By Jeff Appelblatt
Woodbridge High School girls’ volleyball coach Jayson Calhoun hopes that losses earlier in the season will help his team moving forward in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Tournament.
The idea worked so far this season and in the tournament. Following a September loss to the rival from John F. Kennedy (JFK) Memorial High School, the Barrons defeated the Mustangs twice in October, including a 2-0 thumping in the first round of the GMC competition.
“We lost to them the first time and beat them the next two times,” Calhoun said.
He also remembers the one time his girls faced the top seed in the GMC, East Brunswick High School.
“When we played them [Oct. 5], we played bad, and they beat us,” Calhoun said, thinking about the 2-0 (25-18, 25-21) loss. “They’re a very good team.”
But since that loss, Woodbridge has won six of seven. Add that to the fact that the Barrons have gotten a look at their opponent, and Calhoun is confident that his team could, at the least, compete with the No. 1 seed.
“We definitely have enough [talent] to compete,” the coach said. “If we play well, we’ll be in the match.”
This season may not be going as well as last year — one which saw the Barrons win the White Division — but Calhoun sees a parity amid the top nine teams in the GMC.
“Any of the top nine seeds could win,” he said, thinking back to when the seeding was done. “I’ve always said, no matter who we play, we’re up to the challenge.”
Woodbridge faced top-seeded East Brunswick Oct. 25 at 4:30 p.m. in East Brunswick.
Often times, teams are worried about going up against a top-ranked team, but not Calhoun.
“I’m excited to see what we could do,” the coach said.
The Bears (20-2) lost just once in October. That was against one of Woodbridge’s other top rivals — the No. 2 seed in the GMC Tournament, Colonia High School.