Gloucester County Tournament Preview
Thursday, May 16, at Kingsway Regional High School.
bracket
Seeds: 1-Williamstown, 2-Kingsway, 3-Washington Township, 4-Clearview, 5-Gloucester Polytechnic Institute.
How to use
The Gloucester County Tournament is one of the county and conference tournaments for boys volleyball that is played entirely in one day, but it is unique in that it is the only tournament with three rounds played in one day. With 5 participating teams, at least one match must be played in the quarterfinals. The game is scheduled to take place Thursday at 3:30 p.m. between No. 4 seed Clearview and No. 5 seed Gloucester Polytechnic Institute, which is also the first game of the tournament.
The remaining three teams (No. 1 seed Williamstown, No. 2 seed Kingsway, and No. 3 seed Washington Township) all receive automatic byes to advance to the semifinal round. Williamstown has an opponent in store, and will face the winner of Clearview and Gloucester Tech. Kingsway and Washington Township will meet in the other semifinal in a rematch of the 2023 finals. From there, the semifinal winners will compete for the championship.
Both semifinals are scheduled to begin at 4:45 p.m., with the final at 6:15 p.m.
how did they get here
williamstown
After reaching the South Jersey state semifinals in 2022, Williamstown finished just above .500 last season, losing in the Gloucester County Tournament semifinals and the South's first round, Group 4. Last season, the Braves started 0-6, then went 12-5 the rest of the way, heading into 2024 with momentum. It's paid off so far, as Williamstown has made great strides this season, finishing as the No. 1 seed in the tournament with a record of 16 wins and 7 losses. The Braves are 8-0 in the Royal Division, including two wins over second-seeded and No. 19 Kingsway. With these two wins against the Dragons, the Braves end a three-game losing streak, have won six of their past eight games, and will likely clinch the top seed.
Kingsway
Kingsway, ranked 19th in the NJ.com Top 20, will look to defend his title as the tournament's No. 2 seed. The Dragons have only two losses in Tri-County play, both against top-seeded Williamstown, and both ended in three sets. Despite this, the Dragons had a good record of 15 wins and 6 losses, with good challenges against teams such as Old Bridge, Northern He Burlington, Southern, and Cinnaminson. The Dragons have won two straight since their last loss on April 10.
washington township
Third-seeded Washington Township has had a rocky season, going 13-9, with all four losses in the Royal District coming against Kingsway and Williamstown. However, his three of those came in close sets, so there's still optimism on the Minutemen's part that they can overcome the upset against the Dragons in the semifinals and advance to the finals. The last win was a big win over No. 14 Cherry Hill West in three sets. So perhaps this win is just a preview of what's to come with the Minutemen's performance in this tournament.
clear vision
Clearview enters the Gloucester County Tournament as the No. 4 seed for the second year in a row and will play in the quarterfinal round. The Pioneers' record is only 6 wins and 12 losses, but they have a record of 1 win and 7 losses in the Royal Division. Their only win in district play came against their quarterfinal opponent, Gloucester Polytechnic Institute. The last time they played against Kingsway and Williamstown, both teams took it to three sets. Tournament play has shown that the team only needs one win to truly advance, and perhaps the recent matchup against Gloucester Tech could be a blessing in disguise for the Pioneers to win. .
Gloucester Institute of Technology
It may not seem like it since Gloucester Tech was selected as the No. 5 seed for the second year in a row, but the Cheetahs have put together a solid season with a 9-8 record after finishing with a 12-14 record last season. ing. Perhaps things are starting to look up for the Cheetahs, who regularly won between 13 and 17 games from 2017 to 2022. But Gloucester Tech has done a good job of bouncing back from losses this season, entering the season opener with just one loss in a row. A tournament where they won three of their last four matches. Having split the regular season series with Clearview, the quarterfinal matchup could be interesting.
championship history
This season's Gloucester County Tournament will be the eighth in history, having been held for the first time in 2015 but not in 2020 and 2021. The tournament was restarted in 2022 and has been held every year since then.
Kingsway is the inaugural champion of the tournament and has won the most titles of any participating team, winning four times in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2023. The Dragons also appear in the championship game every season. Williamstown has the next most championships with two in 2017 and 2022, while Washington Township rounds out the winner's circle with one title in 2019.
Featured players
williamstown
Josh Akinwale, Sr., MB/O: Akinwale played a big role defensively for the Braves. His pedigree in generating blocks in front of the net was known coming into this season after finishing with 49 last season, but the senior has outdone himself. Akinwale has already collected 77 blocks this season, which is second most in the state. He has also increased his kill count, going from 51 kills last season to 119 kills this year already.
Gavin Batterman, Thor, S: Williamstown needed a new setter for this season, and now they have one for the future. Batterman has seamlessly stepped into the role of starting setter as a sophomore, as evidenced by his 415 assists this season. Batterman has recorded double-digit assists in 23 of Williamstown's 24 games this season.
Justin Reuter Sr., Ohio State/DS: Reuter is a new addition to Williamstown's starting unit this season. His 108 kills are second on the team behind Akinwale, an increase from just 15 kills last season when he was a junior. In the Braves' last win against Kingsway on April 6, Reuter had a team-high nine kills. Over the past four games, he has averaged just over six kills per game. He's also not afraid to go down defensively, as his 84 digs also rank second on the Braves.
Deon de Vera, South Dakota, Southeast: De Vera, another sophomore who will make a big impact for Williamstown, will be key Thursday. His defensive presence could set the tone for Williamstown, and playing defensively through two game days the Braves hope will separate the eventual winners from the rest of the pack. It's one of those things. He leads the Braves with 199 digs and is the only player on the roster with more than 100 digs. His career high for digs in a game is 20, his last win coming Tuesday for Williamstown, which had 13 digs.
Kingsway
Evan Frederick Jr., Ohio: Frederick is tied for the team lead with 104 kills, but also put together a good defensive season with 130 digs. This made him one of three players on Kingsway's roster to record at least 100 digs this season, and the only player to record at least 100 kills and 100 digs. His two-way play has been huge for the Dragons, as he had more digs than kills in 10 games this season.
Joshua Walters, Sr., MB: Walters was an impact player at Kingsway last season and continues in that role as a senior. He is tied for the team lead with Frederick with 104 kills and leads the Dragons with 49 blocks. Like Frederick, Walters creates plays on both sides of the ball, which has put Kingsway in position to succeed this season. He has stepped up in an offensive role in May, averaging just over seven kills per game over the last seven games.
Patrick Neyer, Sr., S: With the graduation of Dylan Hicks indicating the need for a new setter for Kingsway, the Dragons selected Nayar to fill the role, and the senior performed very well. His 408 assists are second-most in the Tri-County behind hitters, and that number is up from just 66 assists last season. He has been playing his best volleyball lately. In Kingsway's last seven games, Nayar is averaging just over 25 assists per game.
Connor Brown, Thor, O: Brown, a sophomore with a bright future at Kingsway, is playing her best volleyball this season and forming a strong three-hitting unit alongside Frederick and Walters in games. His 95 kills this season may not scream that much, but he has 22 kills in the last two games and is coming off a career-high 12-kill performance in the Dragons' final game on Friday.
washington township
Cameron James, Sr.: The Minutemen have an advantage that most teams in the state don't have. Those are his two players with great passing and setting ability. It starts with James, who has been in Washington Township's lineup for the past three seasons and has 748 career assists. He has 234 assists this season alone and 46 in the last four games.
Jason Dunn Jr., S: Another big passing and setting presence for the Minutemen is Dunn, who has 227 assists this year and 472 career assists in two years. Along with James, Dunn can keep defenses second-guessing the entire game, and that will no doubt play a big role in the Minutemen's performance on Thursday.
Ryan Wojciechowski Sr., Ohio State: Washington Township needed to fill in a ton of hitters from last season, and Wojciechowski stepped up to lead that unit in 2024. His 132 kills lead Washington Township and he is the only player on the roster with at least 100 kills this season alone. Dunn and James will be targeting Wojciechowski all day long, so he'll need to be in front of the basket to score.
clear vision
Tyler Puckett Sr., Ohio: Puckett's impact on Clearview cannot be underestimated as he leads the Pioneers in both kills (128) and digs (103). He is the only player to score at least 100 points in both, and is relied on early and often to keep the ball off the floor for second chances, and then finish those chances in front of the net. Dew. .
Tyler Wagner Sr., MB/OH: A standout center back on Clearview's soccer team, Wagner plays a similar role as a middle blocker on the volleyball team, but also rotates into the outside hitter position. His 119 kills this season rank second on the roster behind Wagner, and his 71 service points are second most on the roster.
Austin Flavill, Sr., S: Fravill is a new addition to the Pioneers' starting group this season. He ranks first on the team in his three categories: assists (375), service points (105), and aces (17). In Clearview's last two games, he had 53 assists and 18 service points. If he can fill a role from behind the service line, it should really open up play for the Pioneers.
Gloucester Institute of Technology
Chris Labenseki Jr.: Labensky leads Gloucester Tech with 168 assists, 58 digs and 41 service points. If the Cheetahs are to push toward a title, they will need to play their best volleyball of the season on Thursday, and likely play the most minutes on Gloucester Tech's roster.
Nicholas Caltabiano Sr.: Another player who hasn’t left the floor for Gloucester Tech all season is senior Nicholas Caltabiano. His 91 kills were the most for the Cheetahs, and he also had 90 digs, 61 service points, and 17 aces. He is a player who can impact the game at a high level both offensively and defensively for Gloucester Tech and will be relied on heavily on Thursday.
Luke Tomaszewski Sr.: Tomaszewski's 26 blocks this season rank first at Gloucester Tech, and he's also been very consistent in making blocks. He has recorded at least one block in 11 games this season and is gaining attention right now. From April 30 to May 9, he recorded at least two blocks in each game for the Cheetahs.
prediction
Quarterfinals: Gloucester Tech 2, Clearview 1
Semifinals: Kingsway 2, Washington Township 1
Semi-finals: Williamstown 2, Gloucester Institute of Technology 0
Final: Williamstown 2, Kingsway 1
Donovan Hugel can be contacted at: dhugel@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @Donohugel.
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