Sunday,
November 16, 2014
By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director
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Hailey Riede accounted for four of the final five Demarest points of the match and the Norseman came back from a one-set deficit to beat Old Tappan in the Group 3 final. |
SOUTH BRUNSWICK – Normally in a state final volleyball match, when a team comes back from a 24-20 deficit to win an opening game, that would be the focal point of the story. But when you are writing about two teams like Northern Valley/Demarest and Northern Valley/Old Tappan, two storied programs that are sister schools and have the best public school rivalry in all of New Jersey, you knew it was going to be all about Set 3.
What happened last year, last month and last week between these two teams means nada and it was easy to predict that Saturday's Group 3 state final was going to go the distance, despite Old Tappan's amazing comeback in the opening game.
It was a tip by Veronica Corcoran early in the third and deciding set that looked innocent enough when it hit the floor to give Demarest a 4-3 lead, but the Norsewomen never gave it back. They messaged a slight advantage through the midway point, held off one Old Tappan surge near the end and then scored four of the final five points of the match to claim the Group 3 state championship. With a 24-26, 25-16, 25-20 victory at South Brunswick High School, Demarest solidified this season's series against Old Tappan with a third victory in four matches (by a combined tally of 7 sets to 6) and earned the No. 2 seed in next weekend's Tournament of Champions.
Last year it was the reverse as Old Tappan ended Demarest's season in the same round of the state playoffs, but past history plays no part as the rivalry reinvents itself time and again. If there is a championship to be won – league, county, or state – the two power programs are likely to always have to go through the other.
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Old Tappan setter Kelly Brogan got a crafty tip to fall to close out the first set after a comeback from down 24-20. |
“Throughout the whole year it was like we have to go beat them because of what happened last year, but then I realized that last year is over and there was nothing we could do about it,” said Hailey Riede, Demarest's senior outside hitter. “I just focused on playing. Today I didn't care who we were playing. I just wanted to win.”
It certainly looked like Demarest was going to win the first game when Riede had two kills, a rip that gave the Norsewomen the lead at 23-18 and a tip that fell to make it 24-20. But in almost a carbon copy of last year when Old Tappan trailed 24-19 in the final set and came back steal the state championship, the Knights did it again. Spurred by two Natalie Alechko blasts, a Kirsten Kaiser block and a crafty tip over by setter Kelly Brogan on match point, Old Tappan swept the final six points to take a 1-0 lead.
“When we lost that first game it was disappointing, but it wasn't going to stop us. It just gave us more motivation and got us more fired up,” said Runge, Demarest's senior setter. “It's the way it always is against Old Tappan, but one set does not win or lose a match and we just had to get back out there and keep fighting”
Demarest showed no lack of confidence after giving away the first set as it raced out to a 4-0 lead in the second only to be caught from behind for a 4-all tie. But when Riede crushed on off the block to cap another 4-0 spurt Demarest forged back in front and stayed there. A Riede blast off the dig made it 13-5, a Veronica Corcoran kill that hit the line on the left made it 18-11 and when the Norsewomen got to match point this time, it was 24-15 and Riede crushed one off a block to close it out and set up one race to 25 for all the marbles.
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Now Group 3 state champs, Veronica Corcoran and Demarest are also the No. 2 seed in next weekend's T of C. |
The two previous times that these two teams went to three sets this season, Demarest won handily and it was the same here. Jess Braunstein broke a 3-3 tie with a tip from the middle and Demarest never gave back the lead. Back-to-back kills by Riede, Veronica Corcoran and Braunstein made it 14-9. Old Tappan got it to within three at 17-14, at 21-18 when Hayley Miller got one to spin across the tape and Brittany Barry's kill got the Knights as close as 21-19, but Riede restored order with three straight points. She tipped one over, hammered one of the block on a cross-court swing and split a double block to put the Norsewomen on the brink with a 24-19 lead. Riede then closed it out with an another kill.
With the win, Demarest earned the No. 2 seed in the T of C and will play the winner of No. 4 River Dell against No. 5 Secaucus in the semifinals next Saturday. And for this year at least, the head-to-head with Old Tappan is over.
“I never have to do it again,” said Riede, a senior, who would obviously like to add the T of C title to the Group 3 championship she just won. “It would kind of be like winning the World [Championships] and then taking bronze at the Olympics. It would be a let down, but you think about all that we have achieved. We don't have to win anymore, but we want to.”
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