BLOOMFIELD – The Bloomfield High School boys’ varsity volleyball team won four matches to improve to an 8-0 record through April 18.
The Bengals defeated Barringer, 25-13, 25-19, April 11, in Newark. Jose Bruno-Maldonado, a junior, had 20 assists and three aces; senior Khalil Naouai had 14 kills and six digs; and junior Al-Samad Henderson had five kills.
BHS defeated Bloomfield Tech, 25-10, 25-10, April 13, at home. Naouai had 13 kills, three digs and four aces; Bruno-Maldonado posted 17 assists, six digs and four aces; senior Andy Murillo had six assists and four kills; senior Noel Shaji had four kills and two digs; and senior Jeffery Siceron had three digs and two kills.
The Bengals defeated Livingston, 25-23, 25-21, April 15, at home. Naouai had a strong effort with 17 kills and four digs. Shaji had six digs and four kills; Bruno-Maldonado had 15 assists and two digs; Murillo recorded six kills and five digs; Henderson had three blocks and two kills; junior Zach Pekar notched four digs; sophomore Kyle Barrow had three assists with one kill and Marc Matthieu, a junior, added one kill.
Livingston fell to 5-2.
BHS defeated Newark Central, 25-9, 25-8, April 18, in Newark. Shaji had six kills; Naouai had five kills and Bruno-Maldonado notched 11 assists.
The Bengals received the No. 3 seed in the Essex County Tournament and will host the winner between No. 6 seed Science Park and No. 11 seed Newark East Side in the quarterfinals on April 27. The semifinals are April 30. The final is May 6 at BHS at 7 p.m.
Livingston is the No. 1 seed and North 13th Street is the No. 2 seed.
Essex County Tournament
First round
(1) Livingston, bye
(9) Barringer at (8) Bloomfield Tech
(12) Immaculate Conception at (5) Millburn
(13) East Orange Campus at (4) Belleville
(2) North 13th Street Tech, bye
(10) West Essex at (7) Montclair
(11) Newark East Side at (6) Science Park
(3) Bloomfield, bye