Teams to Watch Out for in 2021: Scotch Plains-Fanwood

<p>         Club Volleyball has begun and now high school volleyball is in sight for these girls’. These girls’ are going to relish any chance they get to be on the court.  There are teams with a great chance to have monster seasons’ who came up just short in 2019 on the high school stage. Our latest team to watch is Scotch Plains-Fanwood.</p> <p>            Scotch Plains-Fanwood was a good team last year with plenty of depth and gave everyone some time to showcase their ability on the court.  The team will have to combat with the losses of Che Dashiell and Anina Dashiell. However, this squad can never be written off when you have the #1 player in the Prep Dig Rankings for 2021 in [player_tooltip player_id="99806" first="Adelina" last="Berisha"]. Do not expect any drop off from this squad. </p> <p>              The team is bringing back some talent outside of Berisha which will make them formidable foes. The squad finished fourth in their division and the fifth best record overall. It’s a struggle when Union Catholic and Westfield are in your conference.  The team was somewhat successful in postseason play losing in the quarterfinals to Kent Place in the Union County Tournament. They then lost in the first-round of NJSIAA in the Group 3 bracket to West Morris. </p> <figure id="attachment_127902" class="wp-caption alignright" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-127902"> <figcaption id="caption-attachment-127902" class="wp-caption-text"></figcaption> </figure> <p>              Some players to look out for are [player_tooltip player_id="99806" first="Adelina" last="Berisha"], Lindsey Bartley and [player_tooltip player_id="99818" first="Kaelie" last="Chung"]. This team is going to be utilizing Berisha in a variety of ways. She is obviously the number 1 option and coming off of a great season where she finished with 142 kills and 89 digs. As an outside hitter watch for her to be a decoy at times as many will be honing in on where she is on the court. I would not be surprised if she comes close to potentially 200 kills this season. </p> <p>         Bartley is one of the several defensive specialists Scotch Plains-Fanwood utilizes. She showed glimpses of her defensive prowess as junior with 142 digs. Her anticipation and court-awareness always had her in the best position to make a play when many thought she could not. As a senior, she could easily build off her numbers last year. </p> <p>             Lastly, we have [player_tooltip player_id="99818" first="Kaelie" last="Chung"]. Chung is the starting setter and had a monster season with 444 assists. She can pass with the best of them not just in the conference but the state. She has pinpoint accuracy and always knows where her teammates will be to help create a scoring opportunity. Watch for her to be creative with her passing to ensure success. Her and Berisha are going to be a lethal combo like last season. </p> <p>             My concern for Scotch-Plains is who is going to step up as being the option in the middle. The squad had the Dashiell’s who rotated in the middle and led the team in blocks. If they can find an answer in the middle, watch out!</p> <p>              This is a squad that has 10 players returning and most of them made significant contributions last season. Will players rise around Berisha and make a run in the conference. First, it will come down to beating Union Catholic and Westfield in the division. </p>