KRAMER 182 KILLS, 47 BLOCKS; BERISHA 359 ASSISTS
The Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School volleyball girls served notice this season that they would be nobody’s pushover. The senior-heavy Lady Raiders had a number of matches that went right down to the wire, competed in 11 matches that went to three games and finished their season with a 15-10 overall record.
The Raiders began their season with a 2-0 setback to a highly improved 21-7 Governor Livingston (GL) Highlander team that went on to win the Central Jersey, Group 2 crown and the Group 2 semifinal round. The Raiders regrouped to top Summit but went on a three-match slide beginning with the 21-7 Union Catholic Vikings, 2-1, and following with 1711 Elizabeth and the 21-5 Westfield Blue Devils (North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 champions).
The Raiders beat the Kent Place (KP) Dragons, 2-1, lost to GL, 2-1, stopped the Colonia Patriots, 2-1, and lost to the UC Vikings, 2-1. After topping New Providence and South Plainfield, the Raiders lost again to Elizabeth but rebounded to bury the Union Farmers. A tight 2-1, loss to the Blue Devils came next as the Raiders were facing a 6-8 record but threestraight wins followed.
First, the Raiders skinned the KP Dragons, 2-1, humbled St. Thomas Aquinas then dethroned the Oak Knoll Royals in the first round of the Union County Tournament (UCT). The Highlanders beat the Raiders for a third time in the quarterfinal round of the UCT.
With a 9-9 record, the Raiders won their final three regular-season matches and another three in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 Tournament. The Raiders beat the Edison Eagles, 2-1, the Ridge Red Devils, 20, and the Cranford Cougars, 2-0, then iced the Warren Hills Blue Streaks, 2-0, in the section first round. The Raiders stopped the Rahway Indians, 2-1, then tamed the Chatham Cougars, 2-0, in the semifinals. Their season ended with a 2-1 setback to the 22-7 Millburn Millers in the championship match. Senior Danielle Kramer led the Raiders in kills with 182 and blocks with 47, while adding 34 digs and four aces. Senior Hana Berisha led the team with 359 assists to go with 60 digs, 13 aces, nine kills and three blocks. Sophomore Maddie Byrne notched 124 kills and added 136 digs, 24 aces and 10 blocks. Sophomore DJ Ngumah recorded 34 aces, notched 113 kills and added 29 blocks and 21 digs.
Senior Chloe Schunke scooped a team-leading 258 digs, delivered 35 aces, and added 11 assists and six kills. Senior Leah Stevens dished out 136 assists, scooped 144 digs and delivered 33 aces. Senior Zuzanna Szewc recorded 24 aces, 26 kills and 53 digs. Senior Brianna Alvarez notched 40 kills, and added 11 blocks, 24 digs and 16 aces.
Senior Laura Benko recorded 84 digs, 17 aces, 14 kills and seven blocks. Senior Grace Conklin recorded 25 kills, four blocks, 14 digs and four aces. Junior Samantha Friscia recorded five kills, 16 digs and a pair of aces. Senior Hannah McCann scooped 20 digs and added three aces. Junior Audrey Coyne had three digs, a kill and a block.
Berisha dished out 17 assists against Summit and Szewc recorded five aces. In the three-game match against the UC Vikings, Berisha had 16 assists and Kramer notched eight kills, while Ngumah and Szewc each had four aces. Kramer notched 10 kills and three blocks against Kent Place, Berisha had 17 assists and Benko added three aces. In Match 2 against GL, Berisha dished out an amazing 25 assists, while Byrne recorded eight kills and four aces, and Kramer notched 10 kills.
Stevens had 20 assists and Schunke had 20 digs against Colonia. Benko recorded six blocks and Berisha had 17 assists in Match 2 against the UC Vikings. Schunke had five aces against South Plainfield and another five against Union. In Match 2 against Westfield, Kramer notched 10 kills, Berisha had 23 assists and Alvarez recorded five kills, two aces and a block. Ngumah recorded seven kills, four aces and a block in the UCT against Oak Knoll.
Schunke had eight aces against Edison, and Stevens had 15 assists. Berisha recorded 20 assists against Ridge, 26 assists against Warren Hills and 27 assists against Cranford. In the section quarterfinal against Rahway, Berisha had 23 assists, Ngumah recorded 10 aces, Kramer had 10 kills and three blocks, and Byrne had 10 kills and a block.Against Chatham, Berisha again had 23 assists, while Kramer added 10 kills and three blocks, and Byrne recorded nine kills. Schunke had 21 digs and Kramer had seven blocks in the final game against Millburn.
With such a large number of seniors graduating, there should be plenty of fresh faces on the court next year.
