Lancers Lose Close ECT Final

LIVINGSTON -  The third time was indeed a charm, but not for Livingston.  

On Saturday, when the Lancer volleyball team faced Bloomfield away in the title match of the Essex County Tournament, the boys were looking to take home the trophy.   

But Bloomfield, having lost two previous matches this season against Livingston, was looking to make good on its third attempt to beat the Lancers this year.  They did and defeated the Lancers  23-25, 25-22 and 27-25.  The win, coincidentally, also gave the Bengals a third straight Essex County title, the second in a row over Livingston.

"It was really tough and you can't make excuses for it," said Livingston head coach Al Partelow, whose team dropped to 19-2 on the season. "They (Bloomfield) played really well."

The Bengals played solidly up front, Partelow said, but it also didn't help that the Lancers didn't serve as well as they could have.

"They had some good blocking in the middle and they didn't have that in the past," said Partelow about the previous battles with Bloomfield. "We served with caution."

For the Lancers, some highlights from the game include the play of Billy Williams, the senior who led Livingston with 13 kills along with 16 digs. J.P. Tirone added a dozen kills and 11 digs. The team's top setter, Justin Delman, had 36 assists.

But the Livingston defense could not stop Bloomfield hitter Nick Fiorillo, who led the Bengals with 17 kills and eight digs.

Outside of Bloomfield's strong play, another factor that might have contributed to Livingston's loss is the fact that the team had a hectic schedule leading into the game.  Last week, the Lancers had four games.

On Friday, the Lancers may have had their best game of the season, with a 2-0 win over Garfield at home. Also, Livingston clinched the first Super Essex Conference American division title with a 2-0 victory over Belleville at home on Wednesday. 

With the county title slipping through their fingers, Livingston will now try to win a state sectional championship.

The Lancers are the second seed in the North 2 section and received a bye in the first round. They will face the winner of seventh-seeded Union City versus 10th-seeded Solomon Schechter, on either Wednesday or Thursday.