Volleyball: North Hunterdon keeps it loose, wins TOC semifinal in three games over West Morris
Andy Mendlowitz
Courier News and Home News Tribune
WAYNE – When the opponents get a power kill, the North Hunterdon girls volleyball team will cheer, smile, huddle up and bust out some dance moves. Same thing if the Lions hit the ball out of bounds or into the net.
"They celebrate their mistakes," North Hunterdon coach Kirk Hissner said. "If you're not paying attention with our group, you wouldn't know who scored the point."
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One time, the referee even asked why they were celebrating. But for North Hunterdon, it's all about staying loose, keeping the vibes positive.
Saturday in the Tournament of Champions semifinal against West Morris, the Lions played tight in the first game, but soon relaxed. The result was a 14-25, 25-21, 25-13 win at William Patterson University. North Hunterdon (33-1) will play defending champion Immaculate Heart in Sunday's final at 2 p.m. The Blue Eagles (38-1) defeated Demarest in three sets in the other semifinal.
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Since the TOC started in girls volleyball in 2002, Immaculate Heart has captured eight championships, while North Hunterdon were runners-up in 2013.
This fall, the Lions took their second Group IV title in program history. Hissner said that was the objective and anything else was gravy. But naturally, they wanted to win in the semifinal. In the final two games, North Hunterdon upped its net play with Caroline Layding, Eleanor Stothoff and Riley Koehler getting key blocks and their teammates began to receive serves better, which led to better passes and better finishes.
In the first game, West Morris (21-6) never trailed and controlled the pace in the 11-point win. At 3-3, the Wolfpack went on a 7-1 run for the working margin.
Hissner sensed the players were uptight and told them to just let it go between games.
"I could tell there was panic on the court," senior libero Shannon Russell said. "But once we got off the court, once coach talked to us, we were all able to take a deep breath. Brush off that entire set and focus on moving forward and getting that win. ...
"In the timeout, coach was like you know what, this could be your last set for some of the seniors -- and we have seven seniors on our team. So it was hard to hear because we don't want this to be our last game. We want the season to go on as long as possible. He was like this is your time. This is our time to pull though and really bring it to this team."
In the second game, North Hunterdon took an 8-7 lead and never trailed after that, opening up a six-point lead en route to the 25-21 win. In the third game, the Lions never trailed after taking a 4-3 lead. They kept the momentum and enthusiasm going at every point.
Russell said the seniors started their all-on celebrating during the summer and they've kept it going throughout the season. No Negative Nellies needed.
"Once one girl gets upset, it affects the whole team," Russell said. "So if everybody has that same attitude, same mentality going through, it really brings everybody up. … It gets into teams' heads. Like we watch the other team. If they get the best kill of their life and we celebrate it, then they look over and they're like what just happened. And it kind brings us up and kind of takes away from their momentum."
For the Lions, it's all about having fun. The team will do things like sing on the team bus and one time, everyone dressed up as Hissner, facial hair included. He said with a laugh, "They had beards. It was disturbing."
That closeness carries over onto the court.
"We're doing this for fun," Russell said. "We love the sport, so that's why we do it. … Being goofy always brings us together."
Often, coaches don't like it when their players are giddy after making mistakes. Hissner, though, has come to embrace it.
"If they're going to let it go, I got to let it go," Hissner said. "And I could be really angry inside, but they want me to celebrate as much as they celebrate, so I'm all in. I'm all in with this group. We're having a blast."
For West Morris, its season came to an end after winning the program's third Group III title with a win over Old Tappan, which had won three straight titles.
"It was a fantastic year," Wolfpack coach Jim Balella said. "The girls came together and stayed together and played as a group, not individuals. I couldn't be more proud of them. I think a lot of people never expected us to even be here. That's just a testament to the girls work ethic, all the hard work and dedication they put into it."