By Matthew Rocco
The St. John Vianney High School boys volleyball team, which already has an Eastern Invitational title to its credit, is competing for another championship this week in the Shore Conference Tournament (SCT).
The Lancers, one of the top-ranked teams in the state, got a running start to the 2016 campaign. St. John Vianney placed first in its pool before defeating Paul VI High School, Old Bridge High School and Livingston High School to capture the Eastern Invitational early in April. They are tied with Wall High School for first place in the Shore Conference B North Division — both have 11-1 records with two matches remaining. The teams split their two division matches. Having proven itself in a playoff atmosphere and over the long haul in division play, the Lancers were one team to watch leading up to a competitive SCT.
St. John Vianney (15-4) earned the fifth seed and a first-round bye. Its first game was a quarterfinals matchup May 11 at No. 4-seed Colts Neck High School. The winner was slated to play the winner of the No. 10 seed Southern Regional High School vs. No. 8-seed Donovan Catholic High School match in the semifinals May 12 at Georgian Court University in Lakewood. The two finalists will decide the SCT championship on the same day.
On the other side of the bracket, No. 3-seed Wall was matched up against No. 6-seed Lacey Township High School, and No. 2-seed Christian Brothers Academy was set to face No. 10-seed Toms River High School South.
CBA (14-4) is the defending SCT champion. The Colts, who toppled Southern Regional in the 2015 finals, has several stat leaders on its roster. As of May 7, John Arege had the fourth-most kills in the state with 280. Matt Kelly ranked third in digs with 285, and Louis Franco was 10th in assists at 435.
St. John Vianney is looking to build on its postseason performance last year. In 2015, the Lancers made it to the SCT semifinals for the third straight season. St. John Vianney also reached the quarterfinals of the NJSIAA Central Jersey playoffs. The Eastern Invitational marked the first step forward in 2016. The Lancers lost in the finals a year earlier.
In addition to their Eastern Invitational title, the Lancers made a run to the quarterfinals of the 25-team Rhody Invitational hosted by Bryant University in Smithfield, Rhode Island. St. John Vianney went 8-0 in pool play.
