Schuyler Berenbroick had 5 kills and 5 digs for Demarest, which edged Pascack Valley in three sets on Monday night.
DEMAREST - The Norsewomen went on an 11-6 run late in the third set to avenge an early season, three-set loss to Pascack Valley and come away with a 2-1 (27-25, 15-25, 25-20) win over the Panthers on Monday night.
“That (the Sept. 16 loss) was the beginning of our season and I feel we weren’t together as a team,” said NV/Demarest junior Lisa Fishbeyn, who finished with 4 kills and an assist. “Now we’re so much stronger, we’re so much more trained, we have so much more stamina and we’re more consistent. We really wanted to win this game. We were so excited because we lost to them last time and we were ready to beat them because we knew that we could.”
“We’ve made a very big comeback from the beginning of the season,” added sophomore libero Kara Kim, who scooped 18 digs and dished 4 assists. “We lost to them in 3 sets. I think we put a bunch of fight - our setter, our middles - bodies were on the floor going for everything. We wanted this badly, we wanted to beat them.”
No fewer than 7 players scored at least one point for the Norsewomen, as senior setter and team captain Ava Buckley distributed 24 assists, scooped 10 digs and added a “quick” kill.
“A lot of our attackers are really tall so we can get up there and hit,” said Fishbeyn. “It’s really beneficial because if you can’t attack it’s really hard to win. We’re really consistent about it most of the time and it’s really helping us win games.”
The hard-fought first set featured 11 ties and 4 lead changes, with only 2 points separating the two teams throughout most of the set. A kill by sophomore Deanna Finkelstein (8 kills, 2 blocks, 3 digs, 1 assist) and 3 straight service aces by sophomore Alyssa Dimitriadis (17 digs, 4 aces) helped the Norsewomen jump out to a 5-0 lead. But Demarest attack errors, a block by Panthers senior Shana Weiss (3 digs) and a pair of service aces by junior Riley Hirsch (2 kills, 11 digs, 4 service aces) helped Valley to tie the score 7-7. PV senior Jillian Feeley was especially strong in the set, pounding 5 of her game-high 20 kills.
Demarest got its first set point, 24-21, on an attack error by Valley, but Feeley (9 digs, 1 service ace) blasted two straight kills and Panthers junior Addison Demyen (6 kills, 8 digs, 1 assist) served an ace to tie the set, 24-all.
Jillian Feeley finished with a game-high 20 kills for Pascack Valley.
A kill by Fishbeyn gave the Norsewomen a second set point but Panthers senior Alexys Bland (5 kills, 3 digs) answered with a blast of her own. A serve into the net earned Demarest a third set point and a Panthers attack error gave the Norsewomen the 27-25 victory.
The second set was a repeat of the first set early on as the teams traded points back and forth. Valley grabbed a 10-6 lead, but an errant serve, kills by junior Schuyler Berenbroick (5 kills, 5 digs) and Finkelstein and a block by Finkelstein knotted the score, 10-10.
With Valley ahead, 11-10, HIrsch stepped to the service line and tallied 7 straight service points, which included 3 more kills by Feeley and a service ace by Hirsch, her 4th of the match. An attack error ended Hirsch’s string but Valley outscored the Norsewomen, 6-3, the rest of the way for the 25-15 win.
Feeley hammered home the first point of the third set as Valley continued the onslaught.
“Jillian (Feeley) is very good,” said Demarest coach Chris DiGirolamo. “She hits the ball hard. The way they came out in set 2 put us back on our heels. We lost all our momentum.”
Demarest regained its momentum in part due to the serving woes of the Panthers, who committed 8 service errors in the third set and a total of 12 in the match. The Norsewomen committed 6 service errors - 1 in each of the sets they won and 4 in the second set, which they lost.
“It’s what we prioritize every single practice - focusing on the service line, breathing in, breathing out and taking your time,” said Kim. “Don’t run to the service line to rush your serve. If you serve strong it means you’re an aggressive team.”
Demarest sophomore Kara Kim finished with 18 digs and dished 4 assists.
“That’s our whole focus - we have to serve tough and pass tougher,” DiGirolamo said. “In the third set we kind of won the serving battle. I’m proud of these girls - they continue to fight, they continue to get better every single day.”
Defense was the other big key to victory.
“It really showed up in the third set,” DiGirolamo said. “Our setter Ava (Buckley) was diving all over the place. I tell the girls people hitting the floor inspires teammates to hit the floor. Once they see the captain doing that they say, ‘I can’t let that ball drop in front of me - I have to give it my all.’”
“I feel like we’re really starting to play like a team,” Fishbeyn said. “There is a lot of communication - we’re really talking to each other and that’s helping us play together as a team instead of six individual girls on the court.”
The Norsewomen lost a ton of talent to graduation so they are a young team who have been improving as the season has gone on.
“My hitters are juniors,” DiGirolamo said, “and my back girls are sophomores so we’re just trying to mix and match to see what is going to work and catapult us forward. They’ve grown together as a team - it’s one unit out there. We don’t look at it as ‘she’s a senior, she’s only a freshman.’ At the beginning it was a little tough. Some of the older girls wanted to be out there and they saw a younger girl taking their spot. But they really understand the work these girls put in and why they deserve to be out there on the court.”
“It’s been really, really good,” said Kim. “Training together our chemistry has been building up. Every time we have an exciting point, even if we lose the point, if we have each other’s backs, that’s what matters. If we lose the point it’s ok because we all know we made an amazing effort to get the ball up. We’re a very young team and I know next year we’re going to be phenomenal.”
As the Norsewomen continue to gel as a team it is obvious they are enjoying themselves out on the court.
“That’s something I tell them,” DiGirolamo said. “I say, ‘Guys, this is supposed to be fun before it’s supposed to be about winning.’ Of course we love to win - that’s the goal - but it’s just a game and I want them to be able to express that emotion [of enjoyment]. My bench does a great job. They’re in it every single point. They’re really keeping these girls up when it looks like it’s not going to go our way. Lisa (Fishbeyn) gets really excited and I’m happy for her. She came up clutch there at the end.”
“You get an adrenaline rush when you get a hit on the floor,” Fishbeyn said. “It’s like ‘oh my gosh’ - it’s so exciting. You turn to your teammates and say, ‘let's go guys, we’re doing this!!’ It not only helps me get the next kill, it helps my teammates. I’m sharing my energy from that adrenaline rush and that spreads to all the players on the court and people on the bench and that helps us be better as a team. When someone gets a kill everyone is excited about it. We’re all supportive of each other. It’s really a team effort.”
Demarest junior Cassandra Dahms finished with 10 kills, while senior Scarlett Gaard had 5 digs, a kill and a service ace. Panthers junior setter Celia Torres dished 31 assists, had 10 digs and added a kill, while junior libero Maddy Romero scooped 20 digs and had an assist.
The next week or so brings another series of challenges for the Norsewomen.
“Everything is coming down to the nitty gritty right now,” DiGirolamo said. “It doesn’t get easier. We have Fair Lawn tomorrow, Old Tappan Thursday, Northern Highlands again next week. Now is the time to see what they’re made of but if they keep playing the way they are now we should be in good shape. We’re going to enjoy this one but it’s right back to it tomorrow. No breaks. This is a big win for us especially in the league and for power points too.”
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