Ridge Girls Volleyball Loses State Final Decided By Last Two Points

Information and photos courtesy of Terry Boudreau

After an upset win over Hunterdon Central earlier this week, the Ridge girls volleyball team found themselves heading to William Paterson University late Saturday afternoon for their shot at the Group 4 State Championship.
 
Their opponent was North Hunterdon, a team they'd seen twice already in 2013 with each team winning one of the matches. 
 
The gym was electric with excitement at the match began with Ridge amassing one of the largest crowds of the day, many with signs and posters, some dressed in costumes, screamed and applauded their teams.  

Both teams seemed to be a little off to start the match with a number of service errors on either side of the net accounting for the first points for either team.  As the teams settled in, both squads showed why they deserved to be on the floor for the state championship that day.

Ridge takes first game 

After a highly charged nip-and-tuck battle, Ridge took the first game by the score of 32-30. But North Hunterdon would fight back and take the second game 25-19.

Ridge comes back after trailing by 9 points in final game
  
In the third game, North Hunterdon took a commanding 19-10 lead. But the spirited Red Devils charged back to tie the game at 23-23 bringing the crowd to a frenzy.

State championship goes to North Hunterdon after 2-point win

However, North Hunterdon that would close out the match with a final score of 25-23.

"I certainly would rather have the "W", but I couldn't be prouder of them," said Ridge coach Joanne Milot. "We kept fighting. It was so great, it is so exciting. It is so hard to get here. I've done eight years and I have had great teams. So many things can go wrong, but everything went right."  

Milot added, "We were on an upswing, which is a coach's dream. The team was playing better and better at the end of the season. We had a shot and I think we gave them all they could handle. Unfortunately, we came up just a little bit short."

"It was a great season," added Rita Zarabara, athletic director at William Annin Middle School, where the girls volleyball program also had a successful season. Zarabara and the girls volleyball program had expressed support for the varsity team, and had called upon fans to head to William Paterson University on Saturday to cheer on the Red Devils in the state championship.