HAMMONTON—Strong play early in the second game helped Hammonton High School’s girls volleyball team defeat rival St. Joseph Academy 2-0 in a Cape Atlantic League West Division match last week.
The host Blue Devils led early in the opening game of the match, but St. Joe fought back to pull within two points, 12-10. Hammonton rallied late in the game, and was able to post a 25-11 win to take a 1-0 lead.
With Tiffany Paretti serving to start the second game, Hammonton jumped out to a 12-0 lead before St. Joe put a few points on the scoreboard. Once again, the Blue Devils rallied, closing out the sweep with a 25-12 victory.
The win was the first of the season for Hammonton, which saw its record improve to 1-4. St. Joseph fell to 0-6 with the loss.
The Blue Devils are enjoying mixed success in just the second season of the program’s existence. St. Joseph has sported a team for more than a decade, but the Wildcats are in the midst of a rebuilding effort.
“We’ve seen our numbers go down for a few years, and it’s tough to be strong when you don’t have many players on the roster,” St. Joe’s first-year coach Alyssa Amos said.
Amos is a St. Joseph alumna, and played four varsity seasons for the Wildcats.
“We had some really strong teams when I played not that long ago. So, I know we can build it back quickly,” Amos said.
Ari Starr, the Wildcats’ captain had a strong match against Hammonton, while Katie Sherwood, Lilly Sherwood and Brogan Helig also played well in the loss.
For Hammonton, Paretti was outstanding, recording 15 service points, 14 aces, 10 assists and three kills.
Kelsey Reynolds added four kills, two digs and seven service points, while Gina McBrearty had one kill, two digs, two assists and two service points. Alyssa Kelsy finished the match with two kills, three digs and an assist, Arwyn Russell had two kills and two digs, and Luca Berenato added four kills.
Annabella Paretti recorded a service point for the Devils, while Brandi Heinz had two kills and Sarah Viruet finished with two kills and an assist.
Hammonton will play just once this week, hosting Oakcrest on April 9 at 5:15 p.m.