DELAWARE VALLEY
The Delaware Valley girls volleyball program has been as consistent as you can get in the state for a prolonged period with South Jersey, Group 1 titles in four straight years.
The Terriers will look to continue that success under head coach Erin Green. Once again, Delaware Valley appears loaded for another deep postseason run and is after not only another sectional title, but its first Group 1 state title during this run of success.
Delaware Valley has lost in the Group 1 final to Bogota twice and Verona over that span. Senior Abbey Bivona is one of the best players in Group 1 and she had a huge all-around season with 183 kills, 54 blocks, 87 digs, 27 aces a season ago. She will be on the court with junior Maggie Simpson (386 assists, 179 digs, 36 aces) and junior Brooklyn Liskowacki (107 digs) as a few of her top teammates.
However, the Terriers will still have production to replace after losing Kate Kraynanski, Natasha Kreher and Josie LaVinga to graduation. That trio combined for 273 kills a season ago, which was good for almost half of Delaware Valley’s team total of 553 kills.
Getting Delaware Valley prepared for postseason play will be an always tough Skyland Conference Raritan Division. The Terriers won’t have to contend anymore with Watchung Hills, which moved up to the Delaware Division after finishing a perfect 10-0 in Raritan division play.
Delaware Valley finished tied for second last year with Rutgers Prep and will look to find its way to atop the division, which now features Ridge moving down from the Delaware Division.
HUNTERDON CENTRAL
Hunterdon Central will be a program trying to put itself over the top this season.
The Red Devils have been banging on the door the last couple of seasons and could be on the verge of breaking through. Old Bridge has been standing in the way of Hunterdon Central and a sectional title in each of the last three years. Hunterdon Central fell twice to Old Bridge in the Central Jersey, Group 4 semifinals – including a three-set loss last year – and once in the final round.
In addition, Hunterdon Central is after its first Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex Tournament title since 2017. Now in his sixth year, Kevin Jones has built a consistent winner.
Senior Reagan Dyba will be one of the tougher players to stop in the area after contributing 290 kills, 110 digs, 33 aces last fall. She’ll be joined by other key returners in senior Becky Rincon (301 digs, 39 aces), senior Emma Kovacs (362 assists, 84 digs, 69 kills, 15 aces, 12 blocks) and senior Ava Limone (50 kills).
The Red Devils will open their season at home against Bridgewater-Raritan on Sept. 5. They won the Skyland Valley Conference Delaware Division a season ago with a 9-1 division record.
NORTH HUNTERDON
After a transition year last season, North Hunterdon is looking to get back to its level of play from two seasons ago when it won the North 2, Group 3 sectional title.
The Lions then proceeded to finish 9-13 last year, but hope to improve this season with more experience. They did that last season as the Lions started out 1-7, but won five of their last six matches before ending the season with a loss to Millburn in the sectional semifinals.
Kat Wolf was an excellent all-around player (126 kills, 133 digs and 143 service points) and will return as the team’s top option. Maggie Rudeau (105 digs), Ana Moline (85 kills) and Ali Flynn (286 digs) also are back as key players for North Hunterdon.
North Hunterdon finished in a tie for third in the Skyland Conference Delaware Division with a 5-5 division record. The Lions will open the season with a tough test against Hillsborough, which placed second in the division. It will be a big measuring stick to see how far North Hunterdon has come.
VOORHEES
Voorhees is looking to be an extremely improved team following a 9-13 year a season ago as it brings back the vast majority of its contributors.
As only a sophomore, Lily Meijer led the Vikings with 120 kills and should take another big step forward as a junior. She will have a strong senior class surrounding her consisting of Fiona Andrade (37 kills), Avery Bryan (54 kills, 30 blocks), Haylie Thomsen (77 kills, 108 digs and 153 service points) and Katelyn York (50 kills).
Fiona Duggan, who led Voorhees with 263 assists and was second with 116 digs, also is back for her junior season. The Vikings possess a lot of threats on the court for opponents to contend with.
Even more promising for Voorhees was the way it closed out its regular season last year. After starting 1-8, the Vikings went on a five-match winning streak before a close loss to North Hunterdon to close out the regular season. That is just another reason the arrow is pointing up for Voorhees.
The Vikings will open their season on Sept. 3 at Phillipsburg.
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Matt Bove can be reached at hssports@njadvancemedia.com