As we continue on in May, the boys volleyball season continues with action in different county/conference tournaments.
There will be nine champions crowned between now and Saturday. Before final matches are set, there is action in quarterfinal and semifinal rounds as well. One of the most exciting weeks of the season is here.
Below, take a look at some can’t-miss matches for the week spanning May 13-18.
Monday, May 13
Cape-Atlantic League Quarterfinal round
All four quarterfinal matchups of the second ever Cape-Atlantic League Tournament will occur on Monday, and there are some fun matchups to keep track of. The two that stand out the most are third-seeded Atlantic Tech hosting sixth-seeded Mainland, and fourth-seeded Pleasantville going up against fifth-seeded Hammonton.
Trying to figure out throughout the regular season who the third best team in the CAL is has featured a revolving door of teams, but Atlantic Tech currently has that crown. The Red Hawks have won four straight games coming into the quarterfinals with just one lost set during that time. It’s opponent though in Mainland is red hot and playing its best volleyball of the season in its debut year. After getting out to a tough 2-7 start, the Mustangs have pulled it together and have compiled an 8-8 record in mid-May. In the other quarterfinal between Pleasantville and Hammonton, both teams are heading into Monday’s matchup on different trajectories. Hammonton has won seven matches in a row while Pleasantville has lost six in a row. The Greyhounds have tested itself over that stretch though with matches against Egg Harbor, St. John Vianney, Southern, and Absegami. Maybe seeing a familiar foe in Hammonton, which it has won its last four matchups against, will right the ship for the Greyhounds.
Top-seeded Egg Harbor will take on eighth-seeded Oakcrest at 4, and second-seeded Absegami will host seventh-seeded St. Augustine at 4:30 in the two other quarterfinal matches.
No. 14 Cherry Hill West (14-2) at Eastern (9-5), 3:45
In the blink of an eye, Cherry Hill West lost its first two games of the season last week after being one of the last undefeated teams in the state. Both of those losses came against two of the toughest teams it’s faced so far this season in Rancocas Valley and Washington Township, and Eastern might not make it any easier on the Lions. Winners of three in a row, Eastern has also won four out of the last five matchups against Cherry Hill West. It’ll be telling to see how the Lions react to facing an opponent which has had its number after losing two out of its last three.
Tri-match between No. 5 Fair Lawn (21-1), No. 15 Livingston (17-4), Passaic Charter (18-1)
No. 5 Fair Lawn will host No. 15 Livingston and Passaic Charter in a late season tri-match between three teams that have been in the spotlight for most of this season. Fair Lawn has been ranked No. 5 all season long and dominated most of its competition, while Livingston has had to overcome having to implement a whole new starting lineup and a lack of experience on its roster to now winning (another) Essex County Tournament title. Ever since breaking out on to the scene last season, Passaic Charter has been one of the two best teams in Group 1 all season long and is looking to make a run back to the Group 1 title game. Will the Panthers be able to keep up with a Group 3 and Group 4 school? We’ll be able to see on Monday.
McNair (13-5) at Hudson Catholic (16-1), 4:30
Already the third time these two have played this season, Hudson Catholic will look to sweep the season series over McNair. The Hawks’ rise in Hudson County this season has already been documented, but it’s still eye opening to see the team with just one loss on its schedule. That two of its victories have come against McNair, which has been a contender in South, Group 1 in the last few seasons as well, is also eye opening. Two of McNair’s last three losses have come to Hudson Catholic, and the Cougars will surely look to get some revenge on the Hawks after it was eliminated in the quarterfinal round of the Hudson County Tournament. This could be the start of a budding rivalry as both also play in the South, Group 1 section of the state tournament.
No. 12 Northern Burlington (17-4) at West Windsor-Plainsboro South (17-5), 5:30
While West Windsor-Plainsboro South has been one of the best teams in the BCSL this season, the Pirates were handled relatively easily by Northern Burlington earlier this season. The Greyhounds won that matchup back on April 22 straight sets, and more specifically outscored the Pirates 50-34. But it’s been a long time since that matchup and the Pirates have improved since, and still have a lot to play for. Heading into this week Northern Burlington is in first place in the Liberty division and West Windsor-Plainsboro South is just a game back. A win for the Pirates would mean both have the same divisional record. With the BCSL Tournament being seeded on Monday as well, this could only be a preview of a championship game on Wednesday.
Tuesday, May 14
Rancocas Valley (15-3) at Timber Creek (10-7), 4
The breakout year for Rancocas Valley continues as the Red Devils have won four out of five games. They are 15-3 on the year and will face an improved Timber Creek squad on Tuesday. It enters the week winners of three of five. Timber Creek recently brought Kingsway to three sets before falling. Rancocas Valley has a chance to make some noise during the most important time of the year and it is because of a great blend of experience and size on the floor.
Jefferson (12-7) at Randolph (12-11), 4
The rubber match of a solid matchup in the NJAC will take place on Tuesday. The Rams for the best of Jefferson back in April before it got its revenge on Randolph during the semifinal round of the NJAC Tournament. Both games went to three sets as each side volleyed for position over the course of the game. Both Jefferson and Randolph enter the week with 12 wins and will look for more with the postseason around the corner.
No. 4 Hackensack (21-1) at No. 20 Bergenfield (16-5), 4:15
Hackensack has been on a mission to prove that it is part of the upper echelon of teams in the state. So far, it has done its job and can write another chapter with a ranked victory over Bergenfield. These two teams met earlier in the season, a 2-0 victory for the Comets. The hitters for Hackensack were on top of their game, along with setter Chris Amon-Pulla. Hackensack remains unbeaten in Big North play this season and is riding six-game winning streak. This game will come one day before the Comets participate in the semifinal round of the BCCA Tournament.
Shore Conference Tournament Quarterfinal Round
The Shore Conference Tournament continues on Tuesday with the top seven seeds advancing to the quarterfinals, along with Barnegat who defeated eighth-seeded Holmdel in round one.
Southern will host the Bengals on Tuesday afternoon. The Rams have won seven consecutive Shore Conference titles and will look to keep that streak alive. Barnegat has a record of 16-3 and being led by hitters that will be around in 2025 as well. Freshman Ian Soberano is one of the best in his class while junior Trey DeMeo has made a major impact as well. St. John Vianney will host Pinelands in what could be the best game of the day. The Lancers are the reigning Group 1 champs who have reloaded to make up for some losses, including bringing back Nickolas Huzar. Pinelands also returns experience on the outside with Matt Davis and Dan Brunke as its setter.
Freehold Borough has take a major step forward this season on the strength of Jack Cashman and Daniel Vazquez on the outside. It will take on Trevor Van Valkenburgh and Jackson Liberty in the quarterfinal. Finally, Howell, who lost to Southern in last year’s conference final, will be home to take on Colts Neck. It has been a roller-coaster year for the Cougars, who made a run to last year’s Group 3 championship game.
Wednesday, May 15
Hudson County Tournament Semifinal round
The top four teams in the Hudson County Tournament have backed up their seedings so far and made it to the semifinal round, with top-seeded Harrison taking on fourth-seeded North Bergen, and second-seeded Hudson Catholic going up against third-seeded Kearny. Harrison (20-3) is the tournament’s defending champion and has overcome some preseason questions about how it’d fare after having to replace most of its roster. North Bergen (11-4) is hot coming in with three huge wins in a row over Kearny, Hoboken, and Union City, and will be attempting to get some revenge on the Blue Tide after being eliminated in the semifinal round of this tournament last season.
In the other matchup, Kearny (10-6) is the only team to have defeated Hudson Catholic (16-1) so far this season. The Kardinals have been one of the top teams in Hudson County in the past and at its best this season are that, but have also lost two of its last three games coming in. In the quarterfinal round though the Kardinals took down Bayonne in straight sets and that could potentially be all it needed to get back on track. Hudson Catholic is the surprise team in Hudson County this season and has never once made it this deep into the tournament. History is on the line for the Hawks against the only team its lost to this season.
Passaic County Tournament Semifinal round
It’s no surprise to see that top-seeded Passaic Charter has made it to the semifinal round of the Passaic County Tournament. What is a surprise though is that seventh-seeded Passaic Tech pulled off a huge upset of second-seeded Clifton last week to advance to the semifinal round. We’ll see both teams in action on Wednesday with a chance to make the championship match.
Passaic Charter (18-1) will go up against fourth-seeded West Milford (8-6), which has pulled off its fair share of tournament upsets in the recent past. The Highlanders made it to the North, Group 2 final last season as an 11th-seed and will need to pull off another upset on Wednesday in what has largely been an up and down season, but they shouldn’t be counted out.
The defending champs in Passaic Tech (9-12) have had a tough go of it following its first ever Passaic County title last season, but its quarterfinal round win over Clifton could be all it needs to play with a ton of momentum and defend its title. This is a very young Bulldogs team that is growing by the day and has two major defensive presences in Kacper Nieradka (30.5 blocks) and Nate X. Addison (24 blocks) that can change the course of a match. The Bulldogs’ opponent, third-seeded Passaic (11-5), is a program that much like last season’s Passaic Tech team, is trying to overcome past demons in this tournament. The Indians made the final in both 2018 and 2019 but lost both years, and last made the semifinal round in 2021 before finishing below .500 in the next two years. A win in this one, for either side, would be a top highlight of this season.
No. 4 Hackensack (21-1) vs. Garfield (20-1), 6:30 – Bergen County Coaches Association Tournament semifinals
Garfield, despite putting together a 20-1 record this season, will enter into the BCCA semifinals as the underdog against an overpowering No. 4 Hackensack team. The Boilermakers are in the middle of one of its best seasons ever and have won 18 consecutive matches. While it’s elevated itself into the category of contender in Group 2, the Comets will offer up the toughest challenge that it’s faced all year. The Comets have been one of the four best teams in New Jersey all season and feature one of the most dangerous offensive units in the state. Chris Amon-Pulla, Hosam Esawy, Daniel Porto, and Matthew Peralta will be going up directly against the Boilermakers top duo of Roger Chavez and Ylan Tapper in what is one of the most fun County tournament matchups we’ve seen all season.
Thursday, May 16
Shore Conference Tournament Semifinals & Final
The Shore Conference Tournament is one of the biggest in the state and this year, the field is as deep as ever. There are currently eight teams remaining that will compete in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, seven of which are ranked in NJ.com’s Top 20. The semifinal round will take place on Thursday at Georgian Court University with the final coming right after. If the tournament follows suit in terms of seeding, Southern and Howell will meet in the final for the second straight year. In the Shore Conference, there is always room for drama.
Washington Township (13-9) at Kingsway (13-6) – Gloucester County Tournament Semifinal
This will be the third meeting of the year between Washington Township and Kingsway. Each of the first two meetings went to three sets with the Dragons coming out on top in both. In each of the previous two meetings, Kingsway jumped out early in the first set before Washington Township won the second. Kingsway made enough plays in the end to close out each match. These are two teams that know each other well and enter as top-three seeds in the bracket. The winner will get a chance to play for a county title.
Friday, May 17
No. 15 Livingston (17-4) at Millburn (13-7), 4
After having just played one another in the Essex County Tournament final, No. 15 Livingston and Millburn will meet for the third time this season in what is both sides’ regular season finale. Millburn will have to quickly get over what occurred in the second set of this past Friday’s final when the Lancers went on a 5-0 run late to win its third straight ECT championship. The Millers definitely have the talent to run with the Lancers but can’t let what happened in the past affect its current run of play. There’s too much on the line with state tournament seeding coming up soon. That same point can be said for Livingston, which is trying to secure one of the top-two seeds in the North, Group 4 section.
Saturday, May 18
Hudson County Championship at County Prep
The final game of the Hudson County Tournament will take place on Saturday. Right now, there are four teams remaining with the semifinals coming on Wednesday. Reigning champion Harrison entered the field as the top seed. It will face fourth-seeded North Bergen in the semifinals. Hudson Catholic, who has improve in a big way this season, will host Kearny. The Kardinals fell to Harrison in last year’s county final.
Passaic County Championship
The Passaic County Tournament will come to an end on Saturday. It will be interesting to see who makes it out of the semifinal round. As of now, top-seeded Passaic Charter is considered the favorite but anything is possible. We saw that when seventh-seeded Passaic Tech upset Clifton in the quarterfinals. It will face Passaic on Wednesday while West Milford gets a shot at the top seed. Either way, we know that the final round will be exciting and full of action as Passaic County crowns a champion in 2024.
Donovan Hugel can be reached at dhugel@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @donohugel.
Greg Patuto can be reached at gpatuto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X at @GregPatuto.
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