Hillsborough has been battle tested since the start of the 2025 campaign, and it has continues its impressive season with the Skyland Conference Cup crown, the programs second in four years.
On Thursday, Hillsborough, ranked No. 12 in the NJ.com Top 20 and the top seed in the tournament, earned a 2-0 sweep against third-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan (26-24, 25-18).
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5/22 - 12:00 AM Boys Volleyball Final Bridgewater-Raritan 0 Hillsborough 2
Mannan Wadhawan contributed 11 kills and three aces, and Alex Susan added 11 kills while Arsh Trivedi had 25 assists for Hillsborough (23-4).
“Playing Bridgewater is always a battle,” Hillsborough head coach Jack Casey said. “I told my guys before the game, this is Bridgewater, it’s always a battle, but you’re the most battle tested team in the state of New Jersey.”
While Hillsborough may be battle tested, it has aced virtually every test, as the program has earned 22 consecutive wins dating back to April 5 when it fell to Old Bridge.
In yet another installment of a come-from-behind victory, Hillsborough trailed 23-21 in the first set, and didn’t panic, keeping its composure and belief that it was going to win - after all, they’ve been doing it all season long.
“This team has come from behind to win so many matches and I don’t know how they keep doing it,” Casey added. “Somehow, despite being down late, it still felt like we were in control and we were going to take the win. This is without question the most resilient team I have ever coached.”
Hillsborough was in control in the second set, and showed the kind of grit and fight that it has been accustomed to displaying all season long, winning 25-18 to earn the title.
Since Coach Casey took over the program in 2021, Hillsborough has won two Skyland County Cup titles, the first coming in 2022. Casey has had four consecutive winning seasons since becoming the head coach, and earned an impressive 22-4 record in his first season at the helm.
Wadhawan leads Hillsborough in kills with 228, and also has 50 aces on the season, a monster season for the senior who had 16 kills in the semifinal match against Watchung Hills.
Hillsborough is now 7-1 in the Skyland-Delaware division, just one game ahead of rival, Hunterdon Central.
--- Additional quotes, story to be updated soon ---
Tyler Duffy can be reached at tduffy@njadvancemedia.com.
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