Thursday, October 21, 2004

By Crystal Parker
SJSports Staff Writer

For the first time in quite a while that the two opposing teams really didn’t know what to expect before the opening whistle was blown to indicate the start of the girls volleyball match. Both the Lady Villagers from Our Lady of Mercy and Moorestown Quakers have been successful winning their games relatively easy. It didn’t take long for the host to establish who the better team was on this day. Moorestown controlled and won the first game 25-19, but the second game was determined by Devon Johnston serving seven straight points to break a thirteen all deadlock.

Our Lady entered this non-league game the owners of the top spot in the Freedom Division ahead of Pleasantville. The Villagers feature the strong outside hitting from Kondrea Martin and Judy Millili, both when at the net gives any setter an excellent choice in an attempt to put the ball away for the kill. Countering that offensive attack, the Quakers have a trio on the same line in Johnston, Kara Burnham and Christy Velott. With the defensive backs able to give the setter a good pass to get her hands on, the options are unlimited.

During the first game, Moorestown established a lead they would never relinquish. The Villagers would get as close as 7-5 but Moorestown quickly expanded their lead to 16-9 in this rally game. A few serve errors made the game interesting near the end, but not enough to be concerned. The second game showed why Our Lady has won some many games. The Villagers came from behind to tie this game seven times. That’s when the defensive block party began to shut down the outside hitters and the defense was able to come up with the dig setting up their attack. With a 20-14 lead, the Quakers cruised to the 25-15 win and stay ahead of Sterling in the National Division.