Thursday, September 16, 2009

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

ORADELL – In any sport, there are games in which a team’s mental approach to winning is equally as important the skills it possesses. It is especially true in volleyball, where momentum often switches numerous times throughout a match. Rutherford’s first true test of its character came on Wednesday when it traveled to face archrival River Dell.

Although they squandered a big lead in the first game and faced a five-point deficit in the third game, the Lady Bulldogs kept their composure knowing that a big run was right around the corner. They just did not know how big the run would be and whether it would be enough to help them win the match.

It was plenty big enough as Sisters Deborah and Grace Hong were the centerpieces of a 14-2 run that allowed Rutherford to stay unbeaten with a 24-26, 25-13, 25-18 victory at River Dell High School.

“Any time we play River Dell it’s a tough match and we gutted this one out,” said Rutherford head coach Helen Antzoulides. “We preach to the kids ‘Don’t ever get too high, don’t ever get too low’. We were obviously disappointed to lose the first game the way we did, but I reminded them that it takes two games to win a match and we had to stay focused on the task at hand.”

Megan Cockroft had an ace and Grace Hong added two kills in a 9-3 spurt as Rutherford grabbed a 16-10 lead. The lead was still six late in the opening stanza when River Dell rallied back in emphatic fashion. With strong serving from Kelsey Clark and a key block from Katie Brock, the Hawks quickly made up the deficit and tied the game at 24. Consecutive attack errors gave River Dell a one-game lead when it looked all but out of Game 1 just minutes before.

The Bulldogs knew they had to play with a sense of urgency from that point on.

“We knew we had to play our butts off the rest of the way if we were going to win this match,” said Rutherford junior Deborah Hong. “We have a lot of pressure on us this year and we had a lot of pressure today against River Dell. That only makes us work harder and become closer as a team. We knew what we had to do and our team gave it all we had to get the job done.”

The torrid play the Lady Hawks had down the stretch disappeared in the second game when they gave away seven points on miscommunication between players, an illegal substitution, or service errors.

Cockroft followed a Sara Pendleton block with an ace to stretch an early lead out to six points and the Bulldogs easily forced a third and deciding game.

“I’m so proud of the way we battled back in the first game, but we couldn’t get that momentum to carry over,” said River Dell head coach Dianne Furusawa. “When our offense was clicking, we played really well. But when we were off, we gave away way too many points. The third game was more of the same where we got off to a good start. But a few mistakes led to a big run and we dug ourselves too big of a hole.”

A block by Andrea Bolf and an ace by Brock put River Dell ahead 8-3. It was a crisis moment for Rutherford, which fought out of the hole quickly and efficiently with solid passing. The Hong sisters were again the catalysts, each with two kills during the 14-2 run that turned a five-point deficit into a 17-10 lead on their way to victory.

Michelle Kwak had a match-high 24 assists for Rutherford, which remained unbeaten at 3-0. Deborah Hong had nine kills, while Grace chipped in with five, three of those coming in the third game. Sara Pendleton had a match-high five blocks to go with four kills.

Emily Fishbein led all players with 11 digs for River Dell (2-1). Brock had three kills and six assists, while Clark added three aces and six assists.

The last loss Rutherford had in the BCSL-American Division was back on October 13, 2006 to River Dell. Since then, they had successive undefeated records in league play in 2007 and 2008. That unblemished mark will be put to the test this coming Wednesday against an experienced Tenafly squad.

“We know we have our work cut out for us, but our league is more balanced this season,” added Antzoulides. “There are several teams capable of winning this league. Whoever can stay composed the best will likely have the best chance to win the league. We are off to a good start, but we still have a long way to go.”

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