Ramapo comes up roses by Darren Cooper of The Record
WAYNE — Junior hitter Gretchen Kincade got a dozen pink roses from her Aunt Suzie. Ramapo got the wrong trophy.
It was all good.
“My middle name is Rose,” said a beaming Kincade. “So it’s perfect. I guess she just knew that we were going to win [Saturday].”
The Green Raiders took home the Group 2 volleyball title with a spectacular three-set victory over previously undefeated River Dell on Saturday at William Paterson. The scores were 25-17, 23-25, 28-26. Elena Montgomery had 22 kills for the Green Raiders.
“I think this is what we wanted all year,” said Montgomery. “It’s an amazing feeling.”
In the celebration, Green Raiders coach Dave Van Hook was told the team was holding the Group 1 title award, but quickly a switch was made and the proper gold plaque was ticketed for Franklin Lakes.
“That’s a classic state championship … three sets,” said Van Hook. “That’s just amazing.”
Amazing is about right. The Green Raiders started hot in the first set, then the Golden Hawks surged back behind another incredible defensive effort.
In the third game, Ramapo built an 18-10 lead and looked on its way. Then River Dell came back again, going on an 11-2 run to take the lead.
The drama only intensified. Tied at 24, River Dell was called for a lift giving Ramapo a championship point. Kincade rocked the ball down the far line. It hit the floor. Van Hook and his staff began to celebrate.
The flag was up. The linesman called the ball wide.
“I thought it was in,” said Kincade, “but who knows? It’s all right.”
“It was really hard to settle down,” said Van Hook. “I had to grab my coaches and pull them back to the bench.”
River Dell scored the next point on a kill by Christa Passaretti, so now it had match point. But the Green Raiders were able to survive, and win the final three points with Montgomery coming through at the end. It’s Ramapo’s first volleyball state title since 2010.
“I was extremely impressed with River Dell, we had not seen them this year, I had only seen them on tape,” said Van Hook. “To go toe-to-toe with them is a special thing. They were [Bergen] County champs and state champs two years in a row, it’s an honor to play a team like that and it’s an honor to coach these girls and come away with a win.”
The Golden Hawks had built their reputation and won the Bergen County title as New Jersey’s leading defensive team. They just don’t surrender.
“We knew that we needed to find their weak spots,” said Kincade. “We are a strong offense, and we needed not to give up, and even though we lost that second set, we kept fighting. It looked like it wasn’t going to go in our favor, but we knew that we were capable of winning.”
Bergen County volleyball remains the best in New Jersey. Ramapo always had been the team that was close, or worse, a team that found a way to lose at the end.
That almost tripped it again Saturday. Remember, it had an 18-10 lead in the third game.
“It was 19-10 for us against [NV/Demarest],” said Van Hook, referring to the Green Raiders’ semifinal victory. “We just get a little complacent sometimes. We just talked about having heart and finding that next gear. Both sides were shot at the end, it was a tough match, not just physically, but emotionally.”
“I think we get in our own heads,” said Kincade, who finished with 12 kills, six in the decisive third game. “We were a little too confident and I think we underestimated them a little and they came back at us, but that’s what they do. They’re a great team.”
Ramapo now advances to next weekend’s Tournament of Champions. As usual, the event will have a strong Bergen County flavor with four of the five teams from the area.
Van Hook talked about how his team has matured, remembering how it lost to River Dell in the state final two years ago with three freshmen on the floor. Saturday, they stepped out of the contenders’ bracket and into the champions’ bracket, carrying bouquets and smiles.
“We came in with no pressure,” said Kincade. “They were the ones who are undefeated. They’re No. 1. We just needed to play our game and have fun and I think that’s exactly what we did, and when we do that, we’re a great team.”