Girls Volleyball Looking for Shot at States

With the new season starting soon, Livingston's Girls Volleyball team is looking to avenge some of last year's losses.  Then, the team dropped matches to Caldwell, Science Park and Cherry Hills East.

Cherry Hill East ended the Lady Lancers season in 2009 in the Group 4 quarterfinal game.  It was a tight match that came down to the deciding third set.  The Lancers lost 28-26, 23-25 and 19-25.

That defeat has given this year's team — especially the seniors — an incentive to work harder.  Seniors on this year's roster include Adiam Amare, Michelle Lee, Connie Cheng, Amy Gao, Jade Yee and Lauren Atkins.

"It was disappointing and a game that we can learn from," said Cheng. "It taught me a lot and to improve my overall game."

Gao would like to see Livingston face Cherry Hill in the state playoffs, again, but with a different outcome. "It was a tough loss. We want to do better and beat them," she said.

For Lee, a key to success this season is to keep battling.

"After one-point, you have to shake it off and attack the next one," said Lee.

While this year's roster is strong, there are some notable absences.  Casey Tepper,  Livingston's top hitter last year, has graduated.  She led the team in kills, posting 309.

While Livingston might not have a dominant hitter like Tepper this season, Livingston head coach Al Partelow likes that he will have three or four hitters.

The top hitter coming back is junior outside hitter Nancy Yang, who had more than 200 kills last season. "She's just going to be a dominant hitter," said Partelow.

Along with Yang, there are four starters coming back including senior setter Lee, senior libero Cheng and senior middle hitter Gao. Both Lee and Cheng were named to the All SEC team last year.

About Lee, Partelow said that he might use her as a right side hitter. "She's got very good technique and experience," said Partelow. "She's also a very good server."

Partelow added that he might also use Rachel Kung and Allison Edelstein as setters. "We have three setters, so we are set for the next three seasons," he said.

In terms of Cheng, her passing is top notch. "She is one of the best passers in the conference and the county," said Partelow. "She's one of the top liberos in the state."

Also good for the team is that many players got a lot of offseason playing time.

"Our girls playing a lot of club ball in the offseason," said Partelow.

A couple of younger players who are expected to see court time include sophomores Jamie Schneck and Stephanie Bishop, both middle hitters.

The Lancers will be tested early.  They face Science Park on September 14 and  Caldwell on and September 16.

Livingston Girls' Volleyball Schedule
(Games at 4 p.m. unless noted)
   
Sept. 13    Bloomfield
Sept. 14    at Science Park
Sept. 16    at Caldwell
Sept. 20   Montclair
Sept. 22   at Montclair Kimberly Academy
Sept. 25   Lancer Invitational, 9 a.m.
Sept. 29   East Side Newark
Sept. 30   Roselle Catholic
Oct.  2      at Northern Valley Tournament, TBA
Oct.  4      Belleville
Oct. 6       Bloomfield
Oct. 7       at  Hunterdon Central, 4:30 p.m.
Oct. 11      Science Park
Oct. 13     Caldwell
Oct. 18     at Montclair
Oct. 20     Montclair Kimberly Academy
Oct. 21      Ridge
Oct. 26      at Mendham
Oct. 27      at East Side Newark
Oct. 28      at Bridgewater-Raritan