Boys Volleyball Beats Wallington to Win Sectional Final

Customarily in volleyball, a knockout punch – the moment when one team takes the life out of its opponent – comes in the latter stages of a match.

That moment came rather early in the North 2 Sectional Final on Friday, as Fair Lawn used an early surge to eliminate Wallington in straight games, 25-13, 25-11.

With the victory, the state’s No. 1 ranked team booked a return trip to the state semifinals next week.

The Cutters (36-2), who previously beat Wallington twice this season, found a more confident and energetic opponent on the other side of the net this time  – at least in the early going. With only a 5-4 lead in the first game, Fair Lawn rolled off an impressive 16-4 run to take control for good.

Wallington (20-6), which earned entry into the sectional final with wins over Don Bosco Prep and Wayne Valley, never recovered from the first game onslaught.

“If you don’t have that run, if you don’t have a knock-out punch so to speak, once a team gains confidence, their level of play can rise,” said Fair Lawn coach Peter Zisa. “I didn’t want to see that because (Wallington) obviously did that in the last two matches in order to beat very strong opponents.”

Zisa’s Cutters used the same formula of aggressive serving that helped them beat Wallington in the Bergen County Tournament Final on May 19.

Paced by senior outside hitter Dan Nugent (15 kills, two aces) and senior libero Oren Zyndorf (nine digs, two aces), Fair Lawn will take on St. Peter’s Prep in the state semifinals Tuesday. The meeting of the two North Jersey powers will be a rematch of last year’s semifinal, when Prep downed Fair Lawn in two games.

St. Joseph Metuchen will take on Southern Regional in the other semifinal.

Instead of worrying about the reigning North Jersey champs in Prep or potential state championship opponents, Fair Lawn has opted for a more focused approach.

“Throughout the state tournament, we just said one game at a time,” said Zyndorf. “We can’t look forward too much. Just one game at a time.”

Sophomore outside hitter Chris Nugent chipped in with four kills and two digs, while Zisa credited junior opposite Brandon Pascua (three kills) for his solid play.

With a rematch against St. Peter’s Prep up next, Zisa was asked whether a potential showdown between the two teams provides his squad with any added motivation to take care of Wallington.

“For them, perhaps. For me, our goal this year is to not go beat one particular team,” Zisa said. “Our goal is to win our last game.”