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.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
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.