Thursday, November 3, 2011

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

DePaul's seniors celebrated the program's second Passaic County volleyball title and the first since 2004 after its three-set win over Clifton on Wednesday afternoon.

CLIFTON – After losing to Lakeland in last year’s Passaic County Volleyball Tournament final, DePaul had one singular goal heading into this season. That was to get back to the championship game and not walk away empty-handed. They did make it back, but when they got there the Lady Spartans found themselves in an unenviable position, trailing in the third game against Clifton. Down 15-9, it was a crisis moment for the DePaul players. They could either suffer the same heartbreak as a year a ago, or they could battle back and be part of a win they will never forget.

They chose the latter.

Fourth-seeded DePaul climbed all the way back from the six-point deficit and won it on a kill from Cassie Hackett as the Spartans claimed only the second county title in program history and the first since 2004 with a wild 25-17, 22-25, 25-23 triumph over third-seeded Clifton at Clifton High School.

Clifton's Emily Guzman finished with 9 kills, 2 blocks, and 2 aces.

“This is definitely one of the biggest wins, if not the biggest, that we’ve ever had at DePaul,” said DePaul head coach Coleen Henry. “Our seniors really stepped it up and made plays when we needed them. We knew Clifton was going to be really tough and they definitely were. We’ve had so many matches go to three sets lately, that I think it helped us mentally prepare for any situation.”

Both teams were trading blows back and forth throughout the first game until several Clifton attack errors opened the door for the Spartans. Five errors in an eight-point span, including three in a row, allowed DePaul to grab an 18-13 lead. Cara Silvestri followed with back-to-back aces to cap a 9-2 run as the Spartans pulled away to grab the first game.

Behind the combination of Emily Guzman and freshman setter April DiAngelo, Clifton got off to a hot start in game No. 2. Guzman put down two big kills from DiAngelo and then the roles reversed as Guzman fed DiAngelo, who was the only freshman on either team’s varsity roster, for a kill and a 9-4 lead.

DePaul whittled that lead down to a single point on four occasions, including three straight kills from sophomore middle blocker Erin Gloor, to trim the Mustangs’ lead to 19-18. Clifton was able to hold on as senior Alex Travoric’s kill attempt found the floor to force a third game for all the marbles. As nerve-wracking as a third game for a county title would be to most players, the Spartans appeared as relaxed as could be.

DePaul setter Samantha DuBois, who has over 1,000 career assists, finished with 29 in the county final.

“We always joke to each other that the third game is just for stats,” said Gloor. “But we know that is when you really need to turn your game up to another level. We are such a close team and we always have a great time together, but once we got down in the third game and it felt like the match was slipping away from us, we had to buckle down and get down to business. Every point was of the utmost importance and we had to get back to playing with that mentality.”

Clifton was riding high after evening the match at one game apiece and that momentum carried over into the rubber game of the match. DePaul made several hitting errors and it was the Stangs’ turn to make them pay. Guzman knocked down consecutive kills and DiAngelo added another as Clifton grabbed a 15-9 lead.

This marked the fifth consecutive match that the Spartans were pushed the full three games (they went 3-1 in their previous four, including a win last week in the PCT semis over top-seeded Wayne Valley). With their backs against the wall, the Spartans came out swinging, started passing well again, and quickly got their legs back underneath them. With Guzman on the sideline, this was the rotation where they had to make a move to get back in the match. DePaul did so in emphatic fashion with three kills from Kirsten Dodds and two more from Kelsey Law in a 7-0 spurt to take back the lead, 16-15.

“That was the point in the match where we had a chance to put it away and we just didn’t do it,” said Clifton head coach Michael Doktor. “We weren’t able to have the rotation we wanted out there and DePaul took advantage of it. I thought we played really well in spurts, especially in those second and third games. In the third game, we just weren’t able to hold onto that spurt long enough to put the pressure on them. Before we knew it, we were in a dogfight again and it was anyone’s match to win.”

Clifton freshman April DiAngelo finished with 16 assists, nine kills, and five digs.

The Mustangs took back the lead, 21-20, on a block by Travoric, but that would be their last. Tied at 23, the Spartans got good sets from Samantha DuBois, one of North Jersey’s most underrated setters, and fellow senior Ally O’Boyle. Gloor gave the Spartans match point and Cassie Hackett’s kill touched off the celebration and gave DePaul its first title in seven years.
“To work so hard for something and then see it happen in front of your eyes is a really, really good feeling,” added Gloor. “For those couple of minutes, it was complete and utter chaos on the court. But it was in a good way and it’s something I’ll always remember.”

DePaul (15-7) got another great match out of DuBois, who went over 1,000 assists for her career earlier this season, with 29 assists. Gloor led the team with 12 kills, six coming in the third game, and Dodds finished with 11 kills.

DiAngelo showed that she is already one of the best players in Passaic County and will be for years to come for Clifton (17-6) with 16 assists, nine kills, and five digs. Guzman had nine kills, two blocks, and two aces, while Kelly Young chipped in with five kills.

The exhilarating win marked the end of a journey for the six DePaul seniors who were there to experience last year’s stinging loss in the PCT final to Lakeland. From that day forth, the team dedicated itself to being champions. All that hard work came to fruition as those six seniors left their legacy on the program forever.

“For us seniors, to get this done in our final year is truly an incredible feeling,” said DePaul’s Samantha DuBois. “We are a bunch of fighters on this team. We are going to give it everything we have every match. Until that final point, we will always feel that we can come back and win. It was tough to comeback today, but we all leaned on each other to get the job done. We wanted this for four years to show that we are a force to be reckoned with in the county and now we finally did it. To do it the way that we did it in a great match against a great team is really a dream come true.”

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