Defending their Title: Immaculate Heart

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Immaculate Heart, known as IHA, is consistently one of the top programs in New Jersey. This team won the NJSIAA Tournament of Champions the last three seasons in a row and seven times over the last decade. As an all-girls, private prep school, IHA has the ability to draw in new talent from all over, which often gives the program an advantage. However, it would be unfair to not acknowledge the masterful coaching that the staff, headed by Maria Nolan, has displayed. Seven players have graduated, but hotshots like </span><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99886" first="Brookelyn" last="Talmadge"]</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> ‘23, </span><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99820" first="Gianna" last="Grigaliunas"]</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> ‘21, and </span><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99810" first="Olivia" last="Coughlin"]</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> ‘21 are returning to defend their champion title.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First, let’s talk about what makes IHA so good year after year. Many northern NJ high school teams follow a few of the same volleyball standards. We typically see the libero play base defense in either short left or middle back with the back row outside or defensive specialist in whichever spot they leave vacant; back row setters tend to live in the short right wing. New Jersey teams also tend to run a perimeter defense which depends partially on the blockers’ ability to protect the middle of the court and layers back row defenders around that imaginary protected space. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Though this is the standard, it isn’t a requirement or anything crazy like that. Coach Nolan has decided to opt for a defense that works more closely with the skills of the team’s personnel. In the 2019 season, athletes like </span><b>Anna Morris</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> ‘20,</span><b> Elizabeth Patterson</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> ‘20, </span><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99814" first="Alyssa" last="Lowther"]</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> ‘21, </span><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99810" first="Olivia" last="Coughlin"]</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> ‘21, and </span><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99886" first="Brookelyn" last="Talmadge"]</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> ‘23 were an incredible blocking force. They racked up a total of 191 blocks and made it nearly impossible to land a powerful attack on their side of the court.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With a blocking force that strong, it allows a team to be flexible with their back row player placement, and that’s exactly what this program did. IHA runs a rotational defense, which is not uncommon across the U.S. and at the collegiate level. What is unique about it is that the libero plays base defense on the right instead of the setter, and the outside moves to the left. This type of defense puts their setters in a position to more easily get to the net without being a prime part of the defense and it pushes the libero to be in a stronger position to be the off-setter. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Someone who is going to keep this momentum going for years to come is sophomore </span><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99886" first="Brookelyn" last="Talmadge"]</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. This 6’ tall middle blocker is super athletic and intense, but we can tell she is only just getting started. She had 46 blocks in her first season with the program. From game footage, it’s clear to see how explosively fast she can get to the pins to block. With more teaching and experience, she’ll be unstoppable. Not only can she block, but she’s one of IHA’s go-to attackers all over the front row. She earned 150 kills in her freshman season and is still uncommitted at the time this article was written.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Another returner to keep your eyes on is </span><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99820" first="Gianna" last="Grigaliunas"]</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> ‘21. She’s an outside/defensive specialist for IHA. She’s often the third or fourth hitting option, but that doesn’t take away from her effectiveness on the court. She finished the 2019 - 2020 season with 117 kills, 224 service points, and 25 aces. Where she really shines is in the back row where she racked up 265 digs last season. Grigaliunas has verbally committed to play D1 for Bryant University for the fall of 2021.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One setter, </span><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99810" first="Olivia" last="Coughlin"]</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, is returning for her final season this year. This 5’10” setter/right side is a tight all-around player. With the rotational defense, she is not often tested with digging up hard shots, but she does show out well as a blocker. She managed to squeak out 74 digs and 11 blocks last season. The more impressive numbers are her 440 assists, 296 service points, and 21 aces for the season. As of November 2020, she is still uncommitted. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">At just over 6’ stands middle blocker/right-side hitter, </span><b>[player_tooltip player_id="99814" first="Alyssa" last="Lowther"]</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. She enters her final season with the opportunity to either continue rocking the right side or attempt to fill the colossal shoes left behind by </span><b>Anna Morris</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Last year, her numbers did not stand out compared to Morris and Talmadge: 55 kills, 16 blocks, and 43 digs. Don’t let this hinder you from understanding the impact she has on this program. She spent most of the season as a right side while IHA relied comfortably on Morris, Talmadge, and Grigaliunas for offense, however, her kill percentage is relatively high. Lowther has committed to play DIII volleyball at Bates College.</span></p> <p>These are just the girls already on the roster. We can be sure that the coaching staff has already added more first-years to the roster to continue rebuilding the program.</p>