Columbia HS girls volleyball team upsets Caldwell, advances to county tournament quarterfinals

MAPLEWOOD/SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The 10th-seeded Columbia High School girls volleyball team upset No. 7 seed Caldwell, 25-19, 22-25, 26-24, in the first round of the Essex County Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 15, at Caldwell.

Columbia, which improved to 15-5 on the season, was scheduled to visit No. 2 seed Verona in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Oct. 18. The winner will face the winner between No. 3 seed Montclair Kimberley Academy and No. 11 seed West Essex in the semifinals on Thursday, Oct. 20, at Mount St. Dominic Academy in North Caldwell. The final will be on Saturday, Oct. 20, at Livingston High School. The other quarterfinals pitted No. 8 seed Montclair at No. 1 seed Livingston, and No. 5 seed Newark Academy at No. 4 seed Mount St. Dominic.

In the win over Caldwell, junior captain Zoe Hall had 12 kills, including her 100th kill for the season, and added three digs; sophomore Sinikka Reynolds-Vickberg had eight kills; senior captain Julia Roses had 21 assists, including her 300th career assist, and added four digs; junior Anne Sullivan had seven digs; senior Allie Harris had three kills, including her 100th kill on the season, and added three blocks; sophomore Corynna Manjos had four digs; and sophomore Maddy Casto had six blocks and three kills. 

Sophomore Libby Kosik came in at 24-19 and made seven clean serves, including two aces, to help Columbia win the third set 26-24.

Columbia has won both meetings with Caldwell this season. In its fourth match of the season, Columbia defeated Caldwell, 25-21, 19-25, 25-17, at home on Friday, Sept. 16, in a Super Essex Conference crossover match. Caldwell is in the SEC–American Division, which is the top division in the conference. Columbia is in the SEC–Liberty, which is the second highest in the conference.

Columbia defeated No. 23 seed Newark East Side, 25-12, 25-22, in the second preliminary round of the ECT on Thursday, Oct. 13, at CHS. Harris had seven kills, Reynolds-Vickberg had five kills, junior Paloma Duvergne had 12 assists, Sullivan had seven digs and senior Kalina Taylor had four digs. 

  Columbia High School girls volleyball