The Montclair Girls Volleyball team ended their season on a positive note with a 2-0 victory over cross-town rival MKA. (25-4, 25-23) During that match senior setter, Camila Herrera reached a program milestone of 1100 assists. The team finished with an overall record of 10-11 and a disappointing 5th place finish in the Liberty Division. Coach Reilly described the season as the Tale of Two Teams, one dominant and confident, the other able to dominate but plagued by inconsistency. “I was always confident in our ability to win but also uncertain which team would take the court. Our season could be likened to a rollercoaster ride full of exciting highs and jaw dropping lows”, Reilly said.
The 10-11 was in no way indicative of the team’s capabilities. The team matched up with all of the opponents on the schedule but were plagued by inconsistency in many contests. The Mountie Spikers went 2-2 in their first four matches of the season. They opened with a tough 3 set home loss to West Orange, defeated Bloomfield at home 2-0, lost a 3 set thriller to upstart Nutley on the road and returned home to defeat Columbia 2-0.
The team would only manage two wins in their next 6 matches. Despite the turbulent ride, there were notable individual performances. Junior Setter/Opposite Isabella Kuzyk contributed 5 kills, 7 digs, 3 assists and 2 aces in the loss to West Essex. In the win vs. Payne Tech Senior Setter and Captain Camila Herrera doled out 23 assists, had 11 digs and contributed 5 kills to contribute to the offensive attack. Senior Opposite Carlie Holm and Senior Outside and Captain Bridget Martens lead the team with 6 kills each. Senior Outside Margaux de Toustain had 5 kills and 3 aces. Sophomore Middle Blocker Torian Williams added 4 kills.Isabella Kuzyk was a force in the win against Bloomfield with 8 kills, 8 assists, 4 digs, 2 aces and 1 block. During this swing Julia Jung moved up to the varsity ranks and was a defensive mainstay. The Mounties would suffer a surprising second loss to Nutley before a dominating win over Belleville.
The Spikers defeated Payne on the road in the next match with another balanced attack Herrera posted 15 assists and 3 kills. Kuzyk had 7 kills, 12 assists and 5 digs. Trinity Mankey-Akogbeto dominated the middle with 5 kills. Julie Jung led the defense with 10 digs.After a tough 3-set loss to Independent Secaucus, the ladies entered the SEC Tournament with a 6-9 record. The Mountie dominated Immaculate 2-0 in the preliminary round and moved on to meet Newark Academy in the first round. The Mounties played the most complete match of the season and won the contest 2-0. In the quarter final round match against West Essex, number 1 in the Liberty Division, the team would learn that it is difficult but not impossible to beat a team three times in a season. West Essex would move on to the semi-final round and Montclair would hope for a decent seed in the state tournament.
The Mounties lost to a beatable Ridgewood team in the first round of the NJSIAA Tournament. In a match where both teams had similar inconsistent performances, Ridgewood was able to bounce back from a poor second set and capture the three set win. Montclair lost 7 seniors but should reload fairly well with an experienced rising junior class and a few strong sophomores. One thing is certain, they will be looking to return to the top of the division in 2024.
