South senior is volleyball ace
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Opponents of the West Windsor-Plainsboro High South girls volleyball team know they have to stop Hayley Merrill.
They just can’t.
The Pirates senior is third in the state in kills with 136 after picking up another 15 kills in WW-P South’s 25-22, 25-21 win over Lawrenceville School on Tuesday.
”Every team, every coach, knows,” said Pirates head coach Michael Adams. “They’re putting two people out there. She’s always double blocked. They’ll triple block to try to stop her. Everyone knows it’s going there, it’s no secret. Everyone knows it’s going to her — back row or front row. She can hit.
”It’s really hard to stop. You can’t cover every part of the court. She hits a heavy ball. Even if you’re in the right spot, it doesn’t matter. She can take heads off. She’s blown people away. It’s fun to have a player on the team that has that ability, a swing that’s so intimidating.”
It didn’t happen overnight. Merrill hardly played as a freshman on the junior varsity. She was just learning the game and had sophomores who had been playing a year of volleyball ahead of her. There was no indication then that she would develop into the player that has verbally committed to play at Montclair State University.
”I wasn’t really that into it as a freshman,” Merrill said. “I would have never thought I’d continue on to play in college at that point. Sophomore year I started on varsity and I was having fun. I could see myself playing volleyball in the future and that’s when it happened.”
Merrill’s skills started to soar when she took up club volleyball in the winter of her freshman year. She was exposed to high level players regularly, and she started to show off the work ethic to go with the talent she had to become a standout.
”By sophomore year, I had her on varsity and I was starting her on the outside,” Adams said. “She came in a coordinated athlete who was tall. You can’t teach height and athleticism.
”She worked really hard. She would get there before anyone else. And she would stay later, and we’d say, you have to go. She’d stay and hit one more or serve one more. It paid off — the effort to want to get better in club and high school.”
Fast forward two more years and Merrill and sophomore setter Jinae Park are the only returning starters on a Pirates team hit hard by graduation. WW-P South improved to 5-6 with the win over Lawrenceville going into Thursday’s scheduled game against Old Bridge.
Park had 19 assists and seven digs along with four aces, Lauren Frullo had seven digs and four kills, Amanda Easter had a team-high three blocks, Ivy Li had five service points, Harshita Gadangi had six digs and four service points, Deniz Hatiboglu had a kill and block and libero Krishna Shah had an assist and a dig.
”I thought we started out a lot better than we were expected to,” said Merrill, who missed the Pirates’ loss to Edison earlier this season. “I think it was a great start. I couldn’t be any happier to play with my team.”
Merrill was a thrower for the track and field team as a freshman, but it hurt her back and she turned her focus to volleyball. After debuting on varsity as a sophomore, her role increased over the last two years.
”Junior and senior year,” she said, “it was really a chance for me to step up and be the person to go to and be the person to keep the team up and positive and keep them giving their all.”
In Merrill, the Pirates have a terrific role model on and off the court. Though there is plenty of pressure on her to perform, she can deflect it with a contagious attitude.
”I’m definitely looking to just have fun and keep the positive energy up and play hard and really have fun,” she said. “If you win and didn’t have fun, what’s the point? I’m having fun. I always say to the team, let’s just have fun, win or lose.”
On the court, she is the go-to player that can get them a point, though it’s not easy with all six players on the opposing team also gearing up for her.
”As a player, you always have to be smart where you’re placing the ball,” Merrill said. “You have to look at the defense and look where the weak spots are and you have to just know where to put the ball down. It doesn’t have to be a really nice hard hit, it can be a tip, and it still counts.
”I definitely think I’ve gotten a lot smarter as the years progressed. I definitely don’t hit it 24/7. I place it and I try to be smart.”
Adams sometimes will set for the other team in practice, so he has had the chance to see Merrill in action. He knows first-hand it is to stop her.
”She’s not predictable,” he said. “I set for our other side and I try to block against her. She does a good job. Even if I try to read it, she does a good job. She makes it hard to read where the ball is going to be contacted and hit.”
Opposing coaches and referees consistently comment to Adams about Merrill’s abilities. She has improved in all areas, and hasn’t stopped developing as a player, which has only made her tougher to defend.
”She is an awesome player,” Adams said. “She can do it all. She can pass, she can hit, she can block, she can serve. She has a legit jump-serve. She brought that into her game this year. She had some back problems so she wasn’t really jump-serving. She was hesitant, but now she’s doing it. It’s a phenomenal weapon to have on top of being able to do everything else. She’s obviously the go-to player on the court, whether she’s in the front row or back row.
”There’s a ton of pressure on her,” he added. “She knows it. She’s matured to the point where she knows she has to go out and play. No one is perfect. She knows you don’t dwell on (a mistake). You’re going to get blocked, you’re going to miss. You go on.”
Merrill is thrilled just to be able to have another year at WW-P South before she heads to college. She is trying to enjoy her final scholastic season, and trying to carry the Pirates as far as she can. WW-P South will host West Windsor-Plainsboro North in their annual charity fundraiser Serve Up Hope match Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.
”It means the world to me to represent West Windsor-Plainsboro South and to be an athlete there,” Merrill said. “It’s just a great school. We have so much pride. The fans are great. It’s a great school.”
And Hayley Merrill is a great player for the Pirates. She is in some elite company in the WW-P South girls volleyball program.
Said Adams: “She’s definitely one of the best to ever come through.”