Wow! What a week.
Some outstanding matches this week have started to separate the top teams and also brought other teams closer to the mix of those competing for a state championship. Saturday was highlighted by just a superb match between #3 IHA and #1 Princeton as the Lady Tigers outlasted the Blue Eagles in three sets. The Saturday schedule also saw #2 Williamstown solidify it’s statement year with wins over #9 Old Bridge and #16 Notre Dame. We also saw #8 Secaucus fend off Livingston in three sets to remain undefeated.
The new week has started off with a bang as #16 Notre Dame brings down #1 Princeton with an enormous performance by Cassady Smith who rapped 16 kills and lifted 15 digs. #17 Pinelands knocked off Barnegat, Montville defeated once beaten #12 Lyndhurst and #9 Old Bridge knocked back Westfield. We also saw #7 Paul VI drop out of the unbeaten ranks with a 3-1 loss to Padua of Delaware.
As of mid-week, the NJP ranking algorithm is clearly showing Williamstown as a clear #1 in NJ after the Princeton loss. Williamstown has key matches coming up on 10/14 with Southern and 10/19 at Princeton. They finish their regular season at Kingsway on the 24th.
Undfeated Teams
Just 5 teams remain as predicted last week, although it probably wasn’t the five we expected. #8 Secaucus leads NJ with a 17-0 best record. #2 Williamstown is close behind at 16-0 and #18 Cherry Hill East keeps winning at 14-0. #6 Old Tappan remains unbeaten at 11-0 and #145 Newark Central, a much lower ranked team, is at 6-0.
Accolades and Milestones
Congratulations to Southern Libero Emily Brunetti. The Ram senior posted her 600th career dig this past week.
A was a big week for Abbey Bivona of Delaware Valley. She announced her commitment to play D3 volleyball at Rowan University. She also broke the Terriers all-time record for career blocks with 150. The senior has had a remarkable career with over 500 kills over 400 digs and closing in on 75 career aces.
Roxbury noted a couple of individual achievements this past week. Junior Bianca Jackson surpassed the 300 kills mark for her career for the Gaels. Junior Jenna Heiser achieved 200 digs for her career on the same night. Two nice milestones for players who will be returning next season for Roxbury.
Sophia Goldstein of Ramapo HS
Sophia Kudos to Julia Gutkin of Kinnelon. The junior breezed past 500 assists for her career this past week. She a big performance against Morris Catholic where she recorded 23 on the night. Last season, Julia notched 394 assist for the season.
Amanda Scaperotta of the Nutley Raiders announced she will be continuing her academic and volleyball career at the collegiate level. She will be attending D3 John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio. Amanda has recorded 673 digs and 104 aces in her 4 year varsity high school career at Nutley.
MKA announced this week that senior Avery Pratt has achieved the 500 mark in digs for her career. The Cougars libero is averaging 5 digs per set for MKA this season.
Jefferson Township senior Aleah Woelfer ripped past 1,000 career assists this week. The 3-year varsity starter has been outstanding for the Falcons.
Park Ridge senior Izzy Yarenis achieved 1,000 digs for her career as well as 300 digs this season. Izzy has evolved into one of NJ’s best defensive player.
Maia Cinca of Notre Dame has now reached the 500 kill mark for her career. She has been a driving force for the ND success this season as they break into the NJP top 20.
Sofia D’Arcangelo hit the 500 mark in career digs for Donovan Catholic this week. Sofia is a junior for the Griffins.
Izzy Rueda of Hackettstown got her 400th career dig this week. The senior is showing off why she was selected as a team captain.
Ramapo senior Sophia Goldstein has committed to play volleyball next Fall at Courtland.
Parsippany Hills sophomore Apoorva Bhargava has already reached 500 assists for her short career. Hills will be a team to watch next year as well with an abundance of underclass talent.
Emily Duessing of Notre Dame surpassed 800 digs for her career. ND has been so impressive this season and has a multitude of talent on the attack and defensively.
Notre Dame Head Coach Carp attained his 100th career win at Notre Dame. Congrats Coach!!
Kianna Marizan of Lyndhurst notched 1,000 career assists in her third varsity year. She is averaging an off the chart 10 assists per set this season.
Ryan Gorski of Union Catholic drove past 800 career digs this past week. Union Catholic remains in the NJP top 5 in NJ.
Sarah Diamante pushed back her 100th career block for Hanover Park this week. The senior middle has been a force at the net She is approaching 100 kills as well.
Congrats to Abundant Life for taking the Payne Tech Fall Madness Tournament this past weekend. The Warriors continue to have a great season.
Top Players at the 99th Percentile in NJ
Park Ridge 2025 Mia Izzo 1 100%
Teaneck 2025 Amali Johnson 2 100%
Union Catholic 2025 Rachel Williams 3 100%
Delaware Valley 2025 Abbey Bivona 4 100%
Montville 2025 Cassandra Chauhan 5 100%
Verona 2028 Brynn Mack 6 100%
Teaneck 2027 Sophia McCullough 7 100%
Old Tappan 2025 Samantha Kranzler 8 100%
Williamstown 2025 Gab Titus 9 100%
Mountain Lakes 2025 Natasha Clark 10 100%
Bridgewater-Raritan 2025 Irene Papanastasiou 11 100%
Southern 2025 Jessica Smart 12 100%
Dover 2026 Sara Canaveral 13 100%
Gov. Livingston 2026 Abby Kim 14 100%
Hunterdon Central 2025 Reagan Dyba 15 100%
Woodbridge 2025 Ashley Torok 16 100%
Pascack Valley 2025 Jillian Feeley 17 100%
Lyndhurst 2026 Sofia Hechavarria 18 100%
Donovan Catholic 2025 Brooke Bowbliss 19 100%
Ramsey 2025 Eiley Schneider 20 100%
Hillsborough 2025 Neha Tolpadi 21 99%
Montville 2025 Lena Unice 22 99%
Montgomery 2025 Izzie Swain 23 99%
Piscataway 2026 Milani Washington 24 99%
Princeton 2026 Naomi Lygas 25 99%
Immaculate Heart 2025 Julia Sobilo 26 99%
Williamstown 2025 Cassie Guim 27 99%
Elizabeth 2027 Isabella Morales 28 99%
Paul VI 2026 Maggie Carcillo 29 99%
Williamstown 2026 Stella Eberly 30 99%
Bogota 2026 Emma Fowler 31 99%
Scotch Plains-Fanwood 2026 Madelyn Byrne 32 99%
Southern 2025 Bailey Adams 33 99%
Phillipsburg 2027 Alexa Megjugorac 34 99%
Brick Memorial 2025 Isabella McKelvey 35 99%
Princeton 2025 Lois Matsukawa 36 99%
Old Tappan 2025 Addison Gioffre 37 99%
Ridgewood 2025 Sude Otaner 38 99%
Rutherford 2026 Mackenzie Vellis 39 99%
Central Regional 2025 Halee Smentkowski 40 99%
Hunterdon Central 2025 Emma Kovacs 41 99%
Ramapo 2027 Sara Wingfield 42 99%
Ramapo 2026 Ella Petrevski 43 99%
Watchung Hills 2025 Emma Jubin 44 99%
Lakewood 2025 Nathalie Arguedas 45 99%
Toms River North 2025 Arianna Pullaro 46 99%
Delaware Valley 2026 Maggie Simpson 47 99%
Linden 2025 Neika Michel 48 99%
West Essex 2025 Avalon Warmington 49 99%
Montclair Kimberley 2027 Layla Lynch 50 99%
Westfield 2026 Ava Gaspard 51 99%
Summit 2026 MacKenna Welsh 52 99%
Union Catholic 2025 Ryan Gorski 53 99%
Ridgewood 2026 Saige Rogers 54 99%
Bridgewater-Raritan 2025 Emily Evaristo 55 99%
Mount Olive 2025 Mishka Fernandez 56 99%
Pascack Valley 2026 Celia Torres 57 99%
Cliffside Park 2025 Wendy Palaguachi 58 99%
Feature Articles/Player Interviews
Here are links to NJP’s feature articles and player interviews:
Team Stat Leaders
Kills
Millburn 449
Southern 436
Paul VI 394
Union Catholic 387
Secaucus 386
Linden 384
Williamstown 383
Lyndhurst 379
Cliffside Park 378
Mount St. Mary 378
St. John Vianney 378
Bridgewater-Raritan 375
Hunterdon Central 372
Park Ridge 360
Union City 357
Hammonton 350
Notre Dame 350
Old Bridge 348
Rutherford 348
Mount Olive 347
Blocks
Ramsey 136
Millburn 108
Wallington 103
Winslow 102
American History 101
Dover 93
Lyndhurst 90
Phillipsburg 89
Mount St. Dominic 89
Mountain Lakes 87
Montclair Kimberley 86
Roselle Park 84
West Essex 82
Brick Memorial 81
Toms River North 77
Monroe 77
St. John Vianney 74
Cranford 74
St. Elizabeth 74
Colts Neck 72
Digs
Lakewood 920
Millburn 874
New Milford 776
Montville 758
Montgomery 751
Bridgewater-Raritan 740
Mountain Lakes 675
Irvington 673
Garfield 672
Fort Lee 663
Cliffside Park 634
Southern 627
Union City 623
Washington Township 617
McNair 616
Hillsborough 608
Colts Neck 595
Madison 593
Elizabeth 579
Park Ridge 577
Assists
Millburn 420
Southern 419
Paul VI 365
St. John Vianney 364
Lyndhurst 363
Mount St. Mary 356
Linden 349
Hunterdon Central 347
Cliffside Park 342
Secaucus 339
Bridgewater-Raritan 338
Old Bridge 336
Union Catholic 332
Rutherford 327
Union City 323
Princeton 322
Howell 322
Williamstown 320
Notre Dame 317
Mount Olive 317