Sunday, November 15, 2009

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Raquel Scott scored the first four points of the match and got IHA off and running toward its two-game sweep of Pascack Hills in the semifinals of the Bergen County Tournament.

WAYNE – When a team wins back-to-back Tournament of Champions titles, expectations change. When the final ball hit the floor to clinch the Non-Public state title on Saturday at William Paterson University, there were Immaculate Heart Academy players smiling and giving each other high-fives, but there was not the usual raucous celebration. This team has higher aspirations in mind, like cementing its legacy as New Jersey’s premier volleyball dynasty.

Penn State-bound Ariel Scott led a balanced attack with a match-high 12 kills as top-seeded IHA breezed to another Non-Public Group championship with a 25-14, 25-14 win over second-seeded Union Catholic at William Paterson University.

“No matter when it was in a game, we knew we could make a run and set the tone,” said IHA’s Raquel Scott. “Everyone had to step up and do their job, and we all contributed in some way.”

Union Catholic was within two points early before IHA ripped off seven straight points to take control. Danielle Michaels had a kill and two aces, while Petra Parros added a pair of kills to give the Blue Eagles a 16-7 lead on their way to taking the first game.

The second game started just as the first did with Union Catholic hanging tough early behind Emily Wilman. Her kill gave the Lady Vikings their only lead, 8-7, and another kill tied the game at 9. Unfortunately for the Lady Vikes, the second game also ended in a similar fashion to the first game.

Parros and Ariel Scott each had a pair of kills in a 9-1 run that broke open the match and lifted IHA to its third consecutive Non-Public state crown.

“I thought we did a great job both serving and at the net,” said IHA co-head coach Mike DeCastro. “We have been playing really well over the past few weeks and we felt confident coming in since we’ve played well in this gym (at William Paterson) before. We had a balanced attack offensively throughout the match and that is when we are most successful, when we have everyone swinging away hitting lines and corners.”

Wilman finished with eight kills and four digs for Union Catholic (22-4).

Michaels played her most well-rounded match of the state tournament with nine service points, six digs, five kills, and two aces for IHA (29-1). Ariel Scott had 12 kills, while her sister Raquel chipped in with five kills and five digs. Parros was the third IHA player with five kills; all of those coming off sets from Kristin Flatekval, who finished with 22 assists.

Two-time defending champion IHA rightfully earned the top seed in the Tournament of Champions and will face the winner of Pascack Hills and Caldwell on Saturday. That will be the latter of the two T of C semifinal matches, starting at 4:30. While every other team in the state would be happy to just get to the T of C, this really marks another beginning to IHA’s season, the one that counts to them the most.

“We’re really excited for the Tournament of Champions,” said IHA’s Danielle Michaels. “We have depended on each other all year and we’ve worked hard to try and defend our title here. It’s nice to a win a Group state title, it really is. But a lot of us have been here before and now we have bigger goals. Once you win the whole thing, your goal is to get back there and do it again. We want that feeling again of being the best in the state and we’re determined to get there.”

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