2007 Summit Women's Volleyball
JVarsity |
Day | Date | Site | Opponent | Time | Varsity Result (4-14) | |
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4:00PM | Lost 25-10, 25-22 The Hilltoppers showed flashes of dominance in their home opener but lacked the consistency necessary to pull off the win. Summit came out aggressively and tried to use their size to their advantage over Parsippany but numerous mistakes cost them repeatedly in game 1.
Summit's defensive and offensive prowess were on display in game 2. Summit held a 19-15 lead late but costly serving and hitting errors allowed Parsippany to come back into the game. Parsippany stormed back to take the lead at 24-21. Summit broke serve to get to 24-22 but another hitting error closed the match. Co-Captains Maria Sancho and Krista Hendrickson led the Hilltopper attack with a combined 11 of Summit's 14 kills and 3 of the team's 5 aces. Defensively, both players combined for 8 digs. |
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4:00PM | Lost 25-20, 25-14 The Hilltoppers once again won the statistical battle in kills, blocks and pass rating but lost in the serving area. Hanover Park seemed to have no answer for junior Abby Mell's serving, the offensive distribution of senior captain Maria Sancho, the offensive output of captain Krista Hendrickson and the defensive work of junior Markeetah Anderson. However, HP's serving and Summit's lack of consistency in that same area proved to be the difference in the match. Everytime Summit needed a serve at a crucial point in the match, it did not happen.
Summit's defense proved to be the difference early in game 1 but numerous attack errors and serving errors cost the Hilltoppers the game. In game 2, the Summit passing game faltered early allowing HP to collect 3 of their 4 aces for the game. The mistakes on the attack continued as well and Summit found itself too far back to mount a threat. Krista Hendrickson led all players with 8 kills and added 2 aces. Abby Mell was perfect from the service line (10 for 10) with 1 ace and added 3 kills and a block. Markeetah Anderson was phenomenal on defense, leading the team with 11 digs. |
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4:00PM |
Lost 22-25, 23-25 Summit faced off on Wednesday against arguably one of the top 5 teams in the county. Summit took another step in joining that echelon of teams with a tremendous effort.
Late in both games 1 and 2 the Rahway defense stepped up in crucial situations to thwart Hilltopper attacks and pound out crucial kills of their own. Both games were a see-saw battle between the two squads without either team being able to make a decisive run. Late in both matches Summit fought to within a point of Rahway (23-22 in game 1 and 24-23 in game 2) but, to the credit of Rahway's players, they were able to withstand Summit's pressure and pull out a victory. Captain Maria Sancho was stellar in the match, running the Summit attack and hitting well placed tips that led to 5 kills in key game situations. Captain Krista Hendrickson led the Hilltoppers in passing and blocks and was an offensive force throughout the match. |
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4:00PM |
Lost 25-12, 25-14 Summit traveled to Mendham to take on one of the conference favorites and their potential all-state hitter. It was clear early on that Summit would need a better pass attack to keep up with Mendham. Summit couldn't generate any good passes and Mendham scored easy points on free balls and their serve. An early 8-2 lead proved to be enough to stop any thought of a Hilltopper comeback.
Game 2 featured more rallies and better passing by the Hilltoppers. Summit's serving offense proved to be a weapon in this game as well and the combination of their defense and serving kept the Mendham attack off balance. Summit trailed only by 1 midway through the game (14-13) before Mendham found its passing game and took control of the match for good. Krista Hendrickson paced the Hilltoppers with a team leading 4 kills, 2 aces and 4 digs. Maria Sancho chipped in with 5 assists and 1 kill. |
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4:00PM |
Won 25-18, 21-25, 25-20 Summit played a great match and were finally rewarded for their efforts. In a tough fought 3 game match, Summit powered through a feisty West Essex squad that seemed to find a way to hang around all match. Both teams played less than perfect volleyball in game 1 but Summit’s 10-6 edge in kills and 5-1 edge in aces proved to be the difference.
In game 2, Summit seemed to steady its passing game and create numerous attacking opportunities which led to easy points. However, with a 20-18 lead, SHS began to unravel. After 6 attack errors, Summit had given away what they played so hard to earn. Game 3 may turn out to be a pivotal game in the season of the young Hilltoppers. Summit and West Essex traded points throughout the game without either team being able to pull away. Midway through the game, Summit gained a 4 point lead behind Krista Hendrickson’s serving. The lead was short-lived however as West Essex stormed back to tie the game in the very next rotation. With the score 20-19 Summit, Markeetah Anderson came up to serve and managed to force bad passes from West Essex that created easy attack opportunities for the Hilltoppers. This time, unlike game 2, the team capitalized on their chances and finished off the match for their first win of the season. Krista Hendrickson led the Hilltopper attack with a career high 13 kills and added 5 digs, 2 aces and 2 blocks. Maria Sancho, nursing an ankle injury, had a career high 15 assists, 2 digs and 8 kills. Ilia Fiene had an outstanding day as well, chipping in with 2 digs, 1 assist, 1 ace, 2 kills and a team high 4 blocks. |
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4:00PM |
Lost 25-12, 25-15 The Hilltoppers lacked the offensive firepower this match to stay close to an excellent Livingston squad. Summit wasted great passes from their serve receivers repeatedly throughout the match as the squad could not run their offense out of this passes.
Krista Hendrickson led the way offensively again for the Hilltoppers and was the best passer on serve receive while Markeetah Anderson was stellar defensively, leading the team in digs. |
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4:00PM |
Lost 25-12, 25-20 The Hilltoppers faced off against a potent Mt. Olive team fresh off an upset over Mendham. Summit played well early against Mt. Olive but slowly and steadily the serving attack wore down the Summit serve receive.
Mt. Olive finished off game 1 25-13. Game 2 was a back and forth affair with both teams trading points and leads throughout the game. Summit fought back from an early deficit to take the lead twice in the game but Mt. Olive was able to stem the tide each time. Summit tied the game late at 19 but a couple of passing errors cost the Hilltoppers and Mt. |
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4:00PM |
Won 25-14, 25-23 The Hilltoppers picked up their second win of the season behind some tough serving, opportune blocking and consistent offensive pressure. Summit dominated game 1 as Par Hills could not find any consistency in their passing game and could not run sets to their national club player on the outside.
The second game was a bit different as Par Hills was able to get their passing game on track and feed the ball to their star player who did not miss often when given the opportunity to put the ball away. Summit managed to block her at key junctions though and served a number of aces in game two to put the game away. Abby Mell led the team with 5 aces in just 8 attempts and salvaged the mistakes committed by the front end of the rotation. Krista Hendrickson was nearly unstoppable, hitting for 8 kills with a kill% of nearly .500. Maria Sancho had 12 assists, a sure sign that the captain was running the offense very efficiently. Liz Honold was stellar filling in for Lucy Wise as she was instrumental in turning the second game to Summit's favor thanks to her consistent blocking and defense. |
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4:00PM |
Lost 25-17, 25-17 SHS traveled to their neighbor Chatham to take on a top 5 team in the state. The task was immense but the Hilltoppers had memories of a near upset in 2006 of this squad and felt confident they could compete with this talented squad.
SHS was down 18-11 in game 1, came as close as 18-15 but the Cougars pulled away in the next rotation In game 2, the Hilltoppers were down 14-4 early but went on a 9-5 run to cut the deficit to 19-13 but couldn't get another run going to close the gap. Krista Hendrickson was the best player on the floor for Summit tallying 5 digs, 7 kills, 2 aces, 1 block vs. Chatham |
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4:00PM |
Lost 25-15, 28-26
Krista Hendrickson 10 kills, 7 digs, Maria Sancho 13 assists, 1 Ace |
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8:00AM |
EARLY ROUND LOSSES THWART TITLE DEFENSE
The Hilltoppers stepped onto the court at Manchester Regional High School as the favorites looking to defend their title from 2006. Although the Hilltoppers only returned 2 players from last year's championship squad, the 2007 team looked to be better prepared than their 2006 counterparts due to their schedule. Experience in tournament format, however, was seriously lacking and it proved to be the squad's undoing. ROUND 1: SHS 19 - ELMWOOD PARK 21 This first round match began very much like last year with both squads showing early jitters and committing unforced errors. Unlike last year though, the Hilltoppers never seemed to settle down as the pressure of being "the favorite" mounted with each lost point. Late in the match last year, SHS relied on their serving attack to win the first round. In 2007, the serving game deserted them and the result was quite different. SHS loses the round 1 matchup 21-19 after leading 19-18 but missing their next serve to give Elmwood the opening they needed to complete the upset win. SHS served at 77% for the game. ROUND 2: SHS 19 - LODI 21 SHS needed a bounce back win and put themselves in a position to get to the finals. The serving game came around (90%) and their passing game was good (1.9 ROUND 3: SHS 15 - HAWTHORNE CHRISTIAN 21 Hawthorne had also lost the first 2 games like Summit but the Hilltoppers had seen this squad improve each match and with Summit clearly feeling the pressure of the "favorite" mantle, Hawthorne seemed excited and much more relaxed than Summit. The Hilltoppers were faced with a daunting prospect. They needed to win the final three games and hope one other squad lost 2 to have a chance at the finals. Unfortunately, in game 3, it was the passing game that killed the hopes of the Hilltoppers. Passing at a measly 1.1 rating, the Hilltoppers were only able to connect on 5 attacks. The Hilltopper serving and defense were stellar (100% serve - 1st time all season- 13 digs and 2 blocks) but the constant passing miscues took away the Hilltopper offense. ROUND 4: SHS 21 - MANCHESTER REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL 13 With 3 losses under their belt, the Hilltoppers were still not out of the finals! Unbelievably enough, some early upsets in Round 4 gave Summit a ray of hope coming into the last match of this round. Finally, without the pressure of being the favorite, the Hilltoppers played the most relaxed game of their day against the home team. Summit served inconsistently, passed terribly and thus created few offensive opportunities but their aggressiveness more than made up for any errors. Although the squad committed 6 serving errors, they pounded out 8 aces. Although they only generated 10 attack attempts, Summit pounded out 6 kills. The team seemed to play relaxed and renewed and still had a glimmer of hope of making the finals. ROUND 5: SHS 21 - MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS 11 The Hilltoppers came into this round with the knowledge that repeating as champions was not going to be in the cards. The other matchups did not yield the results the Hilltoppers needed to move on. Hawthorne Christian however, had been in the same position as SHS in round 3 and by winning that match-up against SHS had put themselves in a position to get to the finals with 3 consecutive wins. Summit was going to be 1 win short if they were able to beat Mary Help in a rematch of last year's final. If SHS won, Hawthorne Christian would almost be guaranteed a final spot. If Mary Help won, they would have a shot to get to the finals for a second consecutive year. Summit never allowed Mary Help to get into the game. Having no pressure on them and playing solely for pride, the Hilltoppers made it a goal not to allow Mary Help to get back to the finals. The passing game and defense generated constant attack opportunities that Summit put away for a tournament high 12 kills (over 50% Although the 4th place finish was disappointing for the Hilltoppers, the team scored the second highest points in the tourney (95), second only to the #1 seed Elmwood Park's 98 points. Hawthorne Christian earned the second seed and won the final match-up 25-17. |
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4:00PM |
Won 25-21, 25-14 Seeking to avenge an earlier loss to the Hornets and add another win to bolster their county ranking, Summit came out in a new line-up and exhibited a much more relaxed demeanor. The "loose" feeling the team had translated into a very efficient dismantling of a competitive but overmatched Hanover Park squad. Although the Hornets had beaten the Hilltoppers the first time they met with tough serving and opportune attacks, the Hilltoppers seemed to have people in the right spots at every serve receive rotation and attacked HP with a balanced offense that produced the highest number of kills for the season without Krista Hendrickson reaching 10 kills.
Timely hitting and serving provided the difference in game 1 with the Hilltoppers creating a run of 3-0 (18-15) midway through the game to distance themselves from a feisty HP squad. SHS was far more dominant in game 2 with the Hilltoppers racing to a 6-2 lead to start the game and extending it to 13-4 and 18-6 before they even reached the 2nd run through the rotation. Game 2 was over early and the Hilltoppers celebrated an easy 2 game victory. Abby Mell matched Hendrickson's 6 kills for a season high and Maria Sancho had 16 assists -another season high- while Krista Hendrickson had a team high 9 digs. Summit received the 10th seed in the Union County Tournament -the highest seed since 1999- and will face off against #7 Scotch Plains on Friday, October 12th at New Providence at 4pm. |
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Fri
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10/12 |
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Scotch Plains (1st Rnd UCT) | 4:00PM |
Lost 28-26, 25-23 In one of the most exciting games of the first round of the county championships in 2007, #10 Summit locked up with #7 Scotch Plains-Fanwood in New Providence. The teams traded kills and aces and displayed good defensive skills but were very much even throughout most of the game. Krista Hendrickson's offensive output through the 3 front row positions and Maria Sancho's running of the offense created many good offensive chances for the team while Scotch Plains' middle attacks and setter tips kept their team close.
Summit pulled away slightly as the game wore on and held a 21-18 lead late in game 1. But then, the unthinkable happened. Hendrickson rolled her ankle on an opponent's foot while attempting a block up the middle and could not continue. Without their major offensive threat, SHS struggled to find an offensive rhythm for a few points. Emily Hu filled in admirably for Hendrickson positionally as she had to play out of position for the remainder of game 1. Maria Sancho made a couple of point saving plays off bad serve receiving passes to keep plays alive and the defense stepped up to prevent SPF to finish the game off. SHS fought off 3 game points (at 24-23/25-24/26-25) before succumbing to the #7 seed in game 1. The second game saw a much more confident SPF team as they realized that Hendrickson could not play. Summit, however, playing in a new lineup and new serve receive rotations, played their best team game of the season. All players chipped in with key kills, aces and digs at various times during the game. Summit's blocking became a factor as well with contributions from Liz Honold who has played only in the back row since the beginning of the season. Abby Mell, Ilia Feine and Lucy Wise took over for Hendrickson as they kept finding the floor with their attacks. Markeetah Anderson had numerous point saving digs and Elaine Gonzalez and Sara Escudero had to take the responsibility of anchoring serve receive formations in which they generally are secondary passers. Maria Sancho again displayed her athleticism and leadership making point saving plays and adding to her kill total for the year. SHS lead 21-19 late once again but could not close out the game. SPF's best rotation beat out SHS's front row during this stretch as the Hilltoppers committed 3 hitting errors during this stretch to give SPF the opening they needed. Congrats to the Hilltoppers for their outstanding effort in the face of such adversity and for proving that they are truly one of the top 10 teams in the county. |
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Mon | 10/15 | H | Mendham | 4:00PM |
Lost 25-15,25-22 Krista Hendrickson led team with 8 kills and 6 aces.
Maria Sancho tallied 8 assists and 4 digs. |
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4:00PM |
Lost 25-20/13-25/13-25 Maria Sancho tallied 15 assists while Krista Hendrickson and Abby Mell both hit for 6 kills each.
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4:00PM |
Lost 13-25/23-25 Maria Sancho had 7 assists and Krista Hendrickson had
4 kills. |
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4:00PM |
Lost 6-25/21-25 Abby Mell and Krista Hendrickson had 3 kills apiece and Maria Sancho had 3 assist
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4:00PM |
Lost 12-25/12-25 Maria Sancho had 3 assists and 2 aces. Krista Hendrickson added 4 kills and 3 digs.
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4:00PM |
Lost 26-24/27-29/18-25 Maria Sancho led the way with a season high and possible record 22 assists. Krista Hendrickson had a stellar day as well tallying 17 kills -another possible record- and 6 digs. Abby Mell added 4 kills and 3 digs. Markeetah Anderson had a team leading 6 aces and 9 digs.
Outstanding effort team!!!! |
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Fri | 10/26 | H | Kent Place | 4:00PM |
Won 25-19, 26-24 In a match-up of "across-the-block" rivals, Summit (#10 in Union County) took on Kent Place (#9 in UC). Game 1 featured the offense of the Hilltoppers versus the consistent defense of Kent Place. The Hilltopper offense prevailed although the team showed some deficiency again in serve receive late in the game.
Game 2 proved to be a challenge for the Hilltoppers. The KP serving attack created many miscues in the Hilltopper passing game and gave KP ample opportunitites to score in transition. Late in game 2, SHS was trailing 19-13 when co-captain Krista Hendrickson came up to serve. Krista served for 7 straight points, including 3 aces, to surge ahead 20-19 before losing serve. The teams traded points and with score 21-21, SHS commited 2 straight hitting errors to fall behind once again 23-21. After an Abby Mell kill, Lucy Wise served 2 straight points to give SHS a slim 24-23 lead. After KP tied the score at 24, Ilia Fiene served out the last 2 points to take the game and match 26-24. Congrats to the Hilltoppers for their great win! |
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4:00PM | ||||
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4:00PM |