Takeaways from the State Tournament

<p>The State Sectional Tournaments are rapidly coming to a close with many teams having the finals take place on Tuesday, November 9th. With that being said, let’s take a look at the biggest takeaways from the semifinal round. </p> <p><em><strong>Demarest and Sparta Out due to Slow Starts</strong></em></p> <p>In the North Jersey, Section 1, Group 2 Tournament had upset written all over it has both top seeds in Demarest and Sparta were eliminated in the semifinal round. Both matches went the distance as River Dell and Old Tappan both held off their opponents. </p> <p>River Dell was led by Davan McHale who filled the stat sheet to ensure third time was the charm over Demarest with 3 kills, 2 blocks, 4 digs, 4 aces and 15 assists. Meanwhile, Old Tappan received a monstrous performance from [player_tooltip player_id="99849" first="Jola" last="Olutiola"], 19 kills and 18 digs.</p> <p><em><strong>Cinderella Runs Continue for Brick Memorial and Colts Neck</strong></em></p> <p>In the Central Jersey, Group 3 tournament, pandemonium continues as Brick Memorial and Colts Neck miracle runs have led them to the final. Brick Memorial, 4th seed, has been carried by [player_tooltip player_id="99872" first="Kate" last="Stoughton"] who reached 1K milestone in kills during this run. In her two tournament matches, she has racked up 34 kills total and has 352 on the season. Can she carry them to the promise land? 100 percent, yes.</p> <p>On the other side, Colts Neck has won all three of their matches as they had to play in the first round. Sophia Koval has been the catalyst with 66 assists in three matches, putting her team in the best position to score every time. A setting display to behold. </p> <p><em><strong>Three Unbeatens Remain</strong></em></p> <p>The list of unbeatens continues to get smaller and smaller as the season starts to come to a close as they are getting everyone’s best shot. Who is left? East Brunswick, Williamstown and Kent Place. East Brunswick and Williamstown are both in their sectional finals while Kent Place is at the quarterfinal stage. </p> <p>East Brunswick has gotten here because of [player_tooltip player_id="99851" first="Paige" last="Anania"] and her quality hitting prowess. Williamstown from their star setter in Joana Andrews with her 636 assists. Lastly, Kent Place with their three-headed dragon. </p>