Mid-Season Standouts: Hitters 2021

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Amidst the madness of this short season, COVID regulations, and shutdowns, we’ve made it to the halfway point. Plenty of athletes have made their mark on the court at this point, and I’m thrilled to showcase a few of my favorites by class. Here are the hitting seniors that showed their teeth this season.</span></p> <p><b>Teagan Hales</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Outside hitter </span><b>Teagan Hales</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> earned 18 kills over Caldwell this week, solidifying her status as one of the top-scoring hitters of the week. Newark Academy has only played 3 games so far, but even so, Hales has been averaging 12 kills per game. This program has a lot of talent, so I’m sure they will continue to impress with the weeks remaining.</span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99806" first="Adelina" last="Berisha"]</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This Scotch Plains-Fanwood outside hitter is at the top of our rankings for a reason. Averaging 13 kills per game with a season-high of 20 kills against Westfield, she is truly an unstoppable force in the front row and from behind the attack line.  </span></p> <p><b>Kayla Bowen</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This middle blocker earned a season-high of 17 kills against New Providence for Arthur L. Johnson. She’s been averaging 11.5 kills per game and there are still plenty of play opportunities left in their schedule.</span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99822" first="Andrea" last="Camacho"]-Tenreiro</b></p> <p><b>Camacho-Tenreiro</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> of Colonia scored a season-high of 14 kills against Iselin Kennedy and again against the mighty Old Bridge. She’s been averaging 9.3 kills per game but has steadily been gaining traction at the attack line. She is surely a great asset to Colonia’s program.</span></p> <p><b>Zuzanna Buchnajzer</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This Tenafly outside hitter has been averaging 10.4 kills per game. With a season-high of 14 kills against Bergenfield, she is surely a consistent and powerful hitting option.</span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99833" first="Kiara" last="Polanco"]</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The ever-powerful Bogota has only just had their first match of the season over Leonia. Even still, fan-favorite </span><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99833" first="Kiara" last="Polanco"]</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> did not waste any time. She came out hard with 16 kills to help cinch the match for her team. She finished last season with 264 total kills. Though she doesn’t have a lot of time to work, I’m sure she will be efficient and effective in her hitting efforts.</span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99819" first="Simrin" last="Carlsen"]</b></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99819" first="Simrin" last="Carlsen"]</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, better known as “Simmie” was one of the top-earning hitters from last season with an astounding 402 total kills for J.P. Stevens. This year, she has no shortage of stats to continue to back that up. In 6 matches, she has averaged 12.5 kills with a season-high of 18 against East Brunswick.</span></p> <p><b>Ada Ojukwu</b></p> <p><b>Ada Ojukwu</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> has averaged 9.3 kills per match for Livingston thus far. Her season-high of 13 kills against Bloomfield was early on in the season, but she’s nowhere near finished.</span></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="128483" first="Ashley" last="Carkhuff"]</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Hackettstown’s outside hitter </span><b>[player_tooltip player_id="128483" first="Ashley" last="Carkhuff"]</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> has averaged 9.5 kills per match thus far. Her season-high of 13 against Vernon was not too long ago, either. She has been an invaluable asset to the program thus far.</span></p>