They’re going to need a bigger trophy case.
The Verona High School volleyball team swiftly dispatched Cedar Grove on Monday to win the NJSIAA North 2, Group 1 Sectionals. Verona took the first game 25-9 and the second 25-15. It was Verona’s fourth straight Sectionals title, but volleyball has taken the crown many, many times over recent years: 2022, 2021, 2018, 2017, 2016.
Verona started strong and finished strong, from the service line to the net. Katie Meehan once again led all players in service points, while fellow senior Emily Theobald led the kill stats with eight. But the loud group of fans in the stands in the home gym also got to see what could be the future of Verona volleyball in sophomore Julie Maglifiore, who already has 49 kills to her credit in her first year on varsity.
Now it’s on to the Group championship and this year it won’t be a rematch with Bogota. Verona fell to Bogota last year in the Group 1 playoff. In 2017, Verona had defeated Bogota to become the state champion for the first time in the history of Verona volleyball.
But on Tuesday, Bogota fell to Kinnelon, setting up a rematch of Verona’s only Sectionals finals loss in the last seven years. In 2019, the Kinnelon Colts beat Verona in what was then the Group 1 finals 25-12, 25-14.
This year’s Group 1 game will be played at VHS on Thursday, November 9, with a 4:30 p.m. start.
Photos copyright Mike Perry. Used by permission.
