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.