East Brunswick volleyball seeks to rebound in state tourney

Brett Carroll
Staff Writer

East Brunswick High School’s boys’ volleyball team has blocked out one tournament while it bids to win another.

East Brunswick was knocked out of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament when the Bears fell to John P. Stevens High School, 2-1, in the semifinals on May 17 in Edison.

Now the Bears are ready to begin their quest for a state tournament championship when the Central Jersey sectionals opened this week.

East Brunswick coach Christian Portera looked at the positives that evolved from the loss in the GMC semifinals.

“I think that I saw our team play the best that we can possibly play,” Portera said. “I’m very happy with they way they came out. Very pleased that we worked for each and every point. And, very happy with the way we battled towards the end.”

“Honestly, I thought we had it,” said East Brunswick’s senior outside hitter, Paul Anania. “We came out strong in that first set. In the second game, we were a little shaky. Started making small errors that put them ahead. Honestly though, I thought we played really well. We had a couple of shots that went into the net. A couple of missed serves. We had it, but we just couldn’t pull it out.”

The Bears won the first set 25-22, but came up short in a back-and-forth second match, with the host Hawks winning, 25-22. The third set belonged to J.P. Stevens, which clinched a trip to the final on May 19 with a 25-17 victory.

With the loss, the Bears’ record dropped to 14-6, and were eliminated for the GMC Tournament. With only the Central Jersey Tournament left, the Bears will have to fine tune some things in order to win, and

Portera wants East Brusnwick, which is14-6 following the defeat to J.P. Stevens,  to work on one thing in particular.

“What we’ve been trying to work on is getting our team to block more efficiently,” Portera said. “It’s one of our weaknesses all year, but we’ve been in the gym working on trying to make it one of our strengths. Hopefully we can continue to practice that next week and use it going forward.”

“I think the same thing,” Anania said. “Our blocking needs some work. We had a couple in the net today. But, besides that, I think we played really well.”

Despite the blocking issues, the Bears still have high expectations for the state tournament.

“Obviously, I expect us to win,” Portera said. “It’s an easy expectation. But, again, expecting to win is one thing, but I expect these guys to play like they played today. They played tough. They showed heart. They were diving on the floor. Their spreading their wings. Doing whatever it took to get a point. That’s what I saw today, and that’s what I expect to continue to see. I’m happy that I saw that today.”

“I just want to play J.P. Stevens again,” Anania added. “I’m hungry. I want the next W.”

Portera is leaning on one payer who can help steer the Bears through the state tournament.

“Our libero, [junior] Ashley Calleja,” Portera said. “He’s a very good, very strong volleyball player. He makes great passes. He makes great defensive breaks. He supplements our not-so-strong blocking. So, going into the state tournament, he’s going to be huge for us.”