Colonials Volleyball Gets Much-Needed Win

Coming off of a disappointing loss to Parsippany High School in the first round of the Morris County Tournament, the Lady Colonials of Morristown High School were hungry for a win and weren't going to be denied. 

Dominating in two straight sets, a win was exactly what they obtained against Vernon Township High School on Monday, Oct. 4.

Sporting alternate uniforms, the Lady Colonials looked fresh and focused in their new black garbs. Playing with attitude, the girls began the first set with pure intensity, going on a 7-0 run and then closing out the set with a score of 25-16.

The second set started out as a shoot out, with both teams exchanging points until the Colonials got back on track with the score tied at nine. The Colonials finished the set winning again, with a score of 25-16.

The usual contributions from powerhouse players, Senior Captain Caitlin Horan (eight kills, four blocks) and sophomore phenom, Mary Long (eight kills, five digs, two aces) were apparent in the win, but the most noticeable factor was the rotation of a lot of the younger/bench players by Coach Ron Davenport. Younger sophomore players like Cara Bodner (22), Jen Donlin (8) and Jen Remler (23) showed plenty of maturity and potential in the win against Vernon.

"Our mentality coming into the game was all about improving," said Coach Davenport. "I talked to all of my sophomores and told them to have confidence in themselves and cut down on mental mistakes and that's exactly what we did." 

Quickly pointing out some stats, he added, "My younger girls definitely came through tonight. We had nine blocks alone between two of my sophomore middle hitters. That's what we need."

After five straight losses, the Lady Colonials needed this game to get back on track and reclaim their confidence. With Mendham High School next on the schedule, Coach Davenport and the Colonials, at 5-8, are looking to pick up momentum and add more wins to their record.

"We knew we had mistakes to fix and we needed to pick ourselves up," said Horan. "We definitely did that today."