WAYNE — Three weeks ago on their senior night, Bogota dropped two games to Verona. It may have been a blessing in disguise. The Bucs have rattled off nine straight wins since, including a 2-0 victory over those same Hillbillies in the Group 1 final on Sunday.
Verona and Bogota met in last season’s Group 1 volleyball final, won by the Hillbillies in three sets. It was the first group title in program history for Verona (26-4), who were awarded the top seed in this year’s Group 1 tournament.
The two schools seemed destined for another matchup at William Paterson University this season, but what surprised many was the dominance put forth by the Bucs, who have not dropped a game since that home loss to Verona on Oct. 17.
Senior Leila Ksiyer led Bogota with 16 kills, a dig, two blocks and three service points.
For Verona, junior Kelly Waterman led the Hillbillies with 15 assists, eight digs and six service points. Senior Hunter Coppola had seven kills, five digs and three blocks for Verona. Senior Brooke Cooney added five digs and four kills.
By the numbers
► In their ninth-consecutive Group 1 final, Bogota captured its seventh group title in that span. Only losses to Verona in 2016-2017 and Secaucus in 2014-2015 derailed the Bucs at William Paterson.
WAYNE — Three weeks ago on their senior night, Bogota dropped two games to Verona. It may have been a blessing in disguise. The Bucs have rattled off nine straight wins since, including a 2-0 victory over those same Hillbillies in the Group 1 final on Sunday.
Verona and Bogota met in last season’s Group 1 volleyball final, won by the Hillbillies in three sets. It was the first group title in program history for Verona (26-4), who were awarded the top seed in this year’s Group 1 tournament.
The two schools seemed destined for another matchup at William Paterson University this season, but what surprised many was the dominance put forth by the Bucs, who have not dropped a game since that home loss to Verona on Oct. 17.
Senior Leila Ksiyer led Bogota with 16 kills, a dig, two blocks and three service points.
For Verona, junior Kelly Waterman led the Hillbillies with 15 assists, eight digs and six service points. Senior Hunter Coppola had seven kills, five digs and three blocks for Verona. Senior Brooke Cooney added five digs and four kills.
By the numbers
► In their ninth-consecutive Group 1 final, Bogota captured its seventh group title in that span. Only losses to Verona in 2016-2017 and Secaucus in 2014-2015 derailed the Bucs at William Paterson.
► Junior Julie Corniel had six kills, four digs, three blocks and an ace for Bogota (24-5). Senior Alyssa Vazquez led the Bucs with 17 assists while adding seven service points and three digs.
Key play
Verona led a tight game one, 11-10, before Bogota went on a 15-2 run to finish out game one with a 25-13 victory. That run extended into game two, when the Bucs opened up an 8-3 advantage in the deciding game.
Game balls
► Ksiyer kept the Bucs in front once Bogota went on its run. Ksiyer seemed to gravitate to the ball and had a key ace in game two that forced Verona to take a timeout.
► Senior defensive specialist Amy Chavez had 10 digs for the Bucs and came through with an ace of her own. Chavez also paced Bogota with seven service aces.
They said it
“There was a lot of energy and we were just working together to get it done. We were relieved and just really happy when it was over.” — Bogota junior outside hitter Nylene Mateo.
“It woke us up a little bit. We felt sorry for ourselves, but in retrospect, it made us hungrier and made our preparation better. No disrespect to anyone else, but we wanted to play Verona in the final. They beat us at our home gym, which not a lot of people get to do.” — Bogota coach Brad DiRupo. Junior Julie Corniel had six kills, four digs, three blocks and an ace for Bogota (24-5). Senior Alyssa Vazquez led the Bucs with 17 assists while adding seven service points and three digs.
Key play
Verona led a tight game one, 11-10, before Bogota went on a 15-2 run to finish out game one with a 25-13 victory. That run extended into game two, when the Bucs opened up an 8-3 advantage in the deciding game.
