BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer
METUCHEN — The St. Joseph High School boys volleyball team traveled to South Brunswick High School yesterday to battle Fair Lawn in the semifinals of the state tournament.
The two teams split their meetings in the regular season with each team winning at home. The contest on a neutral court will decide who gets the winner of the East Brunswick-Bridgewater Raritan semifinal.
"In our loss to Fair Lawn we didn’t pass well and we committed too many unforced errors," said St. Joseph head coach Bob Fordi. "It will come down to how well we execute. We will need to run a balanced offense and keep our unforced errors down."
The two teams last met May 15 with the Falcons winning 3-0. Fair Lawn took the first meeting two weeks prior also in three games.
The Falcons cruised through the opening rounds of the tournament winning all three matches 3-0.
In the opening round against North Bergen, junior Matt Colon led the team with nine kills and five digs. The Falcons won easily 25-15, 25-18, and 25-8.
Wayne Hills gave St. Joes a challenge in the second round, but senior Josh Batts proved once again why he is one of Middlesex County’s best all-around players.
"Josh is one of the best middle blockers in the state," Fordi said. "He has a dynamic swing and he can swing deep and fast or hit straight down. Because of his great vertical jump he is a great offensive weapon."
Batt’s 11 kills and five blocks led the third-seeded Falcons to 25-11, 25-21, and 25-23 wins over Wayne Hills.
Junior Dan Beck was also instrumental in the team’s second-round victory. He finished the contest with an impressive 33 assists and two service aces.
"Dan has really stepped up his game in the states," Fordi said. "He has been reading the opposing team’s block and he’s been able to isolate our hitters versus one blocker. Anytime that happens it is a great advantage. He’s been getting all the hitters involved."
Eastern Regional High School traveled all the way from Voorhees only to be sent home exiting the state tournament. The Falcons were again led by Beck and Batts to win 25-19, 25-18, and 25-19.
Beck recorded 43 assists and Batts finished with 17 kills. Brandon Kane contributed 14 kills and Fordi’s outside hitter combined for nine kills. Colon finished with five and senior Greg Burlak had four kills and 14 digs.
"Having three hitters in double digits was great," Fordi said. "It was nice to have a balanced attack."
In the Falcon’s first meeting with Fair Lawn, Batts was sidelined with an injury, but he returned to the lineup two weeks later to avenge the loss. The Falcons are currently 21-5 with three of their losses coming to top-seeded East Brunswick. East Brunswick is the defending state champion.
If the Falcons and Bears advance it will be a rematch of this year’s GMC Championship game. The Falcons took East Brunswick to five games in the regular season, but lost in three straight games in the county final.