By Jimmy Allinder
Throughout the course of a long season, high school volleyball teams sometimes play each other multiple times, and the outcome of a match often depends on which one is hot that day.
East Brunswick High School was on fire June 3 when the top-seeded Bears dispatched second-seeded Saint Joseph High School of Metuchen in straight sets, 25-23 and 25-20, to capture the NJSIAA Central sectional championship. St. Joe’s and East Brunswick met four times this season and split the series.
The Falcons’ season ends at 30-10, while the Bears moved on to a state semifinals match against North Jersey, Section II champion, Harrison High School, June 7.
St. Joe’s veteran coach, Miguel Cabrita, said before the match against East Brunswick that the outcome would hinge on which team played the cleaner game, and that’s exactly what happened.
“Volleyball really is a sport built around momentum,” he said. “Today was one of those days when we got into a rut and couldn’t dig ourselves out. That was especially the case in the second set when we just fell too far behind.”
The first game featured numerous lead changes, with the Bears squeezing out a two-point victory, highlighted by numerous saves on almost-certain St. Joe’s points with diving digs that kept balls alive.
In the second set, East Brunswick was able to capitalize on numerous misjudgments by the Falcons on serves that fell just inside their service line. The Bears built a 23-14 lead and, with the momentum decidedly in their favor, were poised to close out the match. St. Joe’s, however, had different ideas and proceeded to win six of the next seven points, narrowing the margin to 24-20.
That’s when East Brunswick scored the winning point and clinched the match.
“We had difficulties with our outside play, and that eventually cost us,” Cabrita said. “I’ll say this. When we were down by that huge margin in the second set, our guys never quit, and I was extremely proud of them for that effort.”
GMC athletes honored
One of the highlights of the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) sports season is the end-of-year banquet that honors member scholar-athletes.
The top boys and girls athletes from each school were feted at the celebration June 6 in Edison, which featured an address by new Rutgers University head football coach Chris Ash. In addition, GMC officers who made contributions administering conference operations and seasonal tournaments were honored. Among them was the outgoing president, Carl Buffalino, athletic director at South River High School.
Area athletes honored were Brittany Georges and John Sheedy of Bishop George Ahr High School; Ashley Hunt and Brandon Radd of Edison High School; Claire Pan and Kevin Zhao of John P. Stevens High School; Rachel Suss and Thomas Davis of Metuchen High School; and Taras Holovko of St. Joe’s.
GMC Golf Cup
The third annual GMC Golf Cup was held at the Metuchen Country Club May 31, during which 16 of the top competitors from member schools competed in a Ryder Cup format.
The back nine holes were played as a best ball competition and the front nine featured match play. The Blue team won by a 7.5 to 4.5 margin over the Red team when the results were combined.
Area golfers who competed were Tom Summers and T.J. Terpanick of St. Joe’s, Colin Gavin of Metuchen, and Rohit Iyer and Danny DeFillipo of J.P. Stevens.
Softball
In the South Jersey, Non-Public A softball tournament, Bishop Ahr (third seed) was eliminated in the semifinals June 3 by second-seeded Notre Dame High School, 3-2. The teams were tied, 2-2, after seven innings, but the Fighting Irish registered the winning run in the eighth inning to break the stalemate.
Bishop Ahr’s season ends at 16-9.