When the opposing team on the opposite side of the net makes 13 errors in the first game of a volleyball match, it helps to win it and seize the momentum. The Southern Regional girls didn’t on Oct. 29, and it cost them dearly.
After St. John Vianney erased a three-point deficit and grabbed control of the first set, the Lancers pushed the throttle a bit higher during the next two and went on to capture a second straight Shore Conference Tournament crown, ousting the Rams, 25-23, 25-21, 25-15.
“They’re bigger and stronger than us. They’re a better team, so we needed to steal one,” said head coach Eric Maxwell, whose Rams dipped to 17-6. “Our defense was phenomenal in that first set and we kept some balls alive, which was part of forcing them into making mistakes. So, we were up 19-16, and then, in the 20s, we didn’t make a couple of defensive plays we needed to make, and they took the set. They didn’t play great, but they were feeling good at that point.”
The top-seeded Rams fell behind, 6-1, at the outset, only to climb back to within a point, 7-6, after an SJV passing error. With the Rams still within one, 14-13, the third-seeded Lancers (23-1) hit the ball out and then hit a pair into the net to give Southern a 16-14 advantage. Kaylee Gibson gave the Rams an 18-16 lead with a pair of kills before another SJV hitting mistake made it 19-16.
Following a pair of blocks and another point from Vianney to tie the game at 19-19, Kayden Bulger pushed the Rams back into the lead, 20-19, with a kill. Southern’s lead was 22-19 before the Lancers stormed back and regained the lead with four straight points. After another Lancers mishap made it 24-23, they closed out the set with a point.
NOT RIGHT NOW: Southern Regional’s Ryleigh Tietjen and Catherine Dalon get their hands high to deter the opposing hitter during the Shore Conference Tournament final on Oct. 29.
Vianney started the second set with a 6-0 lead and surged from there, increasing its lead to 22-10 before scoring three of the last four points to go up 2-0.
“Not finishing in that first set really pushed us behind, and it made it that much harder to come back because we couldn’t build any momentum,” said Bulger, who finished with six kills and 11 digs. “We were all working really hard, but it was just that some of the long rallies didn’t go our way, and it became a mental challenge. The momentum just slipped away from us.”
In the third set, the Rams stayed close for a while, tying the game at 7-7 before SJV grabbed the lead with a hit to the right line and a block on Bulger, then cruised ahead. After a kill by Gibson temporarily slowed the Lancers at 17-13, they won the next five points to pull within three points of the SCT title. Bulger’s final kill made it 22-14 and SJV hit the ball out to generate Southern’s final point, but the Lancers won the next three points.
Gianna Manochio finished with 16 digs and Ryleigh Tietjen managed 18 assists. Gibson, Mikayla Blahut and Catherine Dalon each had a block, and Ava Malandro added three kills. Grace Thurber had the Rams’ only ace to go with seven digs.
“They’re so big, and their presence at the net was bigger than ours, so we had to make the perfect shot, and then it was that much easier for their defense to make plays,” Maxwell said. “We tried everything, but we weren’t big enough or strong enough at the net to match up with what they were throwing at us. The effort was there, but they had too much. They’re 23-1 for a reason.”
GOING LOW: Southern Regional senior libero Gianna Manochio gets down to the floor to dig out a ball during the second set of the Rams’ loss to St. John Vianney on Oct. 29.
Two days earlier, the Rams had cruised to a 20-25, 25-16, 25-13, 25-22 win over fifth-seeded Jackson in the quarterfinals. Bulger finished with 19 kills and 10 digs; Tietjen delivered 41 assists, eight digs and two aces; Malandro tallied 17 kills and eight digs; Manochio contributed 12 digs; and Gibson added nine kills and a block. Thurber had 10 digs as well.
“The girls have to pick themselves up after this, and they’ll get back up and get to work,” Maxwell said. “We’ve been a really good team the past three weeks. And we didn’t play at that level tonight, but we’re going to be ready for the state tournament.”
The Rams are the third-seeded squad in NJSIAA South Jersey Group 4, and their opening contest was against Shore Conference rival and 14th-seeded Toms River North, scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3. The winner will meet either sixth-seeded Hunterdon Central or 11th-seeded Cherokee on Thursday, Nov. 5. The semifinals are set for Saturday, Nov. 7, and the Rams could face second-seeded Williamstown if both teams advance past the quarterfinals.
“In all three sets against Vianney, we didn’t start off the way we should have, and that let them get leads,” Bulger said. “It was hard to build up from that, so that’s what we have to do well in the state tournament. We need a better mindset going into each set and start strong.”
