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.''
Friday, May 30, 2008
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.