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.''
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