September 15, 2022

As always for 2022, we will continue to update this blog through the night so stay tuned for new content as the night progresses.

Beware the ides of September… will it mean upsets? Injuries? (Heaven forbid). Lets see what the our NJ young ladies have in store for us tonight…

Another powerful showing from IHA today as they convincingly down the Ridgewood Maroons in straight sets. The Blue Eagles held Ridgewood to just 9 in the second set. It’s early in the season but NJ volleyball Queen Maria Nolan already has this team humming like a well-tuned machine.

The battle of Hunterdon took place today at North. Central came in at 3-1 but left 3-2 as Colleen Russell had another superlative showing. Colleen slashed 6 kills and 3 aces on offense and added a block and 4 digs on Defense. Brooke Logar showed off her versatility once again with 13 assists, 10 digs, and 7 service points. Sam Wilton dug 13 and Bella DoCabo and Emma Murry combined for 9 kills on the night. North Hunterdon is back on track and is now 3-1 for the season.

Mount St. Mary took down Rutgers Prep today in a very tough 3-set battle. The margin between these two teams was razor thin in every set with the lowest losing score at 22. Mount St. Mary was a demon on the blockade posting 10 big blocks among 4 different players. Ryan Oden had 6 kills and Mahalia Gorham added 4. Mahalia also contributed 3 aces and 3 blocks. Bianca Barreto lifted 10 digs and Gabi Zuretti added 14 assists for the winners.

East Brunswick is now 3-0 as they take care of business on the road at Colonia. The Bears are back on top of the GMC-Red, a place they are very familiar with over the years. Monroe and Old Bridge remain undefeated in their division as well.

The Southern Regional Rams have started the season at 3-0 after whipping Jackson Memorial in straight sets. Jordyn Hamlin with a strong performance and Jessica Smart was equally as impressive on the attack. But Kaya Nascimento stole the show with 17 service points and 4 aces for the Rams. Way to go Kaya!

Whenever Skyland foes get together in division games, there are always fireworks. Today, Hillsborough defeated Bridgewater-Raritan in straight sets led by Aileen Xu’s 11 kills. Claire Marcinek had 2 blocks and 8 kills, and Gisele Galera put up 21 assists, 2 kills, 5 digs and 17 service points which resulted in 4 aces. Nice win for the Raiders who even their record at 2-2.

NJP’s #1 team Bogota made quick work of a solid Leonia team in straight sets. Ashanna Caviness struck for 22 kills and 2 aces in the match. Mia Pimentel dished 24 assists and Emma Fowler added 2 blocks for the Buccaneers. Bogota is now 4-0.

Livingston held off Piscataway to improve to 5-0 while handing the Chiefs their first loss of the year. Livingston will host Verona in a can’t miss game of top teams in the Super Essex Conference tomorrow.

Union Catholic was coming off three straight losses after opening at 4-0 this season. Plainfield was a victim of some of their frustration as UC pummeled the Cardinals 25-8, 25-7. Another 8 kills for sophomore Ryan Gorski.

Union City branched outside of Hudson County to take on Paramus at home today. The Soaring Eagles are getting ready for a big match with Hudson Catholic next week. They defeated Paramus in a tight three set match with Amy Castillo blasting 18 kills and providing the offense charge needed to outlast the Spartans. Heidi Ochoa had 23 digs and Scarlett Torres added 19 as well as 24 assists. UC is now 4-0 and will play at Hoboken tomorrow.

McNair improved to 6-0 with a big win over Ferris. Beyonce Castro carried the offensive load with 5 kills and 2 aces. Jakiya Carter continues to excel at middle and added another 5 blocks to her season resume.

Payne Tech needed 16 kills from Anjali Maragh to get past the Hoboken Red Wings in three sets today. Natalie Gonzalez had 22 assists and Jaylene Nivar had 15 digs for the Lions.

Payne Tech has their second annual JV tournament on 10/8. They are looking for three more teams to fill the grid. Contact nbatista@essextech.org for more info.

Mother Seton got past Edison today to improve to 5-0. Liahnna Orange orchestrated another victory putting up 10 assists, 3 aces, 4 kills, and 4 digs. Isabella Peralta had a great showing with 3 aces and 6 kills for the Setters. Maya Brown lifted 10 digs for the winners.

Abundant Life knocked back 8 blocks and slammed 13 aces in their straight set win over Somerset Bible Baptist Christian. SBBC is one of the new teams this season and they held their own against against Abundant. Leah Logan had 3 kills and 3 blocks. Abundant Life had 4 players with 3 aces… Isabella Kuebler, Leah Logan, Mia Twiggs, and Solysis Velazquez.

Tonight we do our stat dump, updated as of 10PM Thursday, sorted by blocks…

We expect our first computer ranking to be issued on Sunday. Stay tuned…