''
North 13th Street won the consolation game against Camden Tech to finish in third place. Jorge Garcia was the all-tournament team selection for North 13th Street.
Monday, May 12, 2008
New Top 10 (post Super Six)
Don't forget, the state tournament will ultimately decide the final Number One. Seeding is on Friday at NJSIAA headquarters.
1. St. Josephs. The Falcons have won 33 straight since losing to East Brunswick on opening day. They went 4-0 at the Super Six Showcase on Saturday, all relatively easy wins.
2. East Brunswick. The Bears make it an all-Middlesex top two despite faltering against St. Peters at the Super Six. They beat Bayonne, Southern and Eastern there, though, going 3-1.
3. Bayonne. The Bees beat St. Peter's Prep in their most recent meeting, and also beat Southern and Eastern at the Super Six.
4. St. Peters. Prep went 3-1 at the Super Six, including a 3-game victory over East Brunswick.
5. Southern. The Rams won their final match at the Super Six, beating St. Peter's Prep, to keep the day from being a total washout.
6. Don Bosco. Now 17-3, including 2 victories over Clifton.
7. CBA. The Colts move back up after beating Old Bridge and Cherry Hill West in a quad match at St. Joes on May 8.
8. Old Bridge. The Knights had a tough week, losing on Thursday to CBA and on Saturday to Williamstown, but they also handed Vernon its only loss in the quad on Saturday. They also have quality wins over South Brunswick.
9. Vernon. Still one of the top teams in the north despite the loss to Old Bridge on Saturday. Beat Williamstown and Sterling in that quad. Have two wins over Wayne Hills.
10. Cinnaminson. Improved to 19-2 as they beat Eastern on Monday, giving them the right to say they are the top team in the Olympic Conference.
Teams to watch: Livingston, Clearview, West Windsor South, Wayne Hills, South Brunswick, Hillsborough, Eastern, Colts Neck, Howell.
1. St. Josephs. The Falcons have won 33 straight since losing to East Brunswick on opening day. They went 4-0 at the Super Six Showcase on Saturday, all relatively easy wins.
2. East Brunswick. The Bears make it an all-Middlesex top two despite faltering against St. Peters at the Super Six. They beat Bayonne, Southern and Eastern there, though, going 3-1.
3. Bayonne. The Bees beat St. Peter's Prep in their most recent meeting, and also beat Southern and Eastern at the Super Six.
4. St. Peters. Prep went 3-1 at the Super Six, including a 3-game victory over East Brunswick.
5. Southern. The Rams won their final match at the Super Six, beating St. Peter's Prep, to keep the day from being a total washout.
6. Don Bosco. Now 17-3, including 2 victories over Clifton.
7. CBA. The Colts move back up after beating Old Bridge and Cherry Hill West in a quad match at St. Joes on May 8.
8. Old Bridge. The Knights had a tough week, losing on Thursday to CBA and on Saturday to Williamstown, but they also handed Vernon its only loss in the quad on Saturday. They also have quality wins over South Brunswick.
9. Vernon. Still one of the top teams in the north despite the loss to Old Bridge on Saturday. Beat Williamstown and Sterling in that quad. Have two wins over Wayne Hills.
10. Cinnaminson. Improved to 19-2 as they beat Eastern on Monday, giving them the right to say they are the top team in the Olympic Conference.
Teams to watch: Livingston, Clearview, West Windsor South, Wayne Hills, South Brunswick, Hillsborough, Eastern, Colts Neck, Howell.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
St. Joes is SUPER
By Fred Siegle
METUCHEN - There is St. Josephs, and then there is everybody else.
That's what the results at the Super Six Showcase showed on Saturday. The Falcons, now 33-1 and and on a 33-match winning streak, won four matches against some of the top teams in the state with relative ease. East Brunswick, their main rival, faltered a bit against the same competition and went 3-1, losing to St. Peter's Prep, and going to 3 games against Eastern and Bayonne. St. Peter's also went 3-1, losing to Southern. Bayonne went 2-2, beating Southern and Eastern. Southern went 1-3, salvaging a tough day with a last-match victory over St. Peter's, and Eastern went 0-4, going to 3 games against East Brunswick and St. Peter's Prep.
St. Joes, No. 1 in the PowerZonevb.com state rankings, beat No. 2 Southern 25-13, 25-18, No. 4 St. Peter's 25-17, 25-15, No. 5 Bayonne 25-16, 25-16, and No. 9 Eastern 25-11, 25-20. Marcin Midura led the way with 39 kills in the four matches, while Paul Konopacki contributed 22.
The Falcon's season-opening loss to East Brunswick is now a distant memory - to everyone but the players on the team.
"That loss was good for us, in a way, because we learned from it,'' said senior libero Eddie Rossiter, who's highlights included 15 digs against Southern and 13 against Eastern. "We know not to take anything for granted.''
Now that the Super Six is over, the Falcons are setting their sites on the two upcoming postseason tournaments. They'll likely meet East Brunswick again (they've split two meetings, the season-opener won by the Bears, and last week in their regular-season rematch that St. Joes won) in the Greater Middlesex County Tournament, and could meet their county rivals again in the state tournament.
And while their main state tournament rivals, East Brunswick and Southern, have faltered a bit, the Falcons are cruising along.
"Right now, everything is clicking for us,'' Rossiter said. "We're serving aggressively, our defense is improving, we're hitting smarter, our team chemistry is real good. But we know we have to keep improving, the most important thing is how we're playing when we get into the tournaments.''
East Brunswick struggled a bit at the showcase, but the Bears' win over Southern gave them something to hang their hopes on and probably set them as the No. 2 seed in the South/Central section for the state tournament.
"We knew we had to beat them in order to get the playoff match at home for us,'' said Christian Portera, who had 24 kills and 11 blocks for East Brunswick in its four matches. "We had a tough start in the morning against St. Peter's, but we're not really morning players.''
Mike Kvidahl had 50 kills and 11 blocks in the four matches for East Brunswick, while setter Andy Balint had 103 assists.
Note: I'll add more when I get all the stats!
METUCHEN - There is St. Josephs, and then there is everybody else.
That's what the results at the Super Six Showcase showed on Saturday. The Falcons, now 33-1 and and on a 33-match winning streak, won four matches against some of the top teams in the state with relative ease. East Brunswick, their main rival, faltered a bit against the same competition and went 3-1, losing to St. Peter's Prep, and going to 3 games against Eastern and Bayonne. St. Peter's also went 3-1, losing to Southern. Bayonne went 2-2, beating Southern and Eastern. Southern went 1-3, salvaging a tough day with a last-match victory over St. Peter's, and Eastern went 0-4, going to 3 games against East Brunswick and St. Peter's Prep.
St. Joes, No. 1 in the PowerZonevb.com state rankings, beat No. 2 Southern 25-13, 25-18, No. 4 St. Peter's 25-17, 25-15, No. 5 Bayonne 25-16, 25-16, and No. 9 Eastern 25-11, 25-20. Marcin Midura led the way with 39 kills in the four matches, while Paul Konopacki contributed 22.
The Falcon's season-opening loss to East Brunswick is now a distant memory - to everyone but the players on the team.
"That loss was good for us, in a way, because we learned from it,'' said senior libero Eddie Rossiter, who's highlights included 15 digs against Southern and 13 against Eastern. "We know not to take anything for granted.''
Now that the Super Six is over, the Falcons are setting their sites on the two upcoming postseason tournaments. They'll likely meet East Brunswick again (they've split two meetings, the season-opener won by the Bears, and last week in their regular-season rematch that St. Joes won) in the Greater Middlesex County Tournament, and could meet their county rivals again in the state tournament.
And while their main state tournament rivals, East Brunswick and Southern, have faltered a bit, the Falcons are cruising along.
"Right now, everything is clicking for us,'' Rossiter said. "We're serving aggressively, our defense is improving, we're hitting smarter, our team chemistry is real good. But we know we have to keep improving, the most important thing is how we're playing when we get into the tournaments.''
East Brunswick struggled a bit at the showcase, but the Bears' win over Southern gave them something to hang their hopes on and probably set them as the No. 2 seed in the South/Central section for the state tournament.
"We knew we had to beat them in order to get the playoff match at home for us,'' said Christian Portera, who had 24 kills and 11 blocks for East Brunswick in its four matches. "We had a tough start in the morning against St. Peter's, but we're not really morning players.''
Mike Kvidahl had 50 kills and 11 blocks in the four matches for East Brunswick, while setter Andy Balint had 103 assists.
Note: I'll add more when I get all the stats!
Monday, May 5, 2008
Bayonne defeats St. Peters
By Fred Siegle
BAYONNE - Who's the top team in Hudson County, and maybe all of North Jersey? We'll have to wait until tournament time to find out.
Bayonne, No. 5 in the PowerZonevb.com state rankings, beat No. 4 St. Peters, 25-19, 16-25, 25-19, on Monday to even their season series at 1-1. They're likely to meet again in the county tournament final, and also could meet again somewhere in the NJSIAA North Jersey section playoffs.
"If we didn't win this one, they would have had too much of the upper hand for the championship games,'' said Bayonne's Danny Kochanski, anticipating that the two teams would meet again in both the county and North Jersey tournament finals, the same as last year. (Bayonne won the county title, St. Peter's won the North Jersey crown.)
"It's not necessarily a bad thing that we lost today, as long as it gives us more fire for the county tournament,'' said St. Peter's Al Yasneski. "I think we came in overconfident today.''
Senior Kochanski led Bayonne with 12 kills and 6 blocks, while junior Patryk Rujznica had 7 kills and 5 blocks. Senior Krys Bogdan had 5 kills and junior Mike Kucza had 5 kills, 3 aces, and 10 digs. Setter Nick Stanlaw had 23 assists.
The Bees survived a scare in the third game when senior right side Coco Ostorga had to leave the game after turning his ankle. But sophomore Rich Boyle filled his spot for several plays while he got his ankle taped, and Bayonne led when Ostorga returned.
"I rolled the ankle when I landed on Peter's (Jimenez, of St. Peter's), foot,'' Ostorga said. "But Rich really stepped up. Our team still played well, they didn't let it effect them. Our young players stepped up today, all Krys, Danny and I had to do was play our game. Pat and Mike both had good games.''
Yasneski led St. Peters with 14 kills and 12 digs, while Jake Blicharz had 13 kills and 16 assists and Miles McCann contributed 10 kills.
"We really didn't pass the ball well, we never really got Miles going,'' Yasneski said. "We didn't block well either, all their kills were tools off the block. Today really wasn't our best, but we still took them to three games, so I guess that was good.''
A key point in the third game came when a Bayonne player shanked a pass toward the wall alongside the court, but Kucza chased it down and bumped it back to the court, where libero Kevin "Pookie'' Muranda bumped the ball deep to St. Peter's side, and the Marauders misplayed it to give the Bees the point and a 20-16 lead.
"Plays like that went against us, plus we just didn't play smart,'' Yasneski said. "Even our free-ball passing was off.''
Both teams will now prepare to play against the top teams from around the state this Saturday at the St. Joes Super Six Showcase. Both teams will play No.1 St. Joseph's, No. 2 Southern, No. 3 East Brunswick, and No. 9 Eastern there.
"We've got a couple practices this week and we really have to use them to focus on those games,'' Yasneski said.
"We're just going to go in there and show that we're one of the best teams,'' Kochanski said.
BAYONNE - Who's the top team in Hudson County, and maybe all of North Jersey? We'll have to wait until tournament time to find out.
Bayonne, No. 5 in the PowerZonevb.com state rankings, beat No. 4 St. Peters, 25-19, 16-25, 25-19, on Monday to even their season series at 1-1. They're likely to meet again in the county tournament final, and also could meet again somewhere in the NJSIAA North Jersey section playoffs.
"If we didn't win this one, they would have had too much of the upper hand for the championship games,'' said Bayonne's Danny Kochanski, anticipating that the two teams would meet again in both the county and North Jersey tournament finals, the same as last year. (Bayonne won the county title, St. Peter's won the North Jersey crown.)
"It's not necessarily a bad thing that we lost today, as long as it gives us more fire for the county tournament,'' said St. Peter's Al Yasneski. "I think we came in overconfident today.''
Senior Kochanski led Bayonne with 12 kills and 6 blocks, while junior Patryk Rujznica had 7 kills and 5 blocks. Senior Krys Bogdan had 5 kills and junior Mike Kucza had 5 kills, 3 aces, and 10 digs. Setter Nick Stanlaw had 23 assists.
The Bees survived a scare in the third game when senior right side Coco Ostorga had to leave the game after turning his ankle. But sophomore Rich Boyle filled his spot for several plays while he got his ankle taped, and Bayonne led when Ostorga returned.
"I rolled the ankle when I landed on Peter's (Jimenez, of St. Peter's), foot,'' Ostorga said. "But Rich really stepped up. Our team still played well, they didn't let it effect them. Our young players stepped up today, all Krys, Danny and I had to do was play our game. Pat and Mike both had good games.''
Yasneski led St. Peters with 14 kills and 12 digs, while Jake Blicharz had 13 kills and 16 assists and Miles McCann contributed 10 kills.
"We really didn't pass the ball well, we never really got Miles going,'' Yasneski said. "We didn't block well either, all their kills were tools off the block. Today really wasn't our best, but we still took them to three games, so I guess that was good.''
A key point in the third game came when a Bayonne player shanked a pass toward the wall alongside the court, but Kucza chased it down and bumped it back to the court, where libero Kevin "Pookie'' Muranda bumped the ball deep to St. Peter's side, and the Marauders misplayed it to give the Bees the point and a 20-16 lead.
"Plays like that went against us, plus we just didn't play smart,'' Yasneski said. "Even our free-ball passing was off.''
Both teams will now prepare to play against the top teams from around the state this Saturday at the St. Joes Super Six Showcase. Both teams will play No.1 St. Joseph's, No. 2 Southern, No. 3 East Brunswick, and No. 9 Eastern there.
"We've got a couple practices this week and we really have to use them to focus on those games,'' Yasneski said.
"We're just going to go in there and show that we're one of the best teams,'' Kochanski said.
Thursday, May 1, 2008
St. Joseph's wins rematch with EB
By Fred Siegle
METUCHEN - A month later, and a different outcome.
St. Joseph's, which lost to East Brunswick on April 1, the opening day of the 2008 boys volleyball season, turned the tables on their Greater Middlesex Conference rival on Thursday (May 1). The Falcons, ranked No. 1 in the PowerZonevb.com state Top 10, beat the No. 3 Bears 25-22, 25-21 in a night-time game that drew a huge crowd, filling the bleachers in the Falcons' gym.
St. Joes is now 24-1, having played an ambitious schedule that has included nearly every team in the top 10, plus a quality tournament in Pennsylvania.
""For the past month we've been thinking about this match,'' said libero Eddie Rossiter. "Every practice has been to get ready for this, after every game, we look at it and say "did we play good enough that we would have beaten East Brunswick?''''
St. Joe's serve receive, led by Rossiter, was a key factor in the match. The passing was near perfect, enabling setter Steve Brandenburg (23 assists) to use the team's full offensive arsenal. Middle Paul Konopacki was nearly unstoppable and led the Falcons with 11 kills. Right side Marcin Midura had 10 kills.
After the score was tied 6-6 in the first game, St. Joe's passing in serve receive enabled the Falcons to side out consistently. East Brunswick served 38 times after that, and the Falcons sided out 27 times. (Side note: under the former sideout scoring method, the scores of the games would have been 12-7, 9-7.)
That included a back 31 to Konopacki that worked several times.
"We started working on that in practice, and we still don't have it down completely,'' Konopacki said. "It's supposed to be like a shoot, and it's not there yet. But I felt unstoppable tonight.''
"We're going to try to do that every time in that rotation (where Konopacki is in the front right),'' Brandenburg said. "Paul runs the back 31, (leftside hitter) Danny (Vaccariello) runs a shoot, and that should take the other team's left side and right side out, and the middle has to commit to one or the other. Then we have Marcin hitting pipe, and I'm also in the front row. That's probably our best rotation, we really have four options.''
"Paul was a monster tonight,'' Rossiter said. "With him, we know, as long as we make a good pass, if he gets set it'll be a kill. We're totally confident when he's hitting.''
East Brunswick only had two leads in the entire match, gaining 14-13 and 15-14 edges in the first game, both times on kills by Mike Kvidahl (11 kills). But Konopacki ran the back 31 to tie the score at 15-all, and two East Brunswick errors gave St. Joes the lead for good.
"The first time we played them, we got behind a little, then fell apart, we started yelling at each other,'' Rossiter said. "This time, we kept our heads up and worked together.''
East Brunswick fell to 13-2 with the loss. The two teams could meet at least two more times this season, in the GMC and state tournaments. They'll also both be participating in the Super Six Showcase at St. Joes on May 10, but won't play each other there.
METUCHEN - A month later, and a different outcome.
St. Joseph's, which lost to East Brunswick on April 1, the opening day of the 2008 boys volleyball season, turned the tables on their Greater Middlesex Conference rival on Thursday (May 1). The Falcons, ranked No. 1 in the PowerZonevb.com state Top 10, beat the No. 3 Bears 25-22, 25-21 in a night-time game that drew a huge crowd, filling the bleachers in the Falcons' gym.
St. Joes is now 24-1, having played an ambitious schedule that has included nearly every team in the top 10, plus a quality tournament in Pennsylvania.
""For the past month we've been thinking about this match,'' said libero Eddie Rossiter. "Every practice has been to get ready for this, after every game, we look at it and say "did we play good enough that we would have beaten East Brunswick?''''
St. Joe's serve receive, led by Rossiter, was a key factor in the match. The passing was near perfect, enabling setter Steve Brandenburg (23 assists) to use the team's full offensive arsenal. Middle Paul Konopacki was nearly unstoppable and led the Falcons with 11 kills. Right side Marcin Midura had 10 kills.
After the score was tied 6-6 in the first game, St. Joe's passing in serve receive enabled the Falcons to side out consistently. East Brunswick served 38 times after that, and the Falcons sided out 27 times. (Side note: under the former sideout scoring method, the scores of the games would have been 12-7, 9-7.)
That included a back 31 to Konopacki that worked several times.
"We started working on that in practice, and we still don't have it down completely,'' Konopacki said. "It's supposed to be like a shoot, and it's not there yet. But I felt unstoppable tonight.''
"We're going to try to do that every time in that rotation (where Konopacki is in the front right),'' Brandenburg said. "Paul runs the back 31, (leftside hitter) Danny (Vaccariello) runs a shoot, and that should take the other team's left side and right side out, and the middle has to commit to one or the other. Then we have Marcin hitting pipe, and I'm also in the front row. That's probably our best rotation, we really have four options.''
"Paul was a monster tonight,'' Rossiter said. "With him, we know, as long as we make a good pass, if he gets set it'll be a kill. We're totally confident when he's hitting.''
East Brunswick only had two leads in the entire match, gaining 14-13 and 15-14 edges in the first game, both times on kills by Mike Kvidahl (11 kills). But Konopacki ran the back 31 to tie the score at 15-all, and two East Brunswick errors gave St. Joes the lead for good.
"The first time we played them, we got behind a little, then fell apart, we started yelling at each other,'' Rossiter said. "This time, we kept our heads up and worked together.''
East Brunswick fell to 13-2 with the loss. The two teams could meet at least two more times this season, in the GMC and state tournaments. They'll also both be participating in the Super Six Showcase at St. Joes on May 10, but won't play each other there.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Finally! A new top 10
1. St. Josephs. The Falcons (21-1) are past halfway to a 40-win season. Big match at home, at 7 p.m., on Thursday night against East Brunswick.
2. Southern. The Rams had a tough day Saturday at the Bears Invitational and will look to rebound at the Super Six Showcase at St. Joes on May 10.
3. East Brunswick. The Bears kept the BI Jug at their tournament on Saturday. They've been the only winner since the event started five years ago.
4. St. Peters. Won the title at the 15-team Livingston Tournament on Saturday and will compete against tough competition at the Super Six Showcase at St. Joes.
5. Bayonne. The Bees are getting ready for their second matchup with St. Peters and will also participate in the Super Six Showcase.
6. Old Bridge. The Knights have a big win over South Brunswick, which has a big win over West Windsor Plainsboro South.
7. Don Bosco. They've played a tough schedule and have a victory over Clifton.
8. Vernon. They've beaten Livingston and Wayne Hills in their climb into the top 10.
9. Eastern. The Vikings remain undefeated, with their biggest win a 26-24, 25-21 victory over Olympic Conference American Division rival Washington Township on April 23. They will be heading into the Super Six Showcase with a chance to improve their ranking.
10. CBA. The Colts rebounded from their loss to Colts Neck by beating Howell, then had a strong performance at the Bears Invitational, reaching the final.
Teams to watch: South Brunswick, Hillsborough, Wayne Hills, West Windsor South, Livingston, Cinaminson, Colts Neck.
Thanks to coaches Sweeten (Cherry Hill West) and DeYoung (Vernon) for their helpful websites (http://www.njvb.com/hs/vernon/stateres.xls, and http://www.chlive.org/ssweeten/lionvb_standings.htm)
2. Southern. The Rams had a tough day Saturday at the Bears Invitational and will look to rebound at the Super Six Showcase at St. Joes on May 10.
3. East Brunswick. The Bears kept the BI Jug at their tournament on Saturday. They've been the only winner since the event started five years ago.
4. St. Peters. Won the title at the 15-team Livingston Tournament on Saturday and will compete against tough competition at the Super Six Showcase at St. Joes.
5. Bayonne. The Bees are getting ready for their second matchup with St. Peters and will also participate in the Super Six Showcase.
6. Old Bridge. The Knights have a big win over South Brunswick, which has a big win over West Windsor Plainsboro South.
7. Don Bosco. They've played a tough schedule and have a victory over Clifton.
8. Vernon. They've beaten Livingston and Wayne Hills in their climb into the top 10.
9. Eastern. The Vikings remain undefeated, with their biggest win a 26-24, 25-21 victory over Olympic Conference American Division rival Washington Township on April 23. They will be heading into the Super Six Showcase with a chance to improve their ranking.
10. CBA. The Colts rebounded from their loss to Colts Neck by beating Howell, then had a strong performance at the Bears Invitational, reaching the final.
Teams to watch: South Brunswick, Hillsborough, Wayne Hills, West Windsor South, Livingston, Cinaminson, Colts Neck.
Thanks to coaches Sweeten (Cherry Hill West) and DeYoung (Vernon) for their helpful websites (http://www.njvb.com/hs/vernon/stateres.xls, and http://www.chlive.org/ssweeten/lionvb_standings.htm)
Saturday, April 26, 2008
East Brunswick keeps the BI jug; Saturday roundup
By Fred Siegle
EAST BRUNSWICK - If East Brunswick's volleyball players had their choice, they'd have played Southern in the final at the Bears Invitational.
They wanted a rematch with the Rams, who had beaten them in a 3-game match two weeks ago. But CBA had it's own issues to take up with Southern after its own loss to the Rams at Southern. So, after the Colts beat Southern in a one-game semifinal, East Brunswick had to refocus on a different opponent. The Bears did, earning a 25-19, 25-18 victory in the final.
"We definitely wanted to play Southern, not that we were disappointed to play CBA,'' said East Brunswick right side hitter Mike Kvidahl, who had 8 kills, 2 blocks and 2 aces in the final. "We just wanted another chance at Southern, to show how good we really are.''
East Brunswick's only match loss this year was to Southern, No. 2 in the PowerZonevb.com state rankings. East Brunswick is No. 3, while CBA is No. 8. The rankings could change when a new Top 10 is announced this week based on the results of the past two weeks.
Christian Portera had 5 kills and Rohan Patel had 3 kills and 3 blocks for the Bears, who emerged from the 6-team pool play portion of the tournament as the top seed for the playoffs.
It was a pool-play match against Southern that started East Brunswick on its roll toward the title.
"We got pumped up for the Southern games and that just carried through the playoffs and into the final,'' Kvidahl said.
East Brunswick beat Hillsborough in the semifinals after Hillsborough had won a one-game quarterfinal match against Old Bridge.
Middle Jon Rohan had 8 kills and 2 blocks for CBA in the match against East Brunswick, while Neil Slattery had 6 kills.
CBA finished second in pool play and beat Southern 25-22 in the semis, with libero Matt Coccaro leading the way with several aces and some big defensive plays. Southern was the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and beat No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan in the quarterfinals.
CBA and Southern split two games in pool play.
"We have a big rivalry with Southern, it's a lot of fun to play them,'' Coccaro said. "Our goal coming in to this tournament was to beat Southern.''
The Colts feel they've rebounded from a three-game loss to unranked Colts Neck earlier in the week.
"We're not going to let it (the loss) get to us,'' Coccaro said. "We'll just go out and play our best each time.''
"This was a great experience for us, getting to play East Brunswick, they're one of the best teams in the state,'' CBA setter Corey Fallon said. "We really played well in the playoffs. Beating Southern was big for us.''
IN OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM SATURDAY
St. Josephs, No. 1 in the state rankings, won the title at the 20-team Quakertown Invitational in Pennsylvania.
The Falcons went undefeated in pool play, then continued their winning ways through the playoffs, which included match wins in the semifinals and final.
St. Peter's Prep, No. 4 in the rankings, won the 15-team Livingston Tournament, beating Eastern in a one-game final.
EAST BRUNSWICK - If East Brunswick's volleyball players had their choice, they'd have played Southern in the final at the Bears Invitational.
They wanted a rematch with the Rams, who had beaten them in a 3-game match two weeks ago. But CBA had it's own issues to take up with Southern after its own loss to the Rams at Southern. So, after the Colts beat Southern in a one-game semifinal, East Brunswick had to refocus on a different opponent. The Bears did, earning a 25-19, 25-18 victory in the final.
"We definitely wanted to play Southern, not that we were disappointed to play CBA,'' said East Brunswick right side hitter Mike Kvidahl, who had 8 kills, 2 blocks and 2 aces in the final. "We just wanted another chance at Southern, to show how good we really are.''
East Brunswick's only match loss this year was to Southern, No. 2 in the PowerZonevb.com state rankings. East Brunswick is No. 3, while CBA is No. 8. The rankings could change when a new Top 10 is announced this week based on the results of the past two weeks.
Christian Portera had 5 kills and Rohan Patel had 3 kills and 3 blocks for the Bears, who emerged from the 6-team pool play portion of the tournament as the top seed for the playoffs.
It was a pool-play match against Southern that started East Brunswick on its roll toward the title.
"We got pumped up for the Southern games and that just carried through the playoffs and into the final,'' Kvidahl said.
East Brunswick beat Hillsborough in the semifinals after Hillsborough had won a one-game quarterfinal match against Old Bridge.
Middle Jon Rohan had 8 kills and 2 blocks for CBA in the match against East Brunswick, while Neil Slattery had 6 kills.
CBA finished second in pool play and beat Southern 25-22 in the semis, with libero Matt Coccaro leading the way with several aces and some big defensive plays. Southern was the No. 3 seed in the playoffs and beat No. 6 Bridgewater-Raritan in the quarterfinals.
CBA and Southern split two games in pool play.
"We have a big rivalry with Southern, it's a lot of fun to play them,'' Coccaro said. "Our goal coming in to this tournament was to beat Southern.''
The Colts feel they've rebounded from a three-game loss to unranked Colts Neck earlier in the week.
"We're not going to let it (the loss) get to us,'' Coccaro said. "We'll just go out and play our best each time.''
"This was a great experience for us, getting to play East Brunswick, they're one of the best teams in the state,'' CBA setter Corey Fallon said. "We really played well in the playoffs. Beating Southern was big for us.''
IN OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM SATURDAY
St. Josephs, No. 1 in the state rankings, won the title at the 20-team Quakertown Invitational in Pennsylvania.
The Falcons went undefeated in pool play, then continued their winning ways through the playoffs, which included match wins in the semifinals and final.
St. Peter's Prep, No. 4 in the rankings, won the 15-team Livingston Tournament, beating Eastern in a one-game final.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
St Peters beats Bayonne
By Fred Siegle
JERSEY CITY - St. Peters showed that it is again the team to beat in North Jersey on Tuesday, beating Hudson County rival Bayonne 25-18, 25-22 on Tuesday in the first meeting of the season between the two teams.
The Marauders, ranked No. 4 in the Powerzonevb.come rankings (and the highest ranked North Jersey team) and the Bees, ranked No. 5, will play at least one more time, at Bayonne, in the regular season, and could also meet in the Hudson County and State tournaments. Senior outside hitter Al Yesneski said its home crowd helped spur the victory.
"We had a good crowd, and I think when you play in front of fans like that, it's easy to play off the emotion,'' Yesneski said. "Plus, we had a good day Saturday (at the Bloomfield tournament, where they lost in three games in the final to No. 1 St. Josephs), and we were just trying to continue the momentum from that.
Seniors Jake Blicharz (10 kills) and Miles McCann (7) led the way in the victory. Alex Cogott had 8 digs.
''Our offense is tough to stop, especially when Jake and Miles are hitting well,'' Yesneski said.
Danny Kochanski (8 kills) and Krystof Bogdan (6) led Bayonne, while Mike Kucza had 5 kills and setter Coco Ostorga had 22 assists. The Bees were hampered by poor passing.
"We did a poor job in serve-receive,'' said coach Pat Longo. "Mentally, we just broke down. If you want to run your offense, you have to pass the ball.''
"Hopefully, we'll take this game, learn from our mistakes, and be ready for them the next time,'' Longo said.
JERSEY CITY - St. Peters showed that it is again the team to beat in North Jersey on Tuesday, beating Hudson County rival Bayonne 25-18, 25-22 on Tuesday in the first meeting of the season between the two teams.
The Marauders, ranked No. 4 in the Powerzonevb.come rankings (and the highest ranked North Jersey team) and the Bees, ranked No. 5, will play at least one more time, at Bayonne, in the regular season, and could also meet in the Hudson County and State tournaments. Senior outside hitter Al Yesneski said its home crowd helped spur the victory.
"We had a good crowd, and I think when you play in front of fans like that, it's easy to play off the emotion,'' Yesneski said. "Plus, we had a good day Saturday (at the Bloomfield tournament, where they lost in three games in the final to No. 1 St. Josephs), and we were just trying to continue the momentum from that.
Seniors Jake Blicharz (10 kills) and Miles McCann (7) led the way in the victory. Alex Cogott had 8 digs.
''Our offense is tough to stop, especially when Jake and Miles are hitting well,'' Yesneski said.
Danny Kochanski (8 kills) and Krystof Bogdan (6) led Bayonne, while Mike Kucza had 5 kills and setter Coco Ostorga had 22 assists. The Bees were hampered by poor passing.
"We did a poor job in serve-receive,'' said coach Pat Longo. "Mentally, we just broke down. If you want to run your offense, you have to pass the ball.''
"Hopefully, we'll take this game, learn from our mistakes, and be ready for them the next time,'' Longo said.
Monday, April 14, 2008
No. 2 Southern defeats No. 8 CBA
By Fred Siegle
MANAHAWKEN - Southern Regional's big victory over East Brunswick on Saturday has given the Rams a foundation to build off for the rest of the season.
On Monday, the Rams, No. 2 in the Powerzonevb.com state rankings, beat No. 8 CBA, their top rival in the Shore Conference, 25-22, 25-16.
"We proved on Saturday, and also when we lost to (No. 1) St. Joes (last week) but went 3 games with them, that we can play with anybody,'' said senior middle blocker Ken Connolly. "We proved we're in the same category with those teams, we're contenders for a state title.
"It's a big rivalry with CBA, but we came in with a lot of confidence,'' Connolly said.
An ace by CBA's Neal Slattery tied the score at 7-7 in the second game, but after that Southern dominated. The Rams scored 8 straight points, mostly on CBA errors, to go up 15-7, and CBA never got closer than 6 points down after that. A kill by Nick Nichols (8 for the match) provided the winning point.
The first game went back and forth and was tied 19-19 after a block by Ryan Gelenitis, before Southern scored 4 straight points, first with a kill by Nichols, then a CBA error, then 2 kills by Eric Sharkey (7 for the match). Sharkey had another kill for Southern's 24th point, before a CBA error ended the game.
"Our kids are playing with confidence, they're all playing very well and they have a lot of confidence in each other,'' coach Eric Maxwell said. "Saturday's win let us know that we're in the group of top teams with East Brunswick and St. Joes.''
Southern setter Steve Vaughan had 20 assists. He came into the match with 998 for his career, so he topped the 1,000 mark early in the first game.
MANAHAWKEN - Southern Regional's big victory over East Brunswick on Saturday has given the Rams a foundation to build off for the rest of the season.
On Monday, the Rams, No. 2 in the Powerzonevb.com state rankings, beat No. 8 CBA, their top rival in the Shore Conference, 25-22, 25-16.
"We proved on Saturday, and also when we lost to (No. 1) St. Joes (last week) but went 3 games with them, that we can play with anybody,'' said senior middle blocker Ken Connolly. "We proved we're in the same category with those teams, we're contenders for a state title.
"It's a big rivalry with CBA, but we came in with a lot of confidence,'' Connolly said.
An ace by CBA's Neal Slattery tied the score at 7-7 in the second game, but after that Southern dominated. The Rams scored 8 straight points, mostly on CBA errors, to go up 15-7, and CBA never got closer than 6 points down after that. A kill by Nick Nichols (8 for the match) provided the winning point.
The first game went back and forth and was tied 19-19 after a block by Ryan Gelenitis, before Southern scored 4 straight points, first with a kill by Nichols, then a CBA error, then 2 kills by Eric Sharkey (7 for the match). Sharkey had another kill for Southern's 24th point, before a CBA error ended the game.
"Our kids are playing with confidence, they're all playing very well and they have a lot of confidence in each other,'' coach Eric Maxwell said. "Saturday's win let us know that we're in the group of top teams with East Brunswick and St. Joes.''
Southern setter Steve Vaughan had 20 assists. He came into the match with 998 for his career, so he topped the 1,000 mark early in the first game.
New Top 10
Aside from the shakeup at the top, not a lot of changes so far. The reasoning on 1, 2 and 3: It's one of those classic 3-way situations. In order: East Brunswick beat St. Josephs, St. Josephs beat Southern, Southern beat East Brunswick. So: St. Josephs has played the toughest schedule, and has the longest winning streak (the loss to East Brunswick was in the first match of the season). Since East Brunswick and Southern have lost more recently, the Falcons probably are playing better right now.
1. St. Josephs. The Falcons have already played teams 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 in the rankings.
2. Southern. Lefty right side player Dave Ambrose, a junior, provide some key blocks (6 in the match) as the Rams beat East Brunswick on Saturday. They play No. 8 CBA in the biggest Shore Conference match of the season on Monday.
3. East Brunswick. The Bears have settled into a lineup with senior Greg Zegarek and junior Rohan Patel as the middles (senior Alex Rigley isn't with the team - he didn't play or travel with the Bears against Hillsborough or Southern last week - at least for the foreseeable future).
4. St. Peters. The Marauders may have the state's most varied offense - seniors Jake Blicharz and Miles McCann have numerous play combinations they run - and if their passing is on, they'll be tough against anyone.
5. Bayonne. The Bees travel to St. Peters on Tuesday for the first of several big meetings in Hudson County.
6. Old Bridge. The Knights have lost to East Brunswick and St. Joes. They won the Hillsborough Tournament on Saturday.
7. Don Bosco. Bosco's losses are to St. Joes, Southern and Bayonne, and it's already had a key win over Clifton. They reached the semifinals before losing to St. Joes at the Bloomfield Tournament on Saturday.
8. CBA. The Colts visit Southern on Monday in the Shore Conference. They reached the semifinals at the Bloomfield Tournament on Saturday, losing 25-21 to St. Peters. Jon Rohan and Ryan Gelenitis had 3 kills each against the Marauders.
9. Wayne Hills. Hills lost to Livingston in the semifinals at the Clifton Tournament on Saturday.
10. Eastern. The Vikings have already beaten Cherry Hill East and Cherry Hill West and seem to be the top team in the Olympic Conference so far.
Teams to watch: Vernon (undefeated, with wins over Fair Lawn, Passaic Valley and Wayne Valley); West Windsor South (beat Moorestown, Hillsborough, and gave Cinnaminson its first loss on Friday); Livingston (beat Wayne Hills, Eastern in 1-game playoffs at Clifton Tournament); Passaic Valley (beat Fair Lawn in three games); Moorestown (I still think the Quakers will rebound from a tough start).
Thanks to coaches Sweeten (Cherry Hill West) and DeYoung (Vernon) for their helpful websites (http://www.njvb.com/hs/vernon/stateres.xls, and http://www.chlive.org/ssweeten/lionvb_standings.htm)
Edited on 4/14 to fix Livingston results at Clifton Tournament
1. St. Josephs. The Falcons have already played teams 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 in the rankings.
2. Southern. Lefty right side player Dave Ambrose, a junior, provide some key blocks (6 in the match) as the Rams beat East Brunswick on Saturday. They play No. 8 CBA in the biggest Shore Conference match of the season on Monday.
3. East Brunswick. The Bears have settled into a lineup with senior Greg Zegarek and junior Rohan Patel as the middles (senior Alex Rigley isn't with the team - he didn't play or travel with the Bears against Hillsborough or Southern last week - at least for the foreseeable future).
4. St. Peters. The Marauders may have the state's most varied offense - seniors Jake Blicharz and Miles McCann have numerous play combinations they run - and if their passing is on, they'll be tough against anyone.
5. Bayonne. The Bees travel to St. Peters on Tuesday for the first of several big meetings in Hudson County.
6. Old Bridge. The Knights have lost to East Brunswick and St. Joes. They won the Hillsborough Tournament on Saturday.
7. Don Bosco. Bosco's losses are to St. Joes, Southern and Bayonne, and it's already had a key win over Clifton. They reached the semifinals before losing to St. Joes at the Bloomfield Tournament on Saturday.
8. CBA. The Colts visit Southern on Monday in the Shore Conference. They reached the semifinals at the Bloomfield Tournament on Saturday, losing 25-21 to St. Peters. Jon Rohan and Ryan Gelenitis had 3 kills each against the Marauders.
9. Wayne Hills. Hills lost to Livingston in the semifinals at the Clifton Tournament on Saturday.
10. Eastern. The Vikings have already beaten Cherry Hill East and Cherry Hill West and seem to be the top team in the Olympic Conference so far.
Teams to watch: Vernon (undefeated, with wins over Fair Lawn, Passaic Valley and Wayne Valley); West Windsor South (beat Moorestown, Hillsborough, and gave Cinnaminson its first loss on Friday); Livingston (beat Wayne Hills, Eastern in 1-game playoffs at Clifton Tournament); Passaic Valley (beat Fair Lawn in three games); Moorestown (I still think the Quakers will rebound from a tough start).
Thanks to coaches Sweeten (Cherry Hill West) and DeYoung (Vernon) for their helpful websites (http://www.njvb.com/hs/vernon/stateres.xls, and http://www.chlive.org/ssweeten/lionvb_standings.htm)
Edited on 4/14 to fix Livingston results at Clifton Tournament
Saturday, April 12, 2008
St. Joes wins Bloomfield Tourney; Southern beats No. 1 EB
A lot of volleyball on Saturday, here's some of the highlights. (I was at the Bloomfield Tournament).
St. Josephs, No. 2 in the Powerzonevb.com state rankings (and the new No. 1 team when the new top 10 comes out on sunday/monday) won the Bloomfield Tournament, beating No. 4 St. Peters Prep 25-18, 23-25, 25-14 in the championship match.
Right side Marcin Midura led the Falcons with 14 kills and 3 aces, while middle Paul Konapacki had 9 kills and middle Bobby O'Grady had 4 kills and 3 blocks.
The Falcons went undefeated in pool play, winning two games each against CBA, Watchung Hills, Bloomfield and Hackensack. CBA finished second in the pool. The format enabled coach Miguel Cabrita to use his entire team at some point, and he also experimented with starters playing different positions.
"Everybody played today at some point,'' Cabrita said. "That's one of the things tournaments allow you to do. We had some peaks and valleys, but overall I was pleased.''
The loss in the second game was definitely one of the valleys.
"We made a lot of mistakes, we pretty much saved them all up through the day for that one game,'' Cabrita said. "But the good part was we lost the game, but we were able to come out of it and play well in the third game. We proved we could battle back.''
St. Joes beat Don Bosco, which had finished second, behind St. Peters, in the other pool, 25-14 in the semifinals. Konapacki had 8 kills, Midura had 5, and Zeyad Loubnan chipped in two kills and a block.
St. Peters beat CBA 25-21 in the semifinals. Against St. Joes, Miles McCann had 13 kills, Jake Blicharz had 8, Al Yesneski had 7, and Peter Jimenez added 4. In the win over CBA, McCann and Yesneski each had 3 kills.
The Marauders won their pool based on head-to-head point differential after splitting two games with Don Bosco. They had beaten Bosco 25-18, and lost 25-23. In that game, they trailed 23-17 and 24-21 but nearly came back with Blicarz leading the way with 4 kills during the stretch.
"This was good for us, playing a team like that (St. Joes) and taking them to three games,'' St. Peters coach Don Guide said. ''They had a hard time stopping our top players. Our passing broke down a little though, and we weren't able to get the ball to those guys.''
Jon Rohan and Ryan Gelenitis each had 3 kills for CBA in the loss to St. Peters. Rohan also had 3 blocks, while Gelenitis had 2.
JP Stevens, which had been in the pool play section with Don Bosco and St. Peters (along with Passaic and Roselle Catholic, won the Silver Division title, beating Roselle Catholic 25-21 in the final. Roselle Catholic beat Bloomfield 29-27 in the semis, and JP beat Hackensack 25-19 in the Silver semis.
SOUTHERN BEATS NO. 1 EAST BRUNSWICK:
Southern beat East Brunswick, 25-17, 24-26, 25-20, with Ken Connolly leading the way with 12 kills and 3 blocks. James Mancini contributed 9 kills, while Dave Ambrose had 8 kills and 6 blocks. Eric Sharkey had 8 kills.
The Rams improved to 10-1 with the victory, while East Brunswick fell to 8-1.
St. Josephs, No. 2 in the Powerzonevb.com state rankings (and the new No. 1 team when the new top 10 comes out on sunday/monday) won the Bloomfield Tournament, beating No. 4 St. Peters Prep 25-18, 23-25, 25-14 in the championship match.
Right side Marcin Midura led the Falcons with 14 kills and 3 aces, while middle Paul Konapacki had 9 kills and middle Bobby O'Grady had 4 kills and 3 blocks.
The Falcons went undefeated in pool play, winning two games each against CBA, Watchung Hills, Bloomfield and Hackensack. CBA finished second in the pool. The format enabled coach Miguel Cabrita to use his entire team at some point, and he also experimented with starters playing different positions.
"Everybody played today at some point,'' Cabrita said. "That's one of the things tournaments allow you to do. We had some peaks and valleys, but overall I was pleased.''
The loss in the second game was definitely one of the valleys.
"We made a lot of mistakes, we pretty much saved them all up through the day for that one game,'' Cabrita said. "But the good part was we lost the game, but we were able to come out of it and play well in the third game. We proved we could battle back.''
St. Joes beat Don Bosco, which had finished second, behind St. Peters, in the other pool, 25-14 in the semifinals. Konapacki had 8 kills, Midura had 5, and Zeyad Loubnan chipped in two kills and a block.
St. Peters beat CBA 25-21 in the semifinals. Against St. Joes, Miles McCann had 13 kills, Jake Blicharz had 8, Al Yesneski had 7, and Peter Jimenez added 4. In the win over CBA, McCann and Yesneski each had 3 kills.
The Marauders won their pool based on head-to-head point differential after splitting two games with Don Bosco. They had beaten Bosco 25-18, and lost 25-23. In that game, they trailed 23-17 and 24-21 but nearly came back with Blicarz leading the way with 4 kills during the stretch.
"This was good for us, playing a team like that (St. Joes) and taking them to three games,'' St. Peters coach Don Guide said. ''They had a hard time stopping our top players. Our passing broke down a little though, and we weren't able to get the ball to those guys.''
Jon Rohan and Ryan Gelenitis each had 3 kills for CBA in the loss to St. Peters. Rohan also had 3 blocks, while Gelenitis had 2.
JP Stevens, which had been in the pool play section with Don Bosco and St. Peters (along with Passaic and Roselle Catholic, won the Silver Division title, beating Roselle Catholic 25-21 in the final. Roselle Catholic beat Bloomfield 29-27 in the semis, and JP beat Hackensack 25-19 in the Silver semis.
SOUTHERN BEATS NO. 1 EAST BRUNSWICK:
Southern beat East Brunswick, 25-17, 24-26, 25-20, with Ken Connolly leading the way with 12 kills and 3 blocks. James Mancini contributed 9 kills, while Dave Ambrose had 8 kills and 6 blocks. Eric Sharkey had 8 kills.
The Rams improved to 10-1 with the victory, while East Brunswick fell to 8-1.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
St. Joes wins 3 matches at quad
By Fred Siegle
Metuchen - Its tough schedule didn't allow St. Josephs very long to rebound from its opening day loss to East Brunswick.
But the Falcons, No. 2 in the PowerZonevb.com New Jersey Top 10, showed they have rebounded from the loss on Saturday, beating three other top 10 teams in a quad meet. They beat No. 7 Don Bosco 25-18, 25-12, No. 5 Bayonne 25-22, 25-21, and No. 3 Southern 31-33, 25-17, 25-21.
"No one on our team played their "A'' game against East Brunswick,'' said setter Steve Brandenburg. "Everything we've done since then is to get ready to play them again. Every time we play, we envision them on the other side. We can't slip up against another team before we play them again. We want to go in to our second game against them with only one loss, and we want to leave that game with only one loss.''
"In practice and in games, that's all we think about, playing East Brunswick again,'' said libero Eddie Rossiter.
In the victory over Southern, Marcin Midura had 15 kills, two aces, and 7 digs, while Paul Konopacki had 13 kills and 6 blocks. Rossiter had 22 digs.
Southern trailed the first game 24-21, but came back to tie the game on a kill by Eric Sharkey, a block by James Mancini and a St. Joes error. A combination block by Mancini and Ken Connelly gave the Rams the first of seven subsequent game point possibilities (St. Joes had one), and they finally won on a kill by Connelly and a St. Joes error.
"We knew we had to pick up the intensity in the second game and we did,'' Brandenburg said. "In the second and third games, we were double blocking everything they did, and we were picking up all their roll shots and tips. ''
Against Bayonne, Midura and Bobby O'Grady each had 6 kills for the Falcons.
"This was a good day, on offense we pretty much ran every combination we have,'' Brandenburg said.
Connelly had 13 kills and 4 blocks, Nick Nichols had 9 kills and 4 blocks, and Sharkey had 7 kills in Southern's loss to St. Joes. Setter Steve Vaughan had 33 assists, 5 kills and 13 digs. Southern went 2-1 in the quad, beating Bayonne 25-14, 25-12, and Don Bosco 25-23, 25-10.
"I was pleased with our offense, I felt we were able to side out consistently,'' said coach Eric Maxwell.
Maxwell was impressed with how well Nichols had played as a middle. He's not tall, especially for that position, and had played most of the preseason as a libero and outside. But he makes up for his lack of height with good jumping ability.
"He forces you, as a coach, to find a place for him,''' Maxwell said. "He's too good not to play front row. ''
Bayonne beat Don Bosco, 25-19, 23-25, 25-12. Danny Kochanski had 18 kills, Krystof Bogdan added 9 kills, and Patryk Ruscnika chipped in 7 kills. Setter Coco Ostorga had 23 assists.
Aaron Carlisle had 5 kills for Don Bosco against St. Joes, while Jake Sandoval contributed 4 kills and 4 digs against Southern. Carlisle had 11 kills against Bayonne, while Ryan Furlong had 4 digs. Setter Doug Battersby had 15 assists against St. Joes, 12 against Southern, and 22 against Bayonne.
"This was a good learning day for us,'' said coach Mark Mako. ''We're a young team, but I think we have the potential to be a very strong team, and we have to play strong teams to show it. We have talent, we have to put it all together. A lot of it has to do with confidence. These guys haven't seen teams like this in this kind of setting.''
Metuchen - Its tough schedule didn't allow St. Josephs very long to rebound from its opening day loss to East Brunswick.
But the Falcons, No. 2 in the PowerZonevb.com New Jersey Top 10, showed they have rebounded from the loss on Saturday, beating three other top 10 teams in a quad meet. They beat No. 7 Don Bosco 25-18, 25-12, No. 5 Bayonne 25-22, 25-21, and No. 3 Southern 31-33, 25-17, 25-21.
"No one on our team played their "A'' game against East Brunswick,'' said setter Steve Brandenburg. "Everything we've done since then is to get ready to play them again. Every time we play, we envision them on the other side. We can't slip up against another team before we play them again. We want to go in to our second game against them with only one loss, and we want to leave that game with only one loss.''
"In practice and in games, that's all we think about, playing East Brunswick again,'' said libero Eddie Rossiter.
In the victory over Southern, Marcin Midura had 15 kills, two aces, and 7 digs, while Paul Konopacki had 13 kills and 6 blocks. Rossiter had 22 digs.
Southern trailed the first game 24-21, but came back to tie the game on a kill by Eric Sharkey, a block by James Mancini and a St. Joes error. A combination block by Mancini and Ken Connelly gave the Rams the first of seven subsequent game point possibilities (St. Joes had one), and they finally won on a kill by Connelly and a St. Joes error.
"We knew we had to pick up the intensity in the second game and we did,'' Brandenburg said. "In the second and third games, we were double blocking everything they did, and we were picking up all their roll shots and tips. ''
Against Bayonne, Midura and Bobby O'Grady each had 6 kills for the Falcons.
"This was a good day, on offense we pretty much ran every combination we have,'' Brandenburg said.
Connelly had 13 kills and 4 blocks, Nick Nichols had 9 kills and 4 blocks, and Sharkey had 7 kills in Southern's loss to St. Joes. Setter Steve Vaughan had 33 assists, 5 kills and 13 digs. Southern went 2-1 in the quad, beating Bayonne 25-14, 25-12, and Don Bosco 25-23, 25-10.
"I was pleased with our offense, I felt we were able to side out consistently,'' said coach Eric Maxwell.
Maxwell was impressed with how well Nichols had played as a middle. He's not tall, especially for that position, and had played most of the preseason as a libero and outside. But he makes up for his lack of height with good jumping ability.
"He forces you, as a coach, to find a place for him,''' Maxwell said. "He's too good not to play front row. ''
Bayonne beat Don Bosco, 25-19, 23-25, 25-12. Danny Kochanski had 18 kills, Krystof Bogdan added 9 kills, and Patryk Ruscnika chipped in 7 kills. Setter Coco Ostorga had 23 assists.
Aaron Carlisle had 5 kills for Don Bosco against St. Joes, while Jake Sandoval contributed 4 kills and 4 digs against Southern. Carlisle had 11 kills against Bayonne, while Ryan Furlong had 4 digs. Setter Doug Battersby had 15 assists against St. Joes, 12 against Southern, and 22 against Bayonne.
"This was a good learning day for us,'' said coach Mark Mako. ''We're a young team, but I think we have the potential to be a very strong team, and we have to play strong teams to show it. We have talent, we have to put it all together. A lot of it has to do with confidence. These guys haven't seen teams like this in this kind of setting.''
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
No. 1 East Brunswick beats No. 2 St. Josephs
By Fred Siegle
EAST BRUNSWICK - It was April Fool's Day, but this wasn't a joke. The top two boys volleyball teams in the state really did have to play each other on opening day.
East Brunswick, No. 1 in the PowerZonevb.com preseason rankings, overcame the first-day jitters and the pressure of playing its chief rival on Tuesday, beating No. 2 St. Josephs 25-23, 25-17.
After a shaky start by both teams - 11 of the first 14 points were scored on errors - East Brunswick's big hitters provided the difference, with Mike Kvidahl registering 11 kills and Christian Portera adding 6.
Kvidahl provided one of the key points in the first game, earning the kill that gave the Bears a 24-22 lead. After Falcons' sophomore Bobby O'Grady followed with a kill from the middle, the Bears won on a block by Greg Zegarek.
"Nobody played well in the first game, we both sucked,'' Portera said. "But we were able to pull it together at the end when it mattered.''
The Bears took control early in the second game, taking a 9-3 lead. The closest St. Joes got was 16-14, but a kill by Brian Murphy (3 kills) made it 17-14, then a combination block by Murphy and Alex Rigley increased the lead to four points and the Falcons never really threatened again.
"We just made so many mistakes, it was unbelievable,'' St. Joseph's coach Miguel Cabrita said. "All the mistakes we made in preseason, we threw into this one match. Half the points, we gave away, hitting out. The second game, it was like we gave up.''
Marcin Midura led St. Joes with 8 kills, while Paul Konopacki added 6. Libero Eddie Rossiter had a game-high 8 digs.
The meeting was the first of a possible six (they'll play at least three more times during the regular season, but also could meet in the Middlesex County and state tournaments).
"This was a good match to have for the first game of the season, it gets us going right away,'' Portera said. "But we know we'll have to see them again. We know they'll go home and practice twice as hard now, so we have to do the same thing. We can't treat it like it's all over after one match.''
EAST BRUNSWICK - It was April Fool's Day, but this wasn't a joke. The top two boys volleyball teams in the state really did have to play each other on opening day.
East Brunswick, No. 1 in the PowerZonevb.com preseason rankings, overcame the first-day jitters and the pressure of playing its chief rival on Tuesday, beating No. 2 St. Josephs 25-23, 25-17.
After a shaky start by both teams - 11 of the first 14 points were scored on errors - East Brunswick's big hitters provided the difference, with Mike Kvidahl registering 11 kills and Christian Portera adding 6.
Kvidahl provided one of the key points in the first game, earning the kill that gave the Bears a 24-22 lead. After Falcons' sophomore Bobby O'Grady followed with a kill from the middle, the Bears won on a block by Greg Zegarek.
"Nobody played well in the first game, we both sucked,'' Portera said. "But we were able to pull it together at the end when it mattered.''
The Bears took control early in the second game, taking a 9-3 lead. The closest St. Joes got was 16-14, but a kill by Brian Murphy (3 kills) made it 17-14, then a combination block by Murphy and Alex Rigley increased the lead to four points and the Falcons never really threatened again.
"We just made so many mistakes, it was unbelievable,'' St. Joseph's coach Miguel Cabrita said. "All the mistakes we made in preseason, we threw into this one match. Half the points, we gave away, hitting out. The second game, it was like we gave up.''
Marcin Midura led St. Joes with 8 kills, while Paul Konopacki added 6. Libero Eddie Rossiter had a game-high 8 digs.
The meeting was the first of a possible six (they'll play at least three more times during the regular season, but also could meet in the Middlesex County and state tournaments).
"This was a good match to have for the first game of the season, it gets us going right away,'' Portera said. "But we know we'll have to see them again. We know they'll go home and practice twice as hard now, so we have to do the same thing. We can't treat it like it's all over after one match.''
Monday, March 31, 2008
2008 preseason top 10/analysis/notes
Good Luck to everyone!
PRESEASON TOP 10
1. East Brunswick. The Bears, the returning state champions, will probably field their tallest team ever and will have a powerful offense.
2. St. Josephs. The Falcons will play an ambitious schedule that might include six meetings with East Brunswick.
3. Southern. The Rams lost a lot from last year's 40-1 team (their only loss came in the North/South final to East Brunswick) but have a cohesive group that worked hard, together, in the off-season, and have setter Steve Vaughan back. Middle Ken Connelly is one of the state's most improved hitters.
4. St. Peters. Last year's North champs have starters Al Yesneski and Miles McCann ready to lead another strong team.
5. Bayonne. The Bees, led by returning seniors Coco Ostorga, Krys Bogdan, and Danny Kochanski, should be a top contender in the North again.
6. Old Bridge. Setter Matt Guzzo and middle Davis Obi return to pace the Knights, who have become one of the state's top programs.
7. Don Bosco. Bosco has a tall, mostly junior lineup (setter Doug Battersby is 6-5) and may be a year away.
8. CBA. Another team with a very strong junior class, with Rob Dykeman the top senior starter.
9. Wayne Hills. Andrew Gross and Tyler DeBrody lead a team that was 14-8 last year and has five returning starters.
10. Moorestown. Skyler Heyman is one of the best setters in the state and the Quakers also have seniors Joe Aaron and Will Cosden back.
Teams to watch: (in no particular order - any of these teams, along with several others, may work their way into the top 10 as the season goes on.) Eastern, Fair Lawn, Livingston, South Brunswick, West Windsor South, Hillsborough, Clifton, Passaic Valley, Lakeland, Vernon, Wayne Valley, Bloomfield, Clearview.
PRESEASON ANALYSIS
The 2008 boys volleyball season in New Jersey starts this way: we have East Brunswick and St. Josephs at the top. It's likely one or the other is likely to finish the season as state champs. Right now, it seems unlikely either will be beaten by any team besides the other (and they may meet as many as SIX! times including on April 1, opening day, at East Brunswick).
But waiting to prove the two elite teams are beatable is a group of as many as 20 or more teams that are legitimate, top 10-quality teams. Right now, all are probably a level or two below the two Middlesex County giants, but any of them could improve and find a way to beat the Bears or Falcons.
And don't forget, many of those teams will have a chance to play in the state final, thanks to the North/South split of the state tournament. If East Brunswick and St. Joes are the top 2, they'd still meet in the South/Central final, with only one advancing to meet the North winner.
What makes East Brunswick and St. Joes so good?
Let's start with the defending state champion Bears. The Bears have three big-time weapons, seniors Christian Portera (left side) Alex Rigley (middle) and Mike Kvidahl (right side). And the rest of the hitters - Brian Murphy (left side), Greg Zegarek (left side or middle) and Rohan Patel (middle) are all solid. East Brunswick also has a tall (for them) setter, Andy Balint, who's 6-1 and has probably worked harder than any other setter in the state over the last year. Is there a weakness? A trademark for last year's state championship team (and East Brunswick over the years) has been passing on serve receive. Even with solid libero/back row specialists Ayan Ray and Ben Fan, this year's team doesn't pass nearly as well as last year's. Balint will probably be able to mask some of that, as will the big hitters. But the Bears might have some trouble against tough serves.
St. Joes, on the other hand, has Eddie Rossiter, who is probably the best passer in the state, and other players - Kyle Ditmars, Marcin Midura, defensive specialist Bryan Gilmartin - who are very solid passing. The Falcons will be similar to East Brunswick of last year in that department. And Midura, who moved to the US from Poland three years ago, seems ready to dominate. Last year, he struggled as he tried to fit in, both at school and on the team. That won't be the situation this year. The Falcons also have a top middle in Paul Konopacki, and two very good setters, Matt Furey and Steve Brandenburg, who both have experience.
So who'll win between the two teams on opening day and throughout the season? Don't expect either team to win every matchup. But with all that firepower, East Brunswick starts at the top. Ironically, the Bears might also be the team more likely to get tripped up by a different opponent during the season. Their hitting style is also more prone to errors, and the Bears might also have a problem on any given day because of their serve-receive. Meanwhile, the Falcons' strong passing will make them more consistant and less prone to a possible upset. And Midura could dominate a lot of teams.
SOME NOTES
THE RIGHT STUFF: The position with the most quality players in the state this year is probably right side hitter. In addition to Midura and Kvidahl, there's Jake Blicarz at St. Peters, Coco Ostorga at Bayonne, Matt Agnew at Fair Lawn, and Alister Matthews at Colts Neck.
FUTURE SHOCK: This year could be setting up something big for Don Bosco, who's starting lineup is almost all juniors. The junior class is very strong throughout the state, with many of the best teams represented. There's Balint and Kvidahl at East Brunswick, Mike Kucza at Bayonne, Steve Vahalla at Bloomfield, Kevin Froelich and Matt Fernandez at Lakeland, and Neal Slattery at CBA.
REBUILDING: Agnew is the only returning starter at Fair Lawn, a perennial state power (they lost a nail-biter to Bayonne in the North semis last year). The Cutters also have a strong junior class that will probably put them a year away from true contention in the North. Cherry Hill West is always in the hunt in South Jersey, but they also lost a lot to graduation.
WHO?: Glen DeMagalhaes is one of the state's best players, but may not get much recognition because his team, Newark Eastside, is unlikely to contend for any titles.
COUNTY RIVALRIES: Two of the state's county tournaments could provide competition as good as the state tournament. In Middlesex, East Brunswick and St. Josephs will likely meet somewhere, and Old Bridge, South Brunswick, and JP Stevens spice up the competition and will be looking to spring upsets. In Hudson County, St. Peters and Bayonne have quite a good rivalry going and will probably meet for the title, which could again be a preview of the state's North tournament final.
PRESEASON TOP 10
1. East Brunswick. The Bears, the returning state champions, will probably field their tallest team ever and will have a powerful offense.
2. St. Josephs. The Falcons will play an ambitious schedule that might include six meetings with East Brunswick.
3. Southern. The Rams lost a lot from last year's 40-1 team (their only loss came in the North/South final to East Brunswick) but have a cohesive group that worked hard, together, in the off-season, and have setter Steve Vaughan back. Middle Ken Connelly is one of the state's most improved hitters.
4. St. Peters. Last year's North champs have starters Al Yesneski and Miles McCann ready to lead another strong team.
5. Bayonne. The Bees, led by returning seniors Coco Ostorga, Krys Bogdan, and Danny Kochanski, should be a top contender in the North again.
6. Old Bridge. Setter Matt Guzzo and middle Davis Obi return to pace the Knights, who have become one of the state's top programs.
7. Don Bosco. Bosco has a tall, mostly junior lineup (setter Doug Battersby is 6-5) and may be a year away.
8. CBA. Another team with a very strong junior class, with Rob Dykeman the top senior starter.
9. Wayne Hills. Andrew Gross and Tyler DeBrody lead a team that was 14-8 last year and has five returning starters.
10. Moorestown. Skyler Heyman is one of the best setters in the state and the Quakers also have seniors Joe Aaron and Will Cosden back.
Teams to watch: (in no particular order - any of these teams, along with several others, may work their way into the top 10 as the season goes on.) Eastern, Fair Lawn, Livingston, South Brunswick, West Windsor South, Hillsborough, Clifton, Passaic Valley, Lakeland, Vernon, Wayne Valley, Bloomfield, Clearview.
PRESEASON ANALYSIS
The 2008 boys volleyball season in New Jersey starts this way: we have East Brunswick and St. Josephs at the top. It's likely one or the other is likely to finish the season as state champs. Right now, it seems unlikely either will be beaten by any team besides the other (and they may meet as many as SIX! times including on April 1, opening day, at East Brunswick).
But waiting to prove the two elite teams are beatable is a group of as many as 20 or more teams that are legitimate, top 10-quality teams. Right now, all are probably a level or two below the two Middlesex County giants, but any of them could improve and find a way to beat the Bears or Falcons.
And don't forget, many of those teams will have a chance to play in the state final, thanks to the North/South split of the state tournament. If East Brunswick and St. Joes are the top 2, they'd still meet in the South/Central final, with only one advancing to meet the North winner.
What makes East Brunswick and St. Joes so good?
Let's start with the defending state champion Bears. The Bears have three big-time weapons, seniors Christian Portera (left side) Alex Rigley (middle) and Mike Kvidahl (right side). And the rest of the hitters - Brian Murphy (left side), Greg Zegarek (left side or middle) and Rohan Patel (middle) are all solid. East Brunswick also has a tall (for them) setter, Andy Balint, who's 6-1 and has probably worked harder than any other setter in the state over the last year. Is there a weakness? A trademark for last year's state championship team (and East Brunswick over the years) has been passing on serve receive. Even with solid libero/back row specialists Ayan Ray and Ben Fan, this year's team doesn't pass nearly as well as last year's. Balint will probably be able to mask some of that, as will the big hitters. But the Bears might have some trouble against tough serves.
St. Joes, on the other hand, has Eddie Rossiter, who is probably the best passer in the state, and other players - Kyle Ditmars, Marcin Midura, defensive specialist Bryan Gilmartin - who are very solid passing. The Falcons will be similar to East Brunswick of last year in that department. And Midura, who moved to the US from Poland three years ago, seems ready to dominate. Last year, he struggled as he tried to fit in, both at school and on the team. That won't be the situation this year. The Falcons also have a top middle in Paul Konopacki, and two very good setters, Matt Furey and Steve Brandenburg, who both have experience.
So who'll win between the two teams on opening day and throughout the season? Don't expect either team to win every matchup. But with all that firepower, East Brunswick starts at the top. Ironically, the Bears might also be the team more likely to get tripped up by a different opponent during the season. Their hitting style is also more prone to errors, and the Bears might also have a problem on any given day because of their serve-receive. Meanwhile, the Falcons' strong passing will make them more consistant and less prone to a possible upset. And Midura could dominate a lot of teams.
SOME NOTES
THE RIGHT STUFF: The position with the most quality players in the state this year is probably right side hitter. In addition to Midura and Kvidahl, there's Jake Blicarz at St. Peters, Coco Ostorga at Bayonne, Matt Agnew at Fair Lawn, and Alister Matthews at Colts Neck.
FUTURE SHOCK: This year could be setting up something big for Don Bosco, who's starting lineup is almost all juniors. The junior class is very strong throughout the state, with many of the best teams represented. There's Balint and Kvidahl at East Brunswick, Mike Kucza at Bayonne, Steve Vahalla at Bloomfield, Kevin Froelich and Matt Fernandez at Lakeland, and Neal Slattery at CBA.
REBUILDING: Agnew is the only returning starter at Fair Lawn, a perennial state power (they lost a nail-biter to Bayonne in the North semis last year). The Cutters also have a strong junior class that will probably put them a year away from true contention in the North. Cherry Hill West is always in the hunt in South Jersey, but they also lost a lot to graduation.
WHO?: Glen DeMagalhaes is one of the state's best players, but may not get much recognition because his team, Newark Eastside, is unlikely to contend for any titles.
COUNTY RIVALRIES: Two of the state's county tournaments could provide competition as good as the state tournament. In Middlesex, East Brunswick and St. Josephs will likely meet somewhere, and Old Bridge, South Brunswick, and JP Stevens spice up the competition and will be looking to spring upsets. In Hudson County, St. Peters and Bayonne have quite a good rivalry going and will probably meet for the title, which could again be a preview of the state's North tournament final.