Takeaways from this Past Week

<p>Another week is gone in the fall season. The volleyball continues to not disappoint and we’ve seen players or teams taking full-advantage to show off their skills. This past week has been highlighted by tournaments starting to unfold and they will continue into this week. So let’s take a look some of the biggest takeaways from Week 5 of the season. </p> <p><em><strong>Sparta is in the Driver Seat for the NJAC</strong></em></p> <p>Sparta has officially put themselves in the driver seat to win the NJAC conference title as they rallied to beat Roxbury in a three-set thriller 14-25, 25-18, 25-11. This completed a season-sweep over Roxbury after beating them earlier in the year. Now, with a split over Mendham, it creates for an extreme scenario for Sparta to lose the NJAC. </p> <p id="RHRJVZCPCVD3NAO7QSKBLQJANM" class="article__paragraph article__paragraph--left">Aralyn Saulys put together a big performance serving, as she recorded seven aces, to go along with four kills and two blocks. Payton Samson amassed 15 digs, while [player_tooltip player_id="154716" first="Emily" last="Smernoff"] had five kills and 10 blocks.</p> <p><em><strong>Sarkaria Reaches J.P. Stevens Milestone</strong></em></p> <p id="DB72ZH7ZZVAQDLXQSBZ6GKN5DQ" class="article__paragraph article__paragraph--left">J.P. Stevens has a new all-time assists leader in [player_tooltip player_id="99870" first="Laurel" last="Sarkaria"]. The senior produced her 1,506th assist during last Wednesday’s victory against Piscataway, breaking the school’s previous record held by <a href="https://highschoolsports.nj.com/player/sidney-lin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sidney Lin</a> (2013-17). </p> <p>This was a record that many did not think would be reached other than Sarkaria. What helped motivate her? Watching her teammate [player_tooltip player_id="99819" first="Simrin" last="Carlsen"] breaking a record last season. What a great achievement for a program that has made a major turnaround in just four years. </p> <p><em><strong>Tournament Play Goes Chalk</strong></em></p> <p>Two major tournaments are underway with two more getting started this week. The Morris and Bergen County Tournaments were underway and both went virtually went chalk. There was only one upset out of all the seeding matchups: Leonia handing Rutherford their first loss of the season. But now with quarterfinals set up in both; it’s all chalk. </p> <p>There are some crazy good matchups though like Bogota vs Immaculate Heart in a rematch, Northern Highlands vs Ridgewood and Madison vs Roxbury. </p>