Freshman Lexi McGinty finished off 15 kills for Tenafly, which picked up its fourth win over the season on Tuesday at Cresskill.
CRESSKILL - After securing a 25-20 win in a hard-fought first set Tenafly jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the second set en route to a 2-0 win over Cresskill on Tuesday afternoon.
“Cresskill has a great team,” said Tigers freshman Lexi McGinty, who led all scorers with 15 kills. “We played them in the Hackensack Tournament and we beat them, but they came out really strong. Their serving was insane and it was really hard to receive. As a team today I feel like we played on the borders. We did a good job passing.”
“Lexi had a great game,” said Tenafly coach Jeff Koehler. “She’s so consistent. I love the family. [Her brother] Aiden was my captain (in basketball) and [her sister] Maddie played volleyball last year. I always say, ‘you can look at the parents and you can see the kid’. Lexi’s parents are top notch and I’m so lucky to have Lexi for the next four years.”
The first set was tied 9 times as the teams battled back and forth, with neither team leading by more than 3 points until near the end. During her run of 5 straight serving points, Tigers senior outside hitter Amber Lee broke a 17-17 tie with a kill to boost the Tenafly lead to 22-17.
“She came out of nowhere,” Koehler said of Lee. “She made the team as a freshman, went to clinics, got better, played JV as a sophomore, started JV as a junior and now she’s starting varsity for us this year. It’s a great story.”
Cougars sophomore outside hitter Marina Salonitis halted Lee’s service run with a kill and back-to-back kills by senior middle blocker Catlin McGee cut the Tenafly lead to 22-20. After a Tigers timeout Cresskill committed an attack error and 2 kills by McGinty closed out the first set. She was asked what it is like to have upperclassmen as teammates.
Caitlin McGee finished with 5 kills for Cresskill.
“Playing with other grades can be intimidating at first - everyone is always scared as a freshman,” McGinty said. “But these girls are amazing - they’re very accepting and they know how to welcome you in like a family. As a freshman it doesn’t feel different - it feels like we’re all in the same grade. It doesn’t feel like there’s an age gap between any of us. We’re all really close.”
“She can be one of the best players in the county over the next four years,” said Koehler. “She just keeps going - she made the National team as a libero. I have her as an outside player. She can do it all. She’s consistent and has a great attitude. She’s our one major hitter. We have to find other hitters as the season goes and for next year.”
Tenafly got rolling in the second set, propelled by a Cougars’ attack error and kills by McGinty. A block by Lee gave the Tigers a 9-point lead, 19-10.
“We’re very young - we have a lot of freshmen - and all new varsity players,” said Koehler. “So I think it’s about meshing and getting to know each other. The first time they all played together was August. They seem to be getting better every day. They just need to communicate; they need to have the urgency. It’s all about being in the right spot and that’s what we are really working on. Over the past 30 years I’ve been lucky to have players who understood to get to the spot and then react. We’re having issues sometimes getting to the spot. It takes time.”
An errant serve by Tenafly and a service ace by McGee and kill by freshman outside hitter Inabr Avnon sandwiched around an attack error trimmed the lead to 20-13 but McGinty’s kill gave the Tigers a point and a side-out. Senior libero Amanda Fukui earned 3 serving points, including a thunderous kill by senior setter Olivia Lai to earn Tenafly a match point, 24-13.
Olivia Lai handed out five assists for Tenafly.
Tenafly committed an attack error and Avnon served an ace to extend the match, but Tigers senior middle Yuri Song ended things, 25-15, with a well-placed kill.
“Our energy and thought process toward the game changed,” McGinty said of the Tigers better play in the second set. “I feel we came back more motivated because we thought the first set should not have been that close. We know where we are and we know where we stand but Cresskill is an amazing team. They know how to bring it and they definitely brought it.”
Tenafly improved to 4-7, as freshman middle blocker Niki Tetro and Lai each distributed 5 assists, Lee contributed 5 kills and 5 digs and Fukui scooped 10 digs. McGee finished with 5 kills and Abigail Lee had 9 assists and 3 digs for Cresskill.
“I’m happy with the freshman team, the freshmen players I have [on varsity] and the JV team,” said Koehler. “The future is going to be bright but we're going to take a couple of hits this season. I’m glad that the captains, Olivia Lai, Ava Jacobson and Amanda Fukui are keeping everybody in line and everybody working hard. They have all been a part of seeing what a championship team did, how they went about their business - being at practice every day without missing. Some people have missed practices or games. You have to be 100 percent all the time.”
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