Thursday,
May 27, 2010
By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer
WAYNE
– Through most of the first two games in yesterday’s
North 1 semifinal match, Wayne Valley did what it had done on
the court all year. They stayed composed and found holes in the
defense of a formidable foe, continuing to attack those weaknesses
until they emerged victorious. But as Wallington rallied late
to force a third game and then took a five-point lead in the deciding
game, the mood changed quite drastically for the Indians. They
knew that if they didn't raise their game, their dream season
and the best ever in the program’s history would be remembered
by the players more for what might have been, not what they have
already accomplished.
Bez Arslani came up
huge with nine of his 22 kills in the third game as top-seeded
Wayne Valley bounced back to avoid a big upset with a 25-17, 19-25,
25-22 North 1 semifinal victory over fifth-seeded Wallington at
Wayne Valley High School.
“We came this
far, we didn’t want to fall apart now when it would have
meant the end of our season,” said Arslani, a junior outside
hitter. “They had the momentum and we had to get it back
before it was too late. I had to be smart and start hitting around
their big blockers and not just try to hit through them.”
Wayne Valley held a
slight lead throughout the first game until a fantastic defensive
sequence was the turning point in the Indians taking control.
Sean Urbain, Kristian Gonzalez, and Arslani all had huge digs
that led to an Arslani kill for an 18-13 lead on their way to
grabbing the first game.
The second game had
the same feel when Arslani had consecutive kills for a 17-14 lead.
The Panthers refused to fade and Arthur Trezeciak carried the
team on his back on a match-changing run. He had five kills on
five swings during an 11-2 run to end the second game as Wallington,
just in its fourth year as a varsity program, forced a deciding
third game to see which program would earn their first-ever section
final berth.
The
Indians who, just minutes earlier were looking at a possible clean
sweep of Wallington, found themselves not only in a third game,
but down by five points after a pair of attack errors and a Matt
Tchorz kill put the Panthers ahead 9-4 and force Wayne Valley
head coach Jason Carcich to call a timeout. Wayne Valley’s
season could have been headed for a stunning end if there was
no immediate action taken to get back in the game.
“We
needed to act quickly or we would have been in serious trouble,”
said Carcich. “We had very little time to trade points and
hope to get on a big run at some point. Our team cut into their
lead immediately because if it got to (17-11 or 18-12) or something
like that, I’m not sure we would have been able to overcome
that and time might have run out on us. We never panicked though
and we knew our comeback had to come one point at a time.”
Wayne Valley quickly
tied it at 11 on a kill by Scott Arkin and the teams traded leads
back and forth until late in the third game. Arslani put down
a pair of kills of sets from setter Kevin Mulvihill to snap a
20-20 tie and give the Indians the lead for good as they advanced
to their first section final in school history.
“We had a chance
for the upset, but they pulled through in the end and we didn’t,”
said Wallington head coach Yvette Lozanski. “We gave it
everything we had. Between the heat in the gym, the crowd, and
being in such a big match, I don’t know if we were used
to dealing with the conditions. But I don’t think anyone
would have thought we’d make it this far. We’re disappointed
we couldn’t get the win here, but we know what we have accomplished.
To get to the semifinals in just our fourth year and to be the
last Group 1 team left in the state tournament is a huge accomplishment
and one we should be proud of.”
Arslani had 22 kills, eight service points, and seven digs for
Wayne Valley (26-1). Mulvihill led all players with 33 assists
and added five digs. Kurbin Kukaj chipped in at the net with nine
kills and five blocks. Matt Gawronski had 32 assists to lead the
way for Wallington, whose season finished with an 18-5 record.
Tchorz had 11 kills and 11 assists and Trezeciak put down 16 kills.
Wayne Valley now moves
into the section final, where they will face off against Fair
Lawn on Friday at Wayne Valley High School with a 4:30 start.
Wayne Valley knocked off the Cutters, 25-19, 25-22 in a regular-season
matchup a month ago. The match will put this year’s Bergen
County champ vs. this year’s Passaic County champ for a
sectional crown and a state semifinal berth.
“If you can’t
get hyped up for this match as a volleyball player, then I don’t
know what you can get hyped up for,” said Wayne Valley’s
Kevin Mulvihill. “We know what it takes to win big matches
and so does (Fair Lawn). It’s going to be a great match.
It’s just a matter of who can execute better in the clutch
and who makes the least amount of mistakes. We know we’ll
be ready and we’ll give it everything we have to finally
get a banner in here.”
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