Girl’s Blog, 9/20

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Sep 20, 2025 Girl's Blog, GirlsVB, High School

9/20/25

Hi Everyone. We have now finished 3 full weeks of NJ high school girl’s volleyball in the Garden State and will be spending this weekend dropping in an abundance of analysis and data points. For you number crunching data geeks, it should be a lot of fun.

We have collected stats for 3,560 players for the first 3 weeks. Those are all players who have stats so the actual roster numbers will be higher for the 295 teams that are reporting. That (painfully) means that 46 teams are not reporting at all on individual stats. Many are newer teams but some have been around for many years. We continue to want to make an impact on getting all teams to report individual stats. Let’s get on a bandwagon to encourage these teams to grab a volunteer, get trained if needed (LINK), and join the rest of the 86.5% of teams who have built recordkeeping into their programs.

Here is the list of non-reporting teams:

BelovED Charter, Blair, Buena Regional, Burlington City, Calvary Academy, Camden, Camden Academy Charter, Camden Catholic, Camden Eastside, Central Jersey College Charter, Cherry Hill West, College Achieve Central, College Achieve Paterson, Dover, Dwight-Morrow, Empowerment Academy, Charter Gateway Academy, Hackensack, Hoboken Charter, Hudson Catholic, Johnson, KIPP Cooper Norcross Academy, Lacordaire, Leonia, Life Center, Lodi, Manchester Regional, Mastery Camden, Montclair Immaculate, Newark Global Studies, Newark School of Data Science, North Star Academy, Palisades Park, Parsippany, Paterson Arts, Paterson Kennedy, Pennsauken, Pioneer Academy, Roselle, Snyder, St. Joseph (Hamm.), STEMCivics, Teaneck, University, Weequahic, and West Side.

This represents an approximate 500+ players who are not being recognized as participants in NJ HS volleyball.

Of the 3,560 players reporting stats, 1,466 are seniors, 1,163 are juniors, 628 are sophomores, and 209 are freshman with the remainder unreported. Of the 3,466 reporting grad years, rosters contain 42% seniors, 34% juniors, 18% sophs, and just 6% first-years. This is a very similar trend to previous years with upperclassman dominating rosters with roughly 3/4 of the players and first year players typically getting 1 spot on a roster of twenty on average. We estimate approximately 4,200 players are at the varsity level for the 341 teams meaning on average, 12 players are getting time on the court for each roster. We expect this number to grow as the season progresses and more younger players get a chance to be introduced. We see rosters as low as 8 players and as high as 20.

Of the 86% of teams that make an effort to keep individual game stats, many are taking shortcuts and not recording either sets played or service points. The sets played not being recorded puts those players at a disadvantage as we use total sets played by the team to calculate individual stats per set. Recording sets played is a very simple task compared to tracking kills, digs, and the rest of the stats. We encourage these teams to submit individual player information that includes sets played:

Absegami, Bergen Tech, Bergenfield, Bishop Eustace, Delran, Hackettstown, Lower Cape May, Mendham, Midland Park, New Brunswick, North Bergen, Pequannock, Ramsey, Ridgefield Park, Saddle Brook, Science Park, and Wayne Hills.

Service Points are not completed by 40% of teams currently. We rarely use this category in our reporting due to the number of teams who do not participate.

Some Saturday recaps:

Pinelands (10-0) survived a spirited challenge from Cherry Hill East (7-1) with a thrilling 22-25, 25-19, 25-13, 25-21 victory in a marquee non-conference showdown between two elite programs. Madison Wilbert exploded for a match-high 15 kills and 13 digs for the Wildcats, while Chloe Tucker orchestrated the comeback with 25 assists and Jayda Quigley contributed 7 kills and an outstanding 19 digs in the four-set triumph. Pinelands also received valuable contributions from Heidi Cyphert with 8 kills, Jayla Kline with 13 digs, and Riley McQuaid with 16 digs as they accumulated 42 kills while weathering Cherry Hill East’s early surge that saw them capture the opening set. The victory extends Pinelands’ remarkable unbeaten streak to 10 matches and hands Cherry Hill East their first loss of the season, as the Cougars pushed the state’s 16th-ranked team to the limit before falling in what proved to be an exceptional display of high-level volleyball. Pinelands demonstrated their championship mettle by responding to adversity with three consecutive set victories, while Cherry Hill East showed they belong among New Jersey’s premier programs despite absorbing their first setback in this thrilling cross-conference battle.

In their second match of the day, Pinelands (10-0) extended their unbeaten streak with a dominant 25-12, 25-19, 25-16 sweep over visiting Palumbo (PA) (0-2) in non-conference action at Cherry Hill East. Cali Peterka spearheaded the Wildcats’ offensive surge with 9 kills, while Chloe Tucker orchestrated the attack with 19 assists and contributed 1 block in another well-rounded team performance. Pinelands also received valuable contributions from Jayda Quigley with 8 kills and 12 digs, Madison Wilbert with 7 kills, Jayla Kline with outstanding defensive work including 25 digs, and Riley McQuaid with 9 digs as they accumulated 34 kills overall. The comprehensive victory showcases Pinelands’ depth and balance as they continue their sensational campaign, having now won 10 straight matches while establishing themselves as one of the premier programs in New Jersey with their consistent execution and championship-caliber talent across all positions.

Hillsborough (4-3) captured a convincing 25-22, 25-20 sweep over Rutgers Prep (6-2) in cross-divisional Skyland conference action. Grace Fitzpatrick powered the Raiders with 8 kills and 3 aces, while Cynthia Lei facilitated the offense with 18 assists and Abigail Fenton contributed 4 kills and 4 digs in the balanced team effort. Hillsborough also received solid contributions from Ashley Fenton with 11 assists and 4 digs, Sophia Baraniecki with 5 kills and 5 digs, and Darshini Wadan with 16 digs as they accumulated 16 kills while controlling both sets throughout the match. The victory gives Hillsborough a quality win over a strong Rutgers Prep squad in this cross-divisional Skyland matchup between two competitive programs.

Pascack Hills (5-2) defeated Saddle River Day (4-2) with a 26-24, 25-22 victory in non-conference action. Brooke Sawyer led Pascack Hills with 8 kills and 13 digs, while Sophia Kelly distributed with 23 assists and added 3 aces to help secure the straight-set win. Pascack Hills also received contributions from Avery Maloney with 6 kills and 1 block, Melis Ture with 4 kills, and Kayli Pieratos with 3 digs as they totaled 18 kills in the victory. The win gives Pascack Hills momentum as they continue their season, while Saddle River Day takes a loss, only their second of the season.

Hackettstown (6-3) secured a 25-13, 25-14 sweep over Pequannock (4-2) in cross-divisional NJAC competition. Ava Fiedler led Hackettstown with 4 kills and 3 aces, while Abbie Schlesinger facilitated the offense with 10 assists and Nicole Willis contributed 2 kills in the straight-set victory. Hackettstown also received contributions from Anna Willis with 3 kills and Maddie Sawicki with 2 kills and 1 block as they totaled 14 kills while controlling both sets throughout the match. Pequannock was led by Ella Arnold with 1 kill and Fiona Arnold with 3 assists, but managed only 6 kills overall as they absorbed a loss in this NJAC matchup.

Rutherford (9-0) demolished Bergen Tech (6-4) with a commanding 25-17, 25-21, 25-21 sweep in non-conference action to extend their unbeaten streak. Mackenzie Vellis dominated the match with 14 kills, 15 digs, and 8 aces for the Bulldogs, while Cate Finan facilitated the offense with 21 assists and Tessa Davidson anchored the defense with an exceptional 26 digs. Rutherford also received solid contributions from Mia George with 4 kills and 8 digs, Payton Lewis with 17 digs, and Juliette Sing with 4 kills as they accumulated 24 kills while maintaining control throughout all three sets. The victory showcases Rutherford’s depth and balance as they continue their sensational campaign.

Individual Player Stat leaders through matches Friday night:

KILL LEADERS