Sunday, November 15, 2009

By Rich Barton
NJS.com Staff Writer

Corinne Palmer is one of seven Pascack Hills seniors to see their four years of hard work payoff in the Group 1 state final with a two-game sweep Science Park.

WAYNE – Over the past few years, Pascack Hills has gone from being one of Bergen County’s up-and-coming teams to one of Bergen County’s best. That is largely due to players such as Corinne Palmer and Jessica Lomia, who have been in the team’s rotation since they were freshmen. This year the senior-dominated Cowgirls had their sights set on nothing short of a Group 1 state title and were just one win away from achieving that on Saturday. To get there though, Pascack Hills would have to get past another senior-dominated squad in top-seeded Science Park and their all-state hitter Karol Oliveros.

The teams battled shot-for-shot in both games until the Cowgirls pulled away by making big plays when it mattered most. Lomia, the setter, ran the offense with precision and lifted Pascack Hills to its first state title since 1999 with an exciting 25-22, 25-20 victory in the Group 1 state championship match at William Paterson University.

“This is what we’ve been waiting for all year and it’s an amazing feeling to be state champions,” said Palmer. “It’s so rewarding to do it with this team. I knew it was going to be a tough match and it was. We had to stay aggressive and minimize our mistakes at the same time.”

Senior setter Jess Lomia notched a season-high 24 assists for Pascack Hills (22-3).

Pascack Hills lost to Science Park in last year’s state tournament and was ready for a shot at revenge. But the Lady Chargers also had motivation as they were playing for their first state title. With a lot to play for on both sides, each team came out clicking on all cylinders.

Neither team had bigger than a one-point lead until Pascack Hills’ Sarah Hanrahan’s block put the Cowgirls ahead 19-17. Science Park cut the lead back down to one, but the Cowgirls answered the bell again with a huge block by Samantha Kurtzke to make it 24-22. An attack error on the next point gave Pascack Hills a one-game lead and the final three-point margin was the largest by either team in game No. 1.

“Winning the first game was huge,” said Pascack Hills’ Jessica Lomia. “It allowed us to relax and play our game. We still had to keep the pressure on though and not let them get going. We worked all year to get here and this was our time. The last thing we wanted was for it to go to a third game. We wanted to make sure this wasn’t the last time we were ever playing together in a Pascack Hills uniform.”

The second game was almost a mirror-image of the first with both teams trading kills. Pascack Hills used the momentum to take an early 5-1 lead, but the Lady Chargers roared back to grab the lead and it was nip-and-tuck until late in the game when Pascack Hills pulled away again.

Nicki Readie had a great match as a libero, but scored the biggest point of the match from behind the service line. Her ace gave the Cowgirls the lead for good. Pascack Hills was up two when a block by Kristen Reindel and a kill by Palmer stretched the lead to 23-19. The Cowgirls closed out the match on a 7-2 spurt and celebrated their only the second state title in school history and their first since winning the Group 2 title in 1999.

Jessica Holm and Pascack Hills will play Caldwell in the opening round of the T of C.

Lomia notched a season-high 24 assists for Pascack Hills (22-3). Readie had 10 digs and Palmer 10 kills for the Cowgirls. Oliveros finished with eight assists, six kills, and four digs for Science Park (23-6). Kiara Gilbert led the Lady Chargers with eight kills.

Pascack Hills will head to its first Tournament of Champions and play in the first-round game as the fourth seed against fifth-seeded and Group 2 champion Caldwell. That game will be played Thursday at Hackensack High School at 6:00. Now the season has taken on a new meaning for Pascack Hills, which is trying to make it last for as long as it can.

“I just love the girls on this team and they deserve this,” said Pascack Hills head coach Shawn McDonald. “We had the experience and the heart to be state champions and we did it. We had to beat a very good team today and we did it by being intelligent and being disciplined. For everyone on this team and especially our seven seniors, this is something that they will never forget and I couldn’t be more proud of them than I am right now.”

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