Old Tappan Bests Ramapo Again to Capture Tournament of Champions Title

Ramapo's quest for a Tournament of Champions title came to an end Sunday afternoon against a familiar foe.

The Lady Raiders, the Group 2 champions, fell 2-0 to Old Tappan in the final of the overall championship, for only the girls fourth loss of the year—all at the hands of the Golden Knights.     

"I give all the credit in the world to Old Tappan," said Ramapo coach Dave Van Hook. "They've been a worthy champion all season long, and today they showed exactly why that was."

The two teams met on the campus of William Paterson University, where the Knights (26-1) were able to capture their first-ever Tournament of Champions title behind an outstanding overall performance from their middle blocker, Aiyana Whitney.

"We've been working so hard for this moment all season long, and it feels great to play the way we did on a stage of this magnitude," said Whitney, who was named the tournament's most valuable player.

Behind the strength of Whitney's game-high 17 kills and 4 blocks, Old Tappan was able to win both games in convincing fashion (25-20, 25-12).

"I'm very proud of the way my players came out and competed to the best of their abilities," said Old Tappan coach Melissa Landeck. "Having now faced each other four times this season we knew that there wouldn't be very many surprises, so the key for us was just executing what we do best, and if we could accomplish that we'd be fine."

Old Tappan would ultimately dominate the day, although the Raiders jumped out to an early lead.

Team captain Nicole Kincade scored three quick points to put Ramapo ahead 5-2 as the Raiders looked to be operating on all cylinders. All that momentum came to a screeching halt when Old Tappan went on an 11-4 scoring run to give them a commanding lead that they would not relinquish.

The rally deflated any hopes the Raiders had for an upset as Ramapo came out flat in the second game while OT raced out to a 14-5 lead.

Ramapo tried desperately to battle back, but seemingly every time they were about to mount a rally OT's towering enforcer was there to knock them down.

"We know Ramapo has a lot of pride in they way they play," said Whitney, who stands 6'4". "So it was very important to us to never let up and let them back in to the game."

The Golden Knights finished the match on a 13-7 scoring run to capture the championship.

Old Tappan finished the season with league, county, state sectional and state titles.

"They're the crown jewel of New Jersey volleyball," said Van Hook. "We have the utmost respect for their program, and we can only hope to one day accomplish what they've done this season."