The Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School boys volleyball team was expected to be one of the top dogs in the hunt for No. 1 but the Raiders did experience some moderate wobbling throughout the season. Any kind of wobbling, however, was stabilized in the final six games of the season and the Raiders became theAlpha Dog by claiming the North Jersey, Group 3 crown and the overall Group 3 crown to finish with a 25-3 record and be named the No. 1 team in New Jersey.
After winning their first five games, the first wobble was a 25-20, 25-22, loss to the Monroe Falcons (finished 28-2, No. 3 ranking). Two more wins followed then a shocking 25-20, 1825, 25-19, wobble to their rival Westfield Blue Devils (won Union County Tournament, finished 23-6, No. 8 ranking) set their record at 7-2. A 12-game winning streak, including a four-set win over the No. 2 Old Bridge Knights (finished 27-6), seemed to put the Raiders back on the right path but the third wobble came next to the Elizabeth Minutemen (finished 21-7, No. 19 ranked) in a threeset (25-22, 19-25, 27-25) destabilization in the UCT semifinal.
After winning their final regularseason game over the North Hunterdon Lions, the Raiders would run the table the remainder of the way, beginning with a 25-7, 25-15, 25-14, win over Mount Olive in the first round of the North Jersey, Group 3 Tournament. The Raiders swamped Hackensack (25-16, 25-16, 25-6) and Millburn (25-15, 25-20, 25-18) before outlasting Westfield in four sets (22-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-22) for the title. The Group 3 crown was next with a three-set triumph over 29-3, No. 5 West Windsor-Plainsboro South (25-18, 26-24, 25-15).
Senior outside hitter Dan Ennis led the team with 390 kills, 196 service points (4th in NJ) and 40 aces to go with 21 blocks, 166 digs and 22 assists. Junior Brody Balestrino led in assists with 806 and added 189 service points (8th in NJ), 39 aces, 50 kills, 30 blocks and 109 digs. Senior outside hitter Brandon Indoe finished with 270 kills, 24 blocks, 156 digs, 14 assists, 154 services with 16 aces. Junior John Kalafat recorded 140 kills, 24 blocks, 38 digs, three assists, 27 services and four aces.
Junior libero John Laudman led the team with 221 digs and added 11 kills, 49 assists, 126 services and 13 aces. Senior Josh Tufuga finished with 103 kills, 33 blocks, 32 digs, seven assists, 107 services and five aces. Senior middle blocker Max Nicholson led the team with 56 blocks and added 60 kills, six digs, three assists and a service. Senior Alex Ho recorded 99 services with 12 aces, 87 digs and seven assists.
Senior Jonah Leske finished with 61 assists, 28 services with two aces, nine digs and a kill. Senior middle blockerAaron Frank recorded 10 kills, three blocks, seven digs, an assist, 14 services and two aces. Senior Reid Buehler recorded two kills, 13 digs, two assists, 13 services and three aces. Junior Jayden Acevedo had 12 kills, three blocks and three digs. Senior Max Entin recorded three kills, a block, nine digs, six services and two aces.
The Raiders do graduate a wealth of seniors so there will be a number of fresh faces in the rotation next year.
