Not one, not two, but three North Jersey teams won county titles in boys volleyball this spring (From left: Wayne Valley, Fair Lawn and Harrison).
*NOTE: In case you missed it, here is the link to the first parts of the Aces’ two-part season wrap-up: Final 2015 conference/league standings.
Consider this is the official start of a campaign to label 2015 as “The Year of The Triple Crown”, and not just because of the whole horse racing thing. We’ve seen sports achievements happening in threes left, right and center — hm, just like that saying — in just about everything Taglines covered, and boys volleyball was no exception.
North Jersey produced three county champions in the same season for the first time: Fair Lawn in Bergen, Wayne Valley in Passaic and Harrison in Hudson. In addition, two of those three teams (Fair Lawn and Harrison) captured the so-called varsity “Triple Crown”, winning league/division, county and state-sectional titles in the same season.
On a personal note, the Tags family expanded from two persons to three, which is why you may have seen a few different names on the beat this season (HUGE thanks to Ed, Joe and Tom for their help during my paternity leave). Still, I saw plenty of good stuff this season, so for our first list, here’s a look back at some of The Record’s stories of the spring:
- H.S. boys volleyball preview: Around the divisions (Preseason)
- Indian Hills and Ramapo ties evident in historic match (April 3 edition)
- Gurega, Wisniewski lead Don Bosco past Hackensack (April 7)
- Wayne Valley making its way, beats Lakeland (April 8)
- Bloomfield Invitational: Fair Lawn keeps a busy schedule (April 12)
- Clifton makes progress in meeting of the coaching brothers (April 15)
- Notebook: Harrison’s coach Nick Landy reaches milestone (April 16)
- Hackensack, Verde/McNeill Tournament Roundups: Harrison shows title form again; Clifton knocks off Wayne Valley (April 19)
- Corey Young leads Teaneck to fourth straight win (April 22)
- Ryan Healy, Fair Lawn’s jack-of-all-trades, gets it done (April 26)
- Edward Emedoh lifts Hackensack past Wayne Hills (April 28)
- Notebook: Wayne Valley peaking (May 1)
- Kostin leads strong show as Fair Lawn flexes muscles at quad match (May 3)
- Fair Lawn’s defense digs deep for Bergen crown (May 15)
- Wayne Valley topples Clifton for Passaic title (May 17)
- North 1 semifinals: Fair Lawn returns to title match after sweeping Hackensack (May 28)
- North 1 semifinals: Wayne Valley’s thrilling ride ends with loss to Belleville (May 28)
- North 1 sectional final preview: Erushalimski, Fair Lawn aim for sixth sectional crown in a row (May 29)
- North 2 sectional final preview: Harrison vs. Livingston match-up (May 29)
- North 1 final: Fair Lawn serves up another title; Harrison wins first in North 2 (May 30)
- State semifinal previews: Stats and storylines for Fair Lawn, Harrison (June 2)
- State semifinals: Harrison reflects on historic season (June 3)
- State semifinals: Fair Lawn runs into trouble (June 3)
Links to each of our All-North Jersey features can be found in Part I of our boys volleyball season review.
INDEPENDENTLY SUCCESSFUL: Each year, the coaches in their respective leagues/conferences/divisions get together and pick all-star teams (counties, too, though that’s not the issue here). But what about those teams that don’t play in leagues, et al? Their players are eligible for All-County honors (and, obviously, All-North Jersey as chosen by The Record), but there’s still that extra layer of recognition they don’t get to experience. Well, not this season.
As a Varsity Aces exclusive, Taglines has chosen All-Independent teams for the 2015 boys volleyball season, for the benefit of those not eligible for All-Big North Conference or All-West Jersey Volleyball League accolades. That includes Garfield, Indian Hills and Ramapo, and yes I did get to see all three in person this year. Remember, all-division/league teams are selected by coaches; the All-Independents are an Aces exclusive:
NORTH JERSEY BOYS VOLLEYBALL, 2015 ALL-INDEPENDENT
Brian Moran (left) and Indian Hills faced off with Ben Rickert (10) and Ramapo in a pair of independent matches. (Photo/Rich Formicola)
FIRST TEAM
OUTSIDE HITTER: Ryan Campbell, Ramapo, senior
OUTSIDE HITTER: Ricardo Ventura, Ramapo, senior
MIDDLE HITTER: Chandler Josse, Indian Hills, senior
OPPOSITE: Caleb Rodriguez, Garfield, senior
SETTER: Ardit Babamusta, Garfield, junior
LIBERO: Oliver Key, Indian Hills, junior
SECOND TEAM
OUTSIDE HITTER: Wilson Gonzalez, Garfield, senior
OUTSIDE HITTER: Brian Moran, Indian Hills, junior
MIDDLE HITTER: Artur Tomaszkowicz, Garfield, senior
OPPOSITE: Brandon Arnold, Ramapo, senior
SETTER: Ben Rickert, Ramapo, sophomore
DS/SETTER: Brendan Hayek, Indian Hills, junior
Again, these teams are completely unofficial, just for fun and based on what Taglines watched this season. If we missed anything, we’ll try to do better next time. On to the big finish…
LIST-O-MANIA: The band Phoenix spells it “Lisztomania” (after Franz Liszt), and that song may have played a few too many times on my iTunes, but here the phrase fits. To take us home, Varsity Aces presents all the boys volleyball lists we could compile, broken up into three categories: Season Stats (headlined in green), Career Leaders (blue) and All-Time Champions (orange). Enjoy…
NORTH JERSEY BOYS VOLLEYBALL 2015 SEASON STATS
(Based on numbers reported to The Record)
Hackensack junior Edward Emedoh led North Jersey with 332 kills this season. (Carmine Galasso/Staff Photographer)
KILLS, TOP 10:
1. Edward Emedoh, Hackensack, 332
2. Piotr Namiotko, Harrison, 300
3. Ryan Healy, Fair Lawn, 298
4. Kyle Warnock, Bergen Catholic, 267
5. Tom Wisnewski, Don Bosco, 252
6. Max Kostin, Fair Lawn, 223
7. Nabil Jamhour, Clifton, 218
8. Kamil Garbowski, Clifton, 210
9. Danny Sciolaro, Wayne Valley, 204
10. Mike Foglia, Wayne Valley, 195
ASSISTS, TOP 10:
1. Jimmy Vega, Harrison, 689
2. Tommy Lynch, Bergen Catholic, 657
3. Mac DiTomasso, Hackensack, 631
4. Matt Widovic, Wayne Valley, 595
5. Dan Sela, Fair Lawn, 536
6. Michael Erushalimski, Fair Lawn, 510
7. Justin Donnelly, Wayne Hills, 419
8. Kevin Flores, North Bergen, 375
9. Zach Ponte, Lakeland, 327
10. Saul Linares, Passaic, 310
DIGS, TOP 10:
1. Jeffrey Holm, Lakeland, 355
2. Nicholas Esposito, Hackensack, 352
3. Ryan Healy, Fair Lawn, 341
4. Justin Korman, Wayne Valley, 255
5. Anthony Gonnello, Don Bosco, 254
6. Dennis Abramov, Fair Lawn, 252
7. Daniel Lagunas, Passaic, 211
8. Frank Contreras, Harrison, 200
9. David Penaherrera, Harrison, 196
10. Kyle VanDerVelden, Wayne Hills, 189
Fair Lawn senior Max Kostin led North Jersey with 92 blocks. (Amy Newman/Staff Photographer)
BLOCKS, TOP 10:
1. Max Kostin, Fair Lawn, 92
2. Piotr Namiotko, Harrison, 82
3. Delvin Diaz, Hackensack, 76½
4. Kamil Garbowski, Clifton, 69
5. Kevin Usme, North Bergen, 50
6. Kevin White, Don Bosco, 45
7. Tyler Pollock, Fair Lawn, 44
8. Grant Kelly, Wayne Hills, 41
9. Abdulkareem Elsammak, North Bergen, 40
10. Mike Babikian, Bergen Catholic, 37
ACES, TOP 10:
1. Michael Erushalimski, Fair Lawn, 39
2. Kevin Flores, North Bergen, 38
3. David Penaherrera, Harrison, 36
4. Dennis Abramov, Fair Lawn, 35
5. (TIE) Tom Wisnewski, Don Bosco & Dan Donenfeld, Fair Lawn, 34
7. Avery Gross, Wayne Hills, 31
8. Steven West, Clifton, 29
9. Kyle Warnock, Bergen Catholic, 28
10. (TIE) Patrick Kowalcyk, Clifton & Ryan Healy, Fair Lawn & Jimmy Vega, Harrison & Rabeeh Rashid, North Bergen, 27
BOYS VOLLEYBALL CAREER STATISTICAL LEADERS
(New entries listed in bold)
NORTH JERSEY ALL-TIME KILLS (1,000+)
1.) Dan Nugent, Fair Lawn Class of 2011 – 1,183
2.) Chris Nugent, Fair Lawn ’13 – 1,176
3.) Ziggy Goryn, Wayne Hills ’02 – 1,164
4.) Dave Noonan, Fair Lawn ’02 – 1,152
5.) Brad Kniewel, Lakeland ’00 – 1,142
6.) Greg Beebe, Hackensack ’03 – 1,138
7.) Brendan McCullagh, Bergen Catholic ’12 – 1,116
8.) Jay Sawicki, Wayne Hills ’03 – 1,113
9.) Petko Ljusic, Lakeland ’14 – 1,048
10.) Jose Silva, Harrison ’06 – 1,023
STATE TOP 8 ALL-TIME KILLS^
1.) Wellington Perez, Newark East Side ’06 – 1,383
2.) Ryan Fredrickson, Southern Regional ’05 – 1,301
3.) Devin Zolnowski, Bridgewater-Raritan ’05 – 1,231
4.) Dan Nugent, Fair Lawn ’11 – 1,183
5.) Chris Nugent, Fair Lawn ’13 – 1,176
6.) Alfredo Rodriguez, Livingston ’05 – 1,170
7.) Ziggy Goryn, Wayne Hills ’02 – 1,164
8.) Dave Noonan, Fair Lawn ’02 – 1,152
^SOURCES: NFHS, The Record archives
ALL-TIME BOYS VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONS
(Listed by tournament; seed numbers in parentheses, where applicable)
PASSAIC COUNTY TOURNAMENT:
2015: (3) Wayne Valley def. (1) Clifton, 25-20, 25-19
2014: (2) Lakeland def. (1) Wayne Valley, 25-21, 26-24
2013: (1) Wayne Valley def. (2) Lakeland, 25-18, 19-25, 25-21
2012: (5) Lakeland def. (2) Wayne Hills, 25-13, 27-25
2011: (1) Wayne Valley def. (2) Wayne Hills, 25-7, 25-16
2010: (1) Wayne Valley def. (2) Clifton, 25-23, 25-23
2009: (3) Passaic Valley def. (1) Clifton, 12-25, 25-23, 25-18
2008: (1) Wayne Hills def. (2) Clifton, 16-25, 26-24, 27-25
2007: (3) Lakeland def. (4) Passaic Valley, 25-23, 25-21
2006: (4) Lakeland def. (3) Wayne Valley, 25-12, 18-25, 25-12
2005: (1) Clifton def. (2) Wayne Hills, 25-20, 25-23
2004: (2) Clifton def. (1) Wayne Hills, 16-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-17
2003: (1) Clifton def. (2) Wayne Hills, 13-15, 15-3, 15-6
2002: (3) Clifton def. (1) Lakeland, 15-9, 15-13
2001: (1) Lakeland def. (2) Clifton, 15-13, 17-15
2000: (1) Lakeland def. (2) Clifton, 15-8, 15-11
1999: (1) Lakeland def. (2) Clifton, 13-15, 15-3, 15-4
1998: (1) Lakeland def. (3) Clifton, 15-6, 15-6
1997: (2) Passaic def. (4) Clifton, 15-13, 15-3
BERGEN COUNTY TOURNAMENT:
2015: (1) Fair Lawn def. (2) Bergen Catholic, 25-23, 25-10
2014: (1) Fair Lawn def. (2) Don Bosco, 25-23, 25-14
2013: (1) Fair Lawn def. (2) Don Bosco, 25-19, 25-18
2012: (3) Don Bosco def. (1) Fair Lawn, 17-25, 25-23, 25-17
2011: (1) Fair Lawn def. (2) Wallington, 25-8, 25-11
2010^: Fair Lawn def. Garfield, 25-15, 25-14
2009^: Fair Lawn def. Bergen Catholic, 25-12, 25-23
2006-08: *No Tournament due to lack of host site
2005^: Don Bosco def. Fair Lawn, 20-25, 25-23, 25-17
2004: *No Tournament due to lack of host site
2003^: Fair Lawn def. Hackensack, 15-13, 13-15, 15-11
2002^: Fair Lawn def. Don Bosco, 15-7, 15-2
HACKENSACK COMETS INVITATIONAL:
2001: Fair Lawn def. Wayne Hills, 15-7, 7-15, 15-13
2000^: Hackensack def. Barringer, 15-5, 15-10
“COACHES COUNTY TOURNAMENT” (Included Bergen/Essex schools, plus Vernon from Sussex)
1999^: Fair Lawn def. Hackensack, 7-15, 15-13, 18-16
1998^: Fair Lawn def. Indian Hills, 15-4, 15-7
BERGEN COUNTY TOURNAMENT:
1997^: Fair Lawn def. Hackensack, 15-11, 15-9
BERGEN/PASSAIC VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT:
1996: (1) Fair Lawn def. (3) Hackensack, 15-0, 9-15, 15-8
1995: (1) Fair Lawn def. (4) Clifton, 15-3, 15-0
1994: (1) Clifton def. (2) Fair Lawn, 13-15, 15-4, 15-0
1993: (1) Fair Lawn def. (2) Lakeland, 15-11, 7-15, 16-14
^1-day event
HUDSON COUNTY TOURNAMENT:
2015: (1) Harrison def. (2) Bayonne, 25-13, 25-14
2014: (1) St. Peter’s Prep def. (2) Kearny, 25-23, 25-21
2013: (2) Bayonne def. (4) Harrison, 25-19, 25-15
*NOTE: From 1995-2012, only one North Jersey team made the Hudson finals, North Bergen in 1995. Only three schools produced champions in that period: Memorial of West New York (1994-99, 2001), St. Peter’s (2000, 2002-05, 2010-11) and Bayonne (2006-09, 2012).
NORTH 1 SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT:
2015: (1) Fair Lawn def. (2) Belleville, 25-21, 25-23
2014: (1) Fair Lawn def. (2) Wayne Valley, 27-25, 25-23
2013: (1) Fair Lawn def. (2) Vernon, 25-12, 25-11
2012: (1) Fair Lawn def. (2) Don Bosco, 25-22, 25-13
2011: (1) Fair Lawn def. (3) Wallington, 25-13, 25-11
2010: (2) Fair Lawn def. (1) Wayne Valley, 25-22, 25-21
NORTH SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT:
2009: (4) St. Peter’s Prep def. (2) Bayonne, 25-15, 25-23
2008: (1) St. Peter’s Prep def. (3) Vernon, 25-22, 25-19
2007: (1) St. Peter’s Prep def. (2) Bayonne, 25-17, 25-20
2006: (7) Bridgewater-Raritan def. (5) Clifton, 25-22, 25-17
*NOTE: From 2006-09, the NJSIAA awarded two sectional titles (North, South) each year. Since 2010, it has awarded four per season (North 1, North 2, Central, South).
Fair Lawn fans cheer on their team at the 2015 state semifinals in South Brunswick. (Amy Newman/Staff Photographer)
NJSIAA TOURNAMENT:
2015: Bridgewater-Raritan def. Southern Regional, 25-22, 25-12
2014: Southern Regional def. St. Peter’s Prep, 25-27, 25-17, 25-14
2013: Southern Regional def. St. Joseph (Metuchen), 25-22, 25-20
2012: Fair Lawn def. Southern Regional, 25-23, 13-25, 25-22
2011: Fair Lawn def. Southern Regional, 25-17, 25-23
2010: Southern Regional def. St. Peter’s Prep, 21-25, 25-23, 25-17
2009: Southern Regional def. St. Peter’s Prep, 25-18, 25-17
2008: St. Joseph (Metuchen) def. St. Peter’s Prep, 25-14, 25-18
2007: East Brunswick def. St. Peter’s Prep, 25-21, 25-22
2006: St. Joseph (Metuchen) def. Bridgewater-Raritan, 25-16, 18-25, 29-27
2005: Bridgewater-Raritan def. Clifton, 25-20, 21-25, 25-20
2004: East Brunswick def. Fair Lawn, 25-20, 25-16, 25-27, 18-25, 15-8
2003: East Brunswick def. St. Joseph (Metuchen), 7-15, 15-5, 15-12
2002: St. Joseph (Metuchen) def. Hunterdon Central, 15-8, 15-7
2001: East Brunswick def. Clifton, 15-12, 15-13
2000: East Brunswick def. Lakeland, 15-6, 16-14
1999: East Brunswick def. St. Joseph (Metuchen), 20-18, 11-15, 15-7
1998: Cherry Hill East def. East Brunswick, 15-5, 15-9
1997: Cherry Hill East def. Memorial (West New York), 15-8, 15-13
1996: Cherry Hill East def. Fair Lawn, 16-14, 11-15, 15-10
1995: Fair Lawn def. Bridgewater-Raritan East, 15-13, 13-15, 15-13
STATE COACHES’ TOURNAMENT (PRE-NJSIAA SANCTIONING):
1994: Bridgewater-Raritan East def. Memorial (West New York), 15-4, 15-8
1993: Bridgewater-Raritan East def. Fair Lawn, 18-16, 15-4
1992: Lakeland def. Bridgewater-Raritan East, 15-6, 8-15, 15-10
1991: Bridgewater-Raritan East def. Fair Lawn
1990: Bridgewater-Raritan East def. St. Joseph (Metuchen)
1989: Bridgewater-Raritan East def. St. Joseph (Metuchen)
1988: Lakeland def. St. Joseph (Metuchen)
If you spot any corrections that need to be made, please email the Aces. Happy Summer to all…
—GT