EB unseats South Brunswick as GMC tournament champs

By: Rich Fisher
   EDISON — In the same spot where they danced and celebrated a year ago, they sat and watch glumly as another took their place this season.
   The South Brunswick High volleyball team had its one-year reign as Greater Middlesex Conference champion end at J.P. Stevens Monday night, as East Brunswick took a 25-10, 25-16 victory over the Vikings in the GMC tournament finals.
   "They fought with all their hearts," coach Nancy McDonald said. "Especially the two seniors (Lauren Ellis and Janelle Payne) that didn’t want it to end. They believed right up until tip-off they could do it."
   But East Brunswick was too talented, too savvy and too steady.
   It was a disappointing end to the tournament and the season for SBHS (17-5), which lost all three matches it played to the Bears. There was thoughts that this would be a three-game nail-biter after the Vikings played well against the Bears two weeks earlier, but EB was on top of its game.
   "We knew what we were looking for, but we still couldn’t beat them," sophomore Kacy Kelly said. "I think we could have played better. I think they were pretty much the same as last time."
   "Our spirits were still up, we played as hard, if not harder than last time," junior Nikki Weiss said. "It was all about attitude, and we had it. But as it started going bad, our heads got too into the gutter and we didn’t know what to do."
   East Brunswick used an amazing run to win the first game. South Brunswick cut a 6-1 deficit to 6-5 and eventually tied it at 9-9. EB then scored six straight points and 16 of the last 17 to win easily. Marissa Nadeau and her line drive serve was too wicked to handle, as Nadeau notched nine straight service points to close it out.
   "I think we kind of psyched ourselves out when that started happening," junior April Thomas said. "I think because we knew she was a good server, it was going to be hard to get it back, and I think that just made everyone a little more nervous."
   Those nerves settled after the second game got underway. The Vikes rallied from an 11-5 deficit and pulled to within 14-13. After an EB timeout, the Bears reeled off seven straight points (six on Nadeau serves) to open a 20-13 lead.
   Again, South Brunswick battled back, pulling within 24-22 before the Bears nailed the championship point.
   "The first game we didn’t play so well," junior Jordan Confessore said. "The second game, we were right up in there. One point just slipped away. We were in the game, we couldn’t just finish off.
   "We had a little slump in the middle of the game and we always find ourselves trying to pick ourselves up from that slump. East Brunswick’s a good team. We had to do whatever we could to get back up and we just couldn’t get over it."
   When the final point was scored, the happy scene of black and gold uniforms hugging and celebrating in 2004, was re-enacted by girls in green and white in 2005.
   "It was rough to watch," Weiss said. "But you have to be a great sport about it. They played a great game. There’s nothing you can do about it."
   "We won last year so it was kind of hard to watch it get taken away from us, but they played a great game," Confessore added. " It was hard for me, but what are you gonna do?"
   In the end, McDonald felt the difference was the serving and East Brunswick’s deeper pool of talent.
   "They served us off the court," McDonald said. "That’s a credit to their strength. The other parts of the game, I think we matched them. We just couldn’t pass the ball and get anything generated.
   "We’re up and down, up and down, we fight back, then we give a little bit of an inch and they take it from us. Momentum is a big part of this game, we had it and we lost it. Their six were over-matching my six. I have two or three really strong girls and two or three who are OK. All around the court, their strength is superior to ours."
   Thus, they got to celebrate while the Vikes had to watch.
   KILLS: McDonald had praise for Payne, who had five aces, four kills and two digs. "Janelle served a great run. For a big girl that I have to leave in the backcourt because my depth isn’t there, she did a great job." . . . Confessore had three digs, three assists and three kills, and Thomas had four assists, two kills and two aces.