Fair Lawn Volleyball Rallies But Falls Short Against No. 6 Ramapo

As the No. 6-ranked team in the state eyed a prompt two-game sweep of the Fair Lawn girl's volleyball squad, the Cutters showed a certain grit as they tried desperately to stave off a talented and rangy Ramapo side.

Fair Lawn (5-8) stormed back from eight points down in the second game, but was ultimately overrun by sixth-ranked Ramapo (9-1), 25-19, 25-22, Tuesday afternoon at Fair Lawn High School.

"Our offense really didn't click the way we needed it to be," said Fair Lawn coach Peter Zisa. "That probably stems from the fact that we didn't really serve and receive the ball well enough to run our offense consistently."           

After opening up a 19-11 lead in the second game, Ramapo paid for numerous unforced errors, allowing Fair Lawn to creep back within striking distance. The Cutters capitalized and rattled off six of the next seven points to cut the deficit to 20-17.

The home squad then pulled to within one point (23-22) after Jana Nieman's soft set dropped in for a point and Ramapo committed another hitting error that resulted in a Cutter point.

Fair Lawn looked poised to gain control of the game, but the Green Raiders' Sarah Giegerich cut the rally short when she connected on consecutive kills to send Ramapo home with its ninth win of the season.

"They could have just laid over and they brought it back to within two points," said Zisa. "That's a good thing, because they fought hard."

Fair Lawn libero Allison Sudol put on a defensive show throughout the match, collecting a match-high 18 digs and committing only one digging error.

"That to me is absolutely ridiculous, in two games to have 18 digs and only one digging error," Zisa said, praising Sudol. "But you can't play team defense with one person. That's something that we need to learn and people just need to step up in those rolls."

Ramapo's Nicole Kincade led the Raiders with 12 kills, while Sarah Giegerich added 16 digs.

Fair Lawn looks to get back on track against a strong Paramus team on the road Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by a home match against Ridgewood at 4:15 p.m. Friday.