WOHS Girls Volleyball Wins the Conference

On October 14th, the West Orange girls volleyball team captured their third liberty division title, defeating Columbia in two sets. The first set was close, with the Mountaineers only escaping by a score of 35-33. However, they closed the game out strong with a 25-15 win in the second set.

Junior outside hitter, Tracey Illderis, describes the game as, “Very intense. The first set went back and forth, with the game up for grabs. Even though we won the first set, everyone was still on edge. It was stressful because every single point we had to think about what we’re doing next.”

The win was extra special because it was the first time the team won the division title while going undefeated. This solid performance also led West Orange to its third division title the team has claimed in the five years that Head Coach Jackie Cruz has been coaching. 

Cruz states, “It is a great accomplishment as a young coach, but I would like to gain bigger ones such as counties and states in the future. I think that based off of how well we have played this year and how much stronger we are compared to past years we should definitely get a better seed than we have and I’m hoping to have a first round home match.” 

Unfortunately, Cruz’s wish did not come true and the Mountaineers will have to travel to Piscataway for their first game in the NJSIAA Group 4 Tournament. They are the number 18th seed and will play Piscataway as the number 15th seed on Monday, November 4th.