Marlboro Volleyball Season Comes to a Disappointing End

It’s said that what goes around, comes back around, and, unfortunately for the , they learned that old proverb the hard way, firsthand, on Thursday afternoon.

Less than two weeks ago, the Mustangs took down the Southern Regional Rams in the Shore Conference final, clinching the first title in school history. Southern, however, was out for revenge when the teams met again in the Group 4 NJSIAA quarterfinal round, as Marlboro fell 2-0 to the Rams.

In spite of the team’s heartbreaking loss on Thursday, the 2011 season marked a year of successes for the Mustangs. Coming off a 2010 season in which Marlboro made it to the Shore Conference semifinals in spite of losing two senior captains to injury, the team had high expectations coming into the year.

“I knew last year, because we had two of our starters injured, and we still made it to the Shore Conference semi-finals,” said Marlboro head coach Marge McNamara. “So I knew that this year, we could definitely do what we’ve done to this point. I knew our successes would continue.”

Continue they did, as the Mustangs clinched one of the best regular season records in school history (21-4), the aforementioned Shore Conference title and a state tournament win over Eastern High School of Camden County.

“I think we exceeded expectations this season,” said senior LiLi Meng after the team’s victory over Eastern on Tuesday. “I don’t think that anybody thought we’d go this far, but I’m really happy that we have.”

The season may have come to an end for the 2011 edition of Marlboro’s girls volleyball team, but it wasn’t before garnering plenty of well-deserved attention from the community.

“We’ve had the town behind us,” said McNamara. “Even the students, during the home games, they’ve had the bleachers packed. That’s definitely a good thing.”