It was another big season for the Belleville High School boys volleyball team.
The Bucs finished with a 20-9 record and made it to the Essex County Tournament title game before falling to Livingston.
"We were able to bounce back and win the last three regular season games and win the first state playoff game," said Belleville head coach Chris Terranova.
Three members of the team were named to the All Super Essex Conference first team in Julian Rodrigues, Tommy Rosario and Luigi Zanoria.
And the good thing is that all of them are junior so will be back for 2012.
The top player on the team is Rodrigues. "Julian is overall our best player,” said Terranova. "He is the best passer and the best server."
Rodrigues led the team in kills and averaged 11.5 per game. "He puts the ball anywhere he wants it," said Terranova about Rodrigues, whose top game came against Montclair where he had 21 kills.
Rosario is one of the top blockers in the states. "He has the knack of knowing where the ball is going," said Terranova. "Our defense is 150 percent better with his blocking."
And one of the top setters in the state was Zanoria who had 715 assists, third- best in the state. "He can dictate the pace of the game," said Terranova.
In addition the Bucs went a couple of rounds in the state tournament before losing to second-seeded Wayne Valley in a tough three games. Belleville probably was in the toughest section in the state as their state sectional winner, Fair Lawn, would go on and win the State Tournament of Champions .
On the second SEC team was Orlando Andrade, the lone senior on the 2011 team. Terranova said that Andrade will be playing club volleyball in moving on to college. Junior Jaleel Dolor garnered an honorable mention nod in the All SEC list.
Baseball
Belleville ended its season on a high note. With the extensive rain at the end of May, the Bucs had one more game after the state tournament.
Belleville had been knocked out of the state tournament, falling at South Plainfield in the Group 3 North 2 quarterfinals.
And it was a great sendoff for the team and the seniors as the Bucs came from behind at Super Essex Conference rival Caldwell at the start of June.
Belleville scored four runs in the top of the seventh to knock-off the Chiefs, 10-8. The Bucs finished with an 11-18 record for the 2011 season that included an upset of high seed West Orange in the Greater Newark Tournament.
Against Caldwell it was the combination of Gerard Gilfone and Mike Cayli who helped propel Belleville to the victory. Gilfone went 3-for-4 with four RBI while Cayli was 4-for-5 and an RBI to grab the SEC Liberty division win.
Track and field
There was one lone Belleville High School track and field athlete who qualified for the Group 3 meet at the beginning of June, but the real news is that several Bucs underclassmen competed well in the state sectional meet.
Senior Vanessa Ackon was the lone Belleville track star to make the Group 3 and did it in two races, the 200 and 400 meters. While her times were down in the group meet, she still qualified for the meet and finished 14th (1:03.14) in the 400 and 16th (27.05) in the 200 meter race.
A few Bucs underclassmen got their toe dipped in the state meets. Sophomores Daryl Scales (200 and 400 meters) and Nick Costa (800 meters) will be looked for better numbers in 2012. There is also Devon Strom in the javelin.
On the girls side there is the Bono twins, juniors, who excelled in the one mile and two mile races.
Group 3 meet
Girls
400 meters
14. Vanessa Ackon, 1:03.14
200 meters
16. Vanessa Ackon, 27.05
Group 3 North State Sectional meet
Boys
400 meters
11. Daryl Scales, 52.31
Javelin
27. Devon Strom, 102-feet
800 meters
31. Nick Costa, 2:12.39
3,200 meters
13. Bryon Cure, 10:37.67
200 meters
19. Daryl Scales, 23.93
Girls
1,600 meters
15. Kristy Bono, 5:52.86
18. Jamie Bono, 5:56.85
400 meters
4. Vanessa Ackon, 1:01.65
200 meters
5. Vanessa Ackon, 26.91
3,200 meters
7. Ariel Colon, 13:01.67
8. Jamie Bono, 13:09.93
