Photos by Jerry Simon: Bloomfield vs. Livingston, Essex County Tournament final
BLOOMFIELD, NJ – The top-seeded Bloomfield High School boys’ varsity volleyball team lost to second-seeded Livingston, 25-19, 25-21, in the Essex County Tournament championship match on Saturday, May 19, at West Essex in North Caldwell.
BHS notable stats: Kyle Barrow: 9 kills, 9 digs, 4 assists. Dan Chavez: 5 kills, 3 digs. Youssef Khafagy: 2 kills, 3 blocks. Jayson Lopez: 16 assists, 2 kills, 2 blocks. Dante Thomas: 2 blocks. Christian Voicu: 2 kills, 3 blocks.
The Bengals, under head coach Louis Stevens, moved to a 21-3 record.
It marked the second straight season that Livingston defeated Bloomfield in the ECT final. It also was the third straight year that they met in the final, with Bloomfield winning it in 2016.
BHS defeated fourth-seeded Montclair, 25-10, 25-15, in the semifinals on May 17 at BHS.
BHS notable stats: Barrow: 6 digs, 3 digs. Tommy Carleo: 2 digs. Chavez: 12 kills, 4 digs. Matthew Fong: 7 digs. Khafagy: 3 kills, 2 blocks. Lopez: 25 assists, 8 digs. Voicu: 5 kills, 2 blocks, 2 digs.
In the other semifinal on May 17 at BHS, Livingston defeated third-seeded Millburn, 25-16, 26-24.
Bloomfield defeated Livingston in both regular-season meetings this season. They won in the season opener on April 2 by scores of 25-12, 25-23 at BHS, and won April 25 by scores of 25-12, 26-24 in Livingston.
In the quarterfinals, BHS defeated No. 8 seed Science Park on May 15. BHS notable stats: Barrow: 6 kills, 2 digs. Carleo: 3 digs. Chavez: 7 kills, 6 digs. Fong: 7 digs. Lopez: 16 assists, 5 digs, 4 blocks. Thomas: 2 kills. Voicu: 3 kills.
The Bengals hope to make a strong run in the state tournament. The third-seeded Bengals were scheduled to host No. 14 seed Bergen Catholic in the first round of the NJSIAA North Jerssey Section 1 state tournament on May 22. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals on May 24 against either No. 6 seed Bergenfield or No. 11 seed Wayne Hills. The top seed is Fair Lawn. The No. 2 seed is Lakeland. The semifinals are May 30. The final is June 1.
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