Sunday, November 20, 2011

By Cory K. Doviak
NJS.com Editorial Director

Kat Hirsch gets a couple of hugs after scoring the final three points to close out Demarest's 25-21, 25-21 win over Livingston in the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions.

WAYNE – There is something to be said for persistence, especially as personified by the Northern Valley/ Demarest girls volleyball team. There was great joy after the Norsewomen gutted out a three-set victory over River Dell in the quarterfinals of the Bergen County Tournament and then great disappointment two nights later when they were run over by Bogota in the semifinals. But Demarest kept plugging away, improving steadily until it hit its stride again in the state tournament.

Using every coaching technique she could think of to coax the confidence back into her team, head coach Beth Powell saw it building and it paid off in a Group 3 state championship and a spot in Saturday's semifinal round of the Tournament of Champions played at William Paterson University.

“This team just has something in them. I work really hard on the mental game and pulling them together, but what they have on their own, that little bit of fight, that chutzpah, that comes from them,” said Powell. “Every team has a different personality and what I have seen from this team from the get-go is that they have it. I've seen it in every touch match so far.”

Kat Hirsch had it for sure, especially down the stretch in the second set against Group 4 champion Livingston. With three straight kills, Hirsch took Demarest from a one-point lead in a nail-biter to a 25-21 win that, along with a 25-21 win in the opening set, gave the Norsewomen a two-game sweep and a spot in the T of C final alongside top-seeded IHA, a straight set winner over River Dell.

Melissa Pesce finished with 25 assists for Demarest, which improved to 26-3 on the season.

With her team up by the slimmest of margins at 22-21 and desperately looking to avoid a third set for all the marbles against a Livingston team that had no interest in seeing its season come to an end, Hirsch hit one off the block from the outside to push the lead to two points, placed one down the line to push Demarest to match point and then beat the block again to put Demarest back in the T of C final for the first time since it won the last of its three title back in 2006 and most of that team from 2006 was in the stands watching.

“I just thought about how much I wanted and how much I wanted to make it to the final. I knew that [hitting down the] line was working so I just tried hit towards line one as much as I could,” said Hirsch, a senior. “Everyone believed that we could win, every single one of my teammates believed it and everyone wanted to win and we got it done. It was really thrilling looking up in the stands and seeing everyone, kids from my grade, that [2006] team, all rooting for us and we wanted to get it done.”

When Hirsch caught fire late, it made the job of Demarest setter Melissa Pesce that much less complicated.

“I tried working other players to see who was going to get the kill because [Hirsch] was getting the block put on her a little bit. But I just kept setting her and we just flowed through it,” said Pesce. “She get saying, 'Set me, set me, I got this.' Confidence is everything so I just got her the ball.”

Heather Park and Demarest will face IHA in the T of C final on Sunday at William Paterson.

While it was Kat Hirsch who closed it out, it was just about every other played who took the court who pushed the Norsewomen to the cusp of victory. Pesce, who finished with 25 assists and a whole bunch of other good decisions, was also key from behind the service line. The final three points of the match all came off of her serves, which were played over the net short and forced Livingston to send back free balls.

While Livingston had leads late in both sets (19-18 in Game 1 and 22-21 in Game 2) and and led by as many as five points at 13-8 and 14-9 in the second set, Demarest made all of the clutch plays down the stretch with no more evidence needed than closing out both sets by scoring the final three points in each.

Haley Hirsch, a junior and Kat's younger sister, tied her older sibling for a team high in kill with 12, senior libero Heather Park finished with a match-high 19 digs and Alex Kaechele, Hailey Riede, Brook Runge and Olivia Cullen all chipped in whether it was in blocking at the net or retuning a serve in a key spot.

That leaves just one more hill to climb as Demarest will face Bergen County and Non-Public champion IHA on Sunday. IHA is back at full strength with Nia Reed back in the lineup, but Demarest has yet to back down from a challenge this season.

“I know the girls have it in them. I have seen it in every tough match we have had so far,” said Powell. “Hopefully we have it in us for one more.”

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