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)
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
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.''