South Brunswick, NJ — In a gym that can hold as many as 2,000 fans, there might as well have been 20,000. The West Caldwell Tech Eagles and Hudson Catholic Hawks faithful roared their way through a back-and-forth contest, often shaking the bleachers beneath them, in a thrilling final for the NJSIAA Boys Volleyball Group I Championship. Ultimately it was the Eagles fans with the most to cheer about as they watched their young men take the match in straight sets 25-20 and 27-25.

The first set was very much a feeling out process for both sides, with the Hawks trying to find a way around the sheer size brought to the court by West Caldwell Tech. The score was as close as 21-19 before the Eagles ultimately pulled away thanks to some key digs from Xavier Rodriguez and John Jimenez.

Phase two of the contest completely flipped the script with Hudson Catholic dominating their way to a 7-0 lead featuring crisp passing and some outstanding swings from Alan Santiago. The Eagles responded in kind ripping off five straight points of their own, tightening up the set to a degree that it would stay at until the very end.

The West Caldwell Tech dynamic hitting combo of Ibrahim Dessources and FDU commit Timothy Smith proved to be too tall a task (quite literally) for Hudson Catholic, as their blend of size and power helped bash their way to a second state title in as many season.

“Seeing my school win another state championship…it felt great to be a part of that,” Smith said just moments after delivering the clinching kill.

Though they’ll graduate six seniors, the Eagles’ program looks to be in steady shape under head coach Natasha Batista.

Hudson Catholic saw their most successful season in program history get cut short, but still have plenty to be proud of, winning their first ever sectional title and appearing in the state championship game for the first time.