Thursday, October 29, 2009

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Sarah Giegerich had 8 kills and 8 digs for Ramapo, which avenged to regualar season losses by knocking off Demarest in the the Bergen County Tournament quarterfinals.

OLD TAPPAN – Despite its lofty record, the Ramapo volleyball team has had to fight for the respect that would normally come to a team that has rung up 17 wins against a brutal NBIL schedule. The chance to mark themselves a contender came on Wednesday night in the Bergen County Tournament quarterfinals and a chance to avenge two of their three losses in one shot when they took on Northern Valley/Demarest.

If there is one area where Ramapo has improved this season it has been in maintaining their focus late in games against good teams. As of now, the Green Raiders are a supremely confident team that is putting everyone on notice that it has forced its way back inside the small circle of elite Bergen County programs.

Third-seeded Ramapo proved the old adage that it is tough to beat a good team three times in one year as they avenged two of their three regular season losses and advanced to the Bergen County semifinals with a 25-20, 25-23 victory over Northern Valley/Demarest at Northern Valley/Old Tappan High School.

Helena Riede's kill late in Game 2 gave Demarest a lead, 21-20.

Ramapo trailed by a point in the first game before the biggest run of the match set the tone and gave the Green Raiders the boost they needed. Nicole Kincade and Sara Giegerich each had two kills, including one on the longest point of the match for a 15-10 lead. Sarah Kleinman served 10 straight points and had two aces in an 11-0 run to give Ramapo a 20-10 lead.

“We’re a good passing team and we’re a good serving team,” said Ramapo’s Kira Jordan. “I think came in thinking they could take us because they beat us twice. To finally beat them feels amazing.”

The Norsewomen always fight to the end and close to within three, 23-20, on a Elena Holodny kill, before Ramapo held on to take a one-game lead.

“I’m so happy for this group to play as well as we did in a big match,” said Ramapo head coach Dave Van Hook. “I think the runs we had in the middle of the first game and the beginning of the second shows this team what we can be.”Ramapo’s torrid play carried over into the second game with Kincade and Giegerich sharing the hot hand. They added two more kills apiece in 7-1 spurt to start game No. 2. Once again though, Demarest refused to go quietly.

Meaghan Hubert handed out 25 assists for Ramapo.

They pulled into a tie on four occasions before finally grabbing the lead, 21-20, on a kill by Helena Riede. After all of the hard work they put in, the Green Raiders knew a third game would be a troublesome adventure for them having lost the momentum.

Led by setter Meghan Hubert, who ran the offensive beautifully all night, Ramapo quickly took the lead right back. They had a 24-23 advantage when senior outside hitter Kira Jordan ended a long point and the match as her kill attempt clipped the net cord and dropped over to send Ramapo into the Bergen County Semifinals for the first time since 1997.

“We’re disappointed we lost, but give Ramapo credit because they played really well,” said Northern Valley/Demarest head coach Beth Powell. “I think that more firepower in their attack than we did. We are a team that is capable of playing very well, but we have to do all the little things correctly to beat the top teams. We weren’t very consistent tonight and we were fighting against them and against ourselves the entire match.”

Elena Holodny working at the net for Demarest.

Hubert led all players with 25 assists for Ramapo (18-3), while Kincade did the same with 13 kills. Giegerich added eight kills and eight digs. Riede had seven kills and Lindsey Runge had nine digs for Northern Valley/Demarest (12-4).

In Friday night’s semifinal round, the Green Raiders will face another familiar NBIL foe and get the chance to avenge their only other loss of the season against the defending Bergen County champion, Northern Valley/Old Tappan.

“We gained confidence throughout the match and we’ve been building all year to get better for this,” said Van Hook. “You knew Demarest was going to make a run of its own, but we were able to hold them off. We showed tonight we are a very good team and now we have a chance to take this program to new heights.”

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