PHOTO BY BLAKE NEGRON Sophomore Jaylin Vuono Reid serves the ball at a home game against Leonia High School on Sept. 12. The game ended in a 2-0 win for LHS.
Nov. 6, 2025
By Chole Lin
Staff Writer
With a 16-11 record, the girls volleyball team ended its regular season with a winning record.
After a rocky start, losing four of its first eight games, the team redeemed itself, going on an eight-game winning streak.
The team won 3-2 and 3-1 in the first two rounds of the Bergen County Invitational on Oct. 11 and 18, respectively, against Leonia High School and the Academy of the Holy Angels of Demarest. However, the team’s run in the tournament ended in the semifinal round following a 0-3 home defeat against Ridgewood High School on Oct. 25.
Sophomore setter Madison Herman, who is in her first year on varsity, said the players must continue to improve their communication on the court.
“If we all learn to talk more, then we could play much better as a team,” Herman said. “Talking to your teammates [is necessary so] everyone knows who’s getting the ball and what’s happening. It helps the team work together and avoid messing up.”
Herman, whose season ended on Oct. 22 when she broke her pinky finger during practice, said she enjoys building friendships with her teammates outside of volleyball.
“When you’re seeing everybody every day after school, multiple days or every day of the week, it’s a lot, and we’re able to just all be really good friends and just have a good time,” Herman said.
Following last year’s legendary season with a 21-3 regular season record and the first state sectional title since 1990, the team lost seven graduating seniors.
Sophomore outside hitter Jaylin Vuono Reid, who is in her second year on varsity and was The Observer Athlete of the Week on Oct. 7, said the team has a lot of potential.
“We all have [a] good skill level, and it helps because we are all working together, so we have a whole other year of being together instead of losing everybody,” Reid said.
She said she is optimistic about the team’s future.
“[I intend] to practice and work as hard as I can, try to take a leadership role on the team [and] just make sure everything goes smoothly.
“If we all learn to talk more, then we could play much better as a team.”
Junior right-side hitter Christina Mizeski, who joined varsity last year, said this season, all of the team’s five returning players have taken on leadership roles.
“I’ve needed to fill in so many different positions because people have been hurt, they’ve been sick [and] people quit. There have just been so many things going on, and I’ve been happy with the way I’ve been able to adjust,” Mizeski said.
She said she is proud of her team, considering its young roster, which consists of only one senior, captain Debra Ogunbowale.
“We’ve adjusted pretty well, so I just want to rebuild for next year,” Mizeski said. “Next year, we have a bigger chance at winning bigger games.”
PHOTO BY BLAKE NEGRON Sophomore Jaylin Vuono Reid serves the ball at a home game against Leonia High School on Sept. 12. The game ended in a 2-0 win for LHS.
