Vikings suffer a somewhat ‘timely’ loss

By: Ken Weingartner
   Steve Dentler would prefer to see his South Brunswick High boys volleyball team play well throughout the season. But if the Vikings are going to stub their toes against the state’s top teams, now is the time.
   South Brunswick lost its third match of the campaign Monday, falling in two games to an Old Bridge squad ranked No. 5 in the state. All three of the Vikings setbacks this year have come against teams rated in the Top 5, including No. 1 St. Joe’s and No. 2 East Brunswick.
   "Old Bridge’s ranking is justified," said Dentler, whose Vikings were 5-3 and ranked No. 17 in New Jersey heading into a match last night against Watchung Hills. "They’re a good team. We didn’t have any answers for them and just looked flat.
   "If we’re going to lose to somebody like Old Bridge, I’d rather lose early in the season. Of course, I’d like to be perfect all the way through, but if we’re going to have growing pains, I’d rather have them early and get them out of the way."
   Growing pains aren’t to be unexpected for the Vikings, who went 4-16 last year with a roster dominated by sophomores. This season, there are nine juniors on the team to go with two seniors and two sophomores.
   "The expectations others have for us probably aren’t as high as the ones we have for ourselves," Dentler said. "I expect us to do well. I’d rather stumble now and figure it all out and be a much better team in the end."
   Greg Kilbride had seven kills and three digs for the Vikings as they lost 25-16, 25-17 to Old Bridge. Zach Nieman had 10 digs while Steve Smoke had nine digs and two kills. Kevin Mariano had 11 assists.
   South Brunswick’s match against the Knights came as spring break was coming to an end and it was only the Vikings’ second match in a week.
   "We just looked flat; we looked like we were on spring break," Dentler said. "Hopefully, their mindset is that it’s done and we can move on. But we looked out of it. We looked out of position and Old Bridge took advantage of it."
   The Vikings’ schedule through the first part of the season has been filled with oddities, including a stretch where they played four consecutive days and a match last week at 10 a.m. at Edison. South Brunswick defeated the Eagles, 25-19, 25-17.
   Kilbride had 11 kills and eight digs while Nieman and Smoke had 12 digs each. Travis Wardlow had 12 assists while Conor Monaghan had three kills and four digs.
   "Generally, the guys are in their second-period class at that time, not playing volleyball," Dentler said. "It was an adjustment. There was a jayvee match at 9, so they had to get up early and sit on a bus through rush hour traffic to get there. But we did a decent job and sailed along.
   "The rest of the schedule is going to start making more sense," he added with a laugh.
   And, if Dentler gets his way, the Vikings play will strengthen along with it.