Monday, November 3, 2008

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

OLD TAPPAN – When mentioning the top programs in Bergen County over the past decade, Northern Valley/Old Tappan has been as consistently successful as any of the elite programs. The lone difference over the past decade being that, despite the numerous wins they have amassed, the Golden Knights did not have any league, county, or state titles to show for it. That was largely due to the fact that the Knights golden years overlapped with those of their sister school, Northern Valley/Demarest, which had been the state’s most dominant program over the past decade.

Conventional wisdom would say that going into Sunday’s Bergen County Girls Volleyball Tournament final that the result would be more of the same; Old Tappan facing the state’s best team, this time undefeated Immaculate Heart Academy, and ending up playing second fiddle once again.

But before the Golden Knights took to their home court, head coach Melissa Landeck knew that this time would be different.

With the confidence her team has displayed throughout the season, and especially in this tournament, Landeck felt her team could not only compete with IHA, but could beat them. But with that, she also knew that it would take her team’s best performance to get to the next level and win an elusive championship.

Consider it done.

Sophomore setter Anna Kate Miller ran the offense beautifully throughout the contest and Old Tappan played stellar defense to keep both games close. Jackie Geitz’s ace put away the first game and Aiyana Whitney’s kill ended the match as third-seeded Northern Valley/Old Tappan pulled a thrilling 27-25, 26-24 upset over top-seeded IHA, the only unbeaten team left in the state heading into yesterday’s match, to win its first Bergen County title since 1994.

“This is the best, it’s just the best feeling I’ve ever had,” said Geitz. “It feels great to work so hard towards winning a county title and then get it done. We just wanted to come in and play our best and we did.”

Whitney, the Old Tappan sophomore, asserted herself early in the middle with two kills and a block in a 5-1 spurt to open the match. To show how closely fought this match was, it was the only time in either game when one of the teams led by more than three points.

Old Tappan held the lead for most of the opening game until back-to-back kills by the shortest and tallest players on the floor appeared to get IHA back on the winning track it has been on all year long. Four-foot-10 Stephanie Cruz, IHA’s senior libero, had a kill and 6-3 Ariel Scott followed with another to put IHA in front 23-22. However, the Blue Eagles had to work for every point and had a tough time getting through a stingy defensive effort from the Golden Knights.

Geitz had two kills, then closed out the first game with an ace as Old Tappan used a 5-2 run to take a one-game lead.

“Up a point late, we needed to close out the first game, but we just couldn’t get it done,” said IHA co-head coach Mike DeCastro. “But I give all the credit to Old Tappan because they were well-prepared and their defense was amazing the entire match. They never allowed us to get into any type of a rhythm.”

IHA grabbed an early lead in the second game, but could only hold onto it for so long. Miller not only set well all day for NV/OT, but also served well. Her ace gave Old Tappan its first lead of the second game, 12-11. IHA tied it up at 16 on a Scott kill, but every time it appeared IHA had its opponent on the ropes, Old Tappan answered the bell. Once again, it was Miller who put her team ahead on her only kill of the match to make it 17-16.

Geitz and Alex Radetzsky had kills to keep IHA at bay and give the Golden Knights two match points. But a Scott kill and an attack error tied the match at 24 when Landeck called timeout.

“In the timeout, I just told them to play the next point as if it was the first point of the match,” said Landeck. “We were passing well, we were hitting the ball well, and (Miller) was our quarterback out there making great decisions on who to get the ball to. The only thing I was concerned with was if we would get tight and be afraid to make a mistake.”

Scott’s inside-out kill attempt for IHA went just wide and gave Old Tappan another match point. This time it cashed in on a Whitney kill as they finally celebrated a long-awaited county title.

“This is crazy, I can’t even believe this is happening,” said Miller. “We work so well as a team and I knew that we could do this. We know how tough of a team IHA is, I mean they are state champs. For the first time all year, we were playing with nothing to lose and that definitely helped us relax. We’re just so excited to win this and now we want more.”

Miller’s 26 assists and eight service points were both match-highs for Northern Valley/Old Tappan (19-2). The Golden Knights were all over the place defensively, led by Geitz and Katie Blank with 13 and 11 digs, respectively. Geitz also had eight kills, and Whitney led the Golden Knights’ attack with nine.

Miller’s counterpart at setter, Kristin Flatekval, also played well and finished with 25 assists for IHA (22-1). Scott led all players with 17 kills and Cruz chipped in with 10 digs. This the second consecutive year that IHA came into the county tournament final as an undefeated top seed and the second time they were tripped up by the No. 3 seed with Demarest playing last season’s spoiler. The Eagles can only hope that history repeats itself again as IHA went on to win the Tournament of Champions and finish as the state’s No. 1 ranked team.

“This is a tough loss, but we still have a lot to look forward to,” said DeCastro. “The loss last year gave us a little chip on our shoulder going into the state tournament and we played with a sense of urgency. I think this team has the potential to do the same. I don’t think our kids will need any extra motivation now to work harder.”

For Old Tappan, it was a matter of not just playing its best. It was a matter of believing that they were capable of doing it on a big stage and coming through in the clutch when it counted.

“Getting our kids to believe we could do this was not as hard as I thought it might be,” added Landeck. “We have a tremendous respect for IHA and how great they are as a team. As good as IHA is, we were not intimidated. We felt we were right there with them and it would come down to who would execute better and do all the little things you need to win. I couldn’t possibly more proud of the way we played today and this is one win I’ll always remember.”

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