Girls Volleyball Conference & County Tournament Look Ahead

With about a week or so to go until county and conference tournament seeding occurs, we have seen lots of teams that have made major moves and should be seeded highly in their respective tournaments.

Let’s do a deep-dive into who is set up well for a high seed in their brackets!

BERGEN

• #7 Immaculate Heart
  • The Blue Eagles are 8-2 overall, paced by juniors Adrielle Crump and Sophia Mahon. IHA averages 31.4 kills per match and 10.1 aces per match. This team is scrappy, has a long-standing tradition of excellence and is a team that very few would want to run into in the Bergen County Tournament.

BIG WINS: #12 Old Tappan 2-0, #4 Old Bridge 2-1

TEAMS TO WATCH: #8 Northern Highlands, #9 Ramapo, #11 Demarest and #12 Old Tappan

MORRIS

• #15 Randolph
  • The Rams are a force to be reckoned with in Morris County. Looking to repeat, Randolph returns most of their starters and are led by Ola Jankowska and Reese Nelson who average a combined 14.5 kills per match. Jankowska and Nelson also lead the way defensively and will look to help Randolph become the third different program to repeat in Morris County Tournament history.

BIG WINS: Millburn 2-0, Mount Olive 2-0, West Morris Central 2-1

TEAMS TO WATCH: Mount Olive, West Morris, Parsippany Hills and Morris Tech

PASSAIC

• #14 Passaic Tech
  • The Bulldogs are led by Gia Stipo, while setters Peyta D’Agostino and Bryanna Castellano-Melendez orchestrate the offense in the 6-2 system. Passaic Tech averages over 13 aces per match and thrives when opponents return free balls for the Bulldog hitters to crush.

BIG WINS: #17 Livingston 2-0, #15 Randolph 2-1

TEAMS TO WATCH: DePaul, Wayne Valley, Wayne Hills and Passaic Valley

SHORE

• #2 St. John Vianney
  • The Lancers’ Daria Shnarevich has been dominant to say the least. One of the best setters in the state, Ayana Warren, also has been running a strong offense for St. John Vianney with 161 assists to her name already this season. This team graduated lots of talent, but new stars are rising to the occasion for the Lancers.

BIG WINS: Holmdel 2-0, #5 Williamstown 3-0

TEAMS TO WATCH: Southern, Howell, Holmdel, Pinelands and Toms River South

HUDSON

• #19 Secaucus
  • Isabella Pablos has been tearing it up for the Patriots, and her team has played very strong defense this season. No Sofia Guzman, no Olivia Jasiczek, no problem. Secaucus is off to a hot start and is looking at earning a very favorable seed in the HCT.

BIG WINS: Fort Lee 3-0, Cedar Grove 2-0

TEAMS TO WATCH: Union City, Hudson Catholic, Mount St. Dominic and McNair

HUNTERDON/WARREN/SUSSEX

• Hunterdon Central
  • The Red Devils have a balanced offense and that has helped them to jump out to a 6-1 start. Hunterdon Central averages 27 kills per match, and it all starts with their strong passing as the Red Devils average 36 digs per match. If HC is going to win, Paige Tomaino will likely have her fingerprints on the game in more ways than one.

BIG WINS: Rutgers Prep 2-0, North Hunterdon 2-1, Bridgewater-Raritan 2-0, Mount St. Mary 2-1

TEAMS TO WATCH: North Hunterdon, Hackettstown, Vernon and Warren Hills

UNION

• #3 Westfield
  • After one of the best hitters in the state graduated, Sophia Simeone, Annelise  Bonn and Liz Bresnahan have all stepped up their game. Abby Wilson and Heidi Foster are two senior setters that run the 6-2, helping their hitters crush over 28 kills per match.

BIG WINS: Bridgwater-Raritan 3-2, Cranford 2-1, Millburn 2-0

TEAMS TO WATCH: Union Catholic, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Governor Livingston and Cranford

GREATER MIDDLESEX CONFERENCE (GMC)

• #4 Old Bridge
  • If you watch Old Bridge, you know there is the favorite for NJ Player of the Year and Gatorade Player of the Year, Ashley Markle. The Knights average 27.9 kills per match, and that team operates like clockwork. Each player does their job and that is a winning formula, especially with the other contenders this conference.

BIG WINS: Mother Seton 2-1, Piscataway 2-0, Bridgewater-Raritan 3-0, #20 JP Stevens 2-0, Monroe 2-1

TEAMS TO WATCH: #20 JP Stevens, Mother Seton, South Brunswick and Piscataway

BURLINGTON COUNTY SCHOLASTIC LEAGUE (BCSL)

• #10 Princeton
  • After Naomi Lygas graduated, Princeton has had to manufacture offense in different ways, some of it is using defense to score. Sedona Arminio has 21 kills and 11 blocks, both lead the team. Camila Barbosa has done a strong job as libero for Princeton and that defense will need to stay solid during the middle stretch of the season and tournament play.

BIG WINS: West Windsor-Plainsboro South 2-1, Notre Dame 2-0, West Windsor-Plainsboro South 2-0

TEAMS TO WATCH: Princeton Day, West Windsor-Plainsboro South, Cinnaminson and Notre Dame

TRI-COUNTY

• #5 Williamstown
  • The Braves have been paced by Peyton Wright and Elizabeth Yeddis, who have been scoring at-will all season long. Somehow, Coach Sheppard continues to find players to replace ones who have graduated to step up and this season is no different. Williamstown will look to continue their winning tradition in the Tri-County Tournament this season.

BIG WINS: Southern 3-0, Moorestown 3-0

TEAMS TO WATCH: Kingsway, Washington Twp, Timber Creek and Clearview

ESSEX

• #6 Verona
  • The Verona Hillbillies will go as Brynn Mack goes, as the junior has 100 kills in just seven matches. Not only do they mash over 23 kills per match, but also record over 34.7 digs per match. With wins over three ranked opponents who have been ranked at some point this season, Verona is building a compelling resume and is in the driver’s seat for the Essex County Tournament.

BIG WINS: #17 Livingston 2-1, Mount St. Dominic 2-0, #15 Randolph 2-0

TEAMS TO WATCH: #17 Livingston, Mount St. Dominic, West Essex and Cedar Grove

SOMERSET

• Montgomery
  • The Cougars are rebounding nicely after a tough season last fall. At 7-1, Montgomery has relied heavily on Sidney Koslow, but have a very versatile squad. This team can defend with the best of them in Somerset County and defense will win you a lot of matches, especially as they become more meaningful.

BIG WINS: Franklin 2-0, West Windsor-Plainsboro South 2-1

TEAMS TO WATCH: Mount St. Mary, Bridgewater-Raritan, Ridge and Franklin

CAPE ATLANTIC LEAGUE (CAL)

• Ocean City
  • Bradee Boyd is leading the Red Raiders in her senior season and has mashed 83 kills to help Ocean City jump out to a 7-0 start. The Red Raiders average almost 11 aces per match, and they have taken advantage of the easy opportunities that they have been given to score. Ocean City is looking to repeat as CAL champs and are in a great position to do so.

BIG WINS: Lower Cape May 2-0, Atlantic Tech 2-0, Our Lady of Mercy 2-0