May 6, 2024
We are five full weeks into the NJ Boys High School volleyball season and the landscape continues to be better defined as we now have 1,391 games under our belts.
Just two teams remain undefeated after week five, and just one just lost their first set this weekend. NJP’s #1 team, the Old Bridge Knights, remained undefeated this past week, and gave SPF their first loss of the season in a crucial match that will surely impact final team rankings in June. The Knights are 19-0 and have taken on the best in the land, packing their schedule with top 20 squads and still have a positive point differential per set of almost 8 points. They currently have the third hardest schedule in NJ this season.
The other undefeated team is Cherry Hill West. They are 13-0 on the season and have a 26-1 set record. They are beating opponents by an average of 13 points per set plus and have been truly dominant. The 13 point/set differential is number one in the state. The math algorithm does not give them a high amount of respect according to the numbers. They slot in at #6 in NJ, despite the ongoing demolition of their schedule. NJP has the Lions ranked 186th in NJ in schedule strength, thus the highest they have achieved thus far is #6. The Saturday match against Cherry Hill East was posted after our ranking update for this week. Despite the win, West will drop in the ranking after going three sets with East and having such a tight match with a team ranked #43.
SPF fell just short of OB in their match last week, despite it being a straight set loss. They are a clear #2 thus far with both Hackensack and Southern close by and hard charging.
With the tournament of Champions long gone, we often focus on which team will end up being the #1 ranked team in NJ based on our algorithm. When top teams are in different groups, they will end up NOT having a deciding head to head match up when the season winds down with Group Champions. There will certainly be 4 group champs this year, and we will celebrate them, but we will also select NJP’s #1 team when the dust settles. In all likelihood, it will be one of the 4 group winners. The layout by group will certainly present some top match-ups in state playoffs. Let’s take a look…
Group 1 – North
#20 West Caldwell Tech and #25 Passaic Charter appear to be the cream of the crop in this Sectional with #32 Harrison close behind. There is a full 5 rating point differential to 4th place and #89 Newark Tech. At this point, it would be hard to concede that others can make a run at N1.
Group 2 – North
NJP sees N2 as a five team race currently. #23 Garfield, #26 Bergenfield, and #28 Ramapo will certainly have a great chance to occupy semi-final spots. Both Summit and Vernon are capable of jumping in to the mix when state playoffs arrive.
Group 3 – North
Lot’s of talent exists in this grid including the current #2 and #3 teams, SPF, and Hackensack. #7 Fair Lawn lives for playoff time and we can always expect they will have a chance to rise to the finals. #16 Millburn and #22 Colonia are poised to upset and potentially reach the semi’s. SPF and Hackensack are both having elite seasons and we expect they will reach the North finals with the winner having an advantage for overall Group 3 Champion.
Group 4 – North
Based on the math, Bridgewater and Livingston are clear favorites to reach the North G4 finals. Any team in this region will likely be a big underdog against a Group 4 – South division that is completely stacked.
Group 1 – South
S1 appears to be a three team race between #40 St. John Vianney, #44 Cinnaminson, and #48 Hudson Catholic. HC is one of those teams that is harder to get a read on based on their schedule fully in Hudson County. Would have loved to see some high end matches added on their remaining schedule to provide more intelligence. The 2-1 first loss to Kearny frames their ranking a bit despite the strong overall record. Even a match against Harrison or Livingston would be a nice test. Vianney has been tested and has performed well, especially in their recent match where they took a set from #4 Southern. Cinnaminson will challenge themselves with their remaining schedule facing Kingsway, WWPN, Lenape and Pennsauken Tech and may continue to rise. But SJV for now looks tops.
Group 2 – South
#8 Pinelands, #9 St. Joe’s Metuchen, and #10 Jackson Liberty will duke it out in this sectional. Pinelands and Liberty have the big winning records and the Falcons of SJM have the pedigree and tough schedule. We are going to wait before making any predictions in this one but it’s going to be tough to pick against a grinding St. Joe’s squad.
Group 3 – South
We are going to call S3 the most open sectional of the tournament. With CHW not having a real test on their schedule as of yet, and three top 30 teams in the mix, we could see some upsets. WWPS, Freehold Borough, and Northern Burlington will all provide tests. Cherry Hill West will reveal tomorrow some greater insights on their prowess when they take on a solid Rancocas Valley team ranked #24 and 12-2. Could this be an upset special for Tuesday?
Group 4 – South
#1 Old Bridge and #4 Southern. This matchup always seems to be destiny each year. There are 4 more teams in the NJP top 15 in the mix this season. #11 Howell, #13 Monroe, #15 Kingsway, and and #19 Hillsborough all bring high levels of talent and a chance to upset. BUT, the math has Old Bridge at a 6 ranking point differential between all teams other than Southern. That’s basically a 98% lock. The Old Bridge/Southern matchup would be another classic and a fitting ending for both teams seasons. Old Bridge is ridiculously deep behind an outstanding starting 7. They are going to be tough to bring down.
A few shoutouts…
Congratulations to Harrison Head Coach Nick Landy for notching his 300th career win this past week.
Hackensack Head Coach Bob Bollerman earned his 200th career win for the Comets!
Congratulations to Massimo Rocco of Old Bridge for committing to play D3 Volleyball at the collegiate level at Rutgers University in Newark. Make sure to send us commitments to play in college to njpowerranking@gmail.com.
NJP
