Kaylee Gibson became the Southern Regional girls volleyball team’s secret weapon on Nov. 5.

After going down by a set to start their NJSIAA South Jersey Group 4 quarterfinals clash against sixth-seeded Hunterdon Central, the Rams needed an additional option when trying to score points. Junior setter Ryleigh Tietjen turned to Gibson on the right side.

“I trust what Ryleigh thinks,” Gibson said after the third-seeded Rams upended the Red Devils, 27-29, 25-20, 25-16, 25-23 to advance to the sectional semifinals. “Every time she sends the ball to me, it’s a smart set. I just swing as hard as I can to try to finish the point.”

The junior hitter finished a bunch of them, hammering down 15 kills, a career high.

“In that last set, for the last 10 points, I told Ryleigh to go more to Kaylee and Mikayla (Blahut) because they were locked in on us at the outside,” said senior Kayden Bulger, who managed 13 kills and 13 digs. “My thinking was that I could draw a double block on my side, and going to Kaylee on the other side would open her up for a solo hit.”

Gibson made her presence felt in the second set, with the Rams down by two points, 20-18, and potentially facing a 2-0 deficit after dropping a tight first set. Gibson drilled a kill to the opposite line to make it 20-19, which seemed to unnerve Hunterdon. The Red Devils committed errors five of the next six points as Southern won the second set.

“I felt really confident in our team going into the second game, even though we lost the first one,” said senior middle Catherine Dalon, who contributed six kills and four blocks. “We always say, ‘Keep the faith’ and trust all our teammates. We work hard in this gym every day, and I knew it would all come together. There was no way any team was coming in here and winning. We wanted it.”

Southern stepped on the gas during the third game, utilizing the hitting combo of Gibson, Blahut, Bulger and senior hitter Ava Malandro, who also finished with 15 kills and added a pair of blocks, to score points in bunches.

After a Blahut block made it 17-8, Malandro drilled two of her kills to push the lead to 19-9. Gibson then dropped a kill off a block on the right side, and Bulger slammed a ball to the back corner to make it 21-10. Hunterdon climbed back to within six points, 24-18, but Bulger finished the game with a kill to the back-left corner to make it a 2-1 contest.

“There was no way this was going to be anything but a win for us,” Malandro said. “After the first set, none of us were worried. If anything, we were more fired up than when we came into the match. In the fourth set, we just had to finish. We didn’t want to go to a fifth set.”

The Devils and Rams went back and forth with the lead a bunch of times. An error by Hunterdon gave Southern the lead for good at 17-16, and the Rams maintained the lead at 22-21 on a kill from Gibson. With Southern up, 23-22, Gibson delivered the final two kills to seal the victory.

BIG DELIVERY: Southern Regional senior libero Gianna Manochio sends a service over the net during the third set of the Rams’ 3-1 victory over Hunterdon Central. Manochio also set the career digs record during the match.

“After that first set, we weren’t letting it get that close again,” Bulger said. “We had a lot more fire during the next three sets, and I’m proud of us for bouncing back and winning the match. I lost it at the end there, but it was all happy tears because I was so proud of the effort we put in today. We had to battle and fight back, but there was no way we were losing this one.”

Tietjen gave away 50 assists, and senior Brooke Sutter registered 10 digs to go with an ace. Senior Reese Beirne also had an ace, while Grace Thurber managed nine digs.

“Playing with my best friends for the last time in this gym is bittersweet,” Gibson said. “We mesh really well together, so it meant a lot to play with them one last time in this gym. I’ll be back, but it’s going to be hard to see them go.”

During the match, senior libero Gianna Manochio tallied 38 digs to break the program’s career digs record previously held by Emily Brunati. Manochio finished her stellar career with 964 digs.

“They came in with a lot of fire, and they were pounding the ball, but our defense was on top of everything,” Manochio said. “We scrambled, got touches on everything and read things really nicely, which helped us a lot. We were able to handle their hits really well.”

Unfortunately, the Rams didn’t handle things well enough against second-seeded Williamstown on Nov. 7. Southern’s season ended in the sectional semifinals with a 22-25, 10-25, 19-25 loss.

Malandro led the offense with 15 kills and added 11 digs, while Tietjen handed out 28 assists, Gibson finished with seven kills, Manochio racked up 15 digs, Bulger added five kills, Sutter contributed five digs and two aces, and Dalon finished with two kills and a block.

“Being part of this program has been the best thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Malandro said. “I’ve learned so much from Coach (Eric) Maxwell. He’s not just taught me about volleyball. Everything he says is a life lesson. When I apply the things he tells me to my life, it’s all good. He’s one of the most amazing men I’ve ever met in my life.”

Pinelands, Barnegat Bow Out in South Group 2

For the first time in four years, a team from Southern Ocean County will not claim the NJSIAA South Jersey Group 2 title. Last week, Barnegat bowed out in the quarterfinals, and Pinelands Regional’s season ended in the semifinals.

After knocking off 15th-seeded South Plainfield, 3-1, on Nov. 3 and 10th-seeded Oakcrest on Nov. 5, the second-seeded Wildcats were upended by sixth-seeded Governor Livingston, 3-0, on Nov. 7.

REJECTED: Southern Regional senior middle Catherine Dalon (20) gets high above the net to record one of her four blocks for the match against Hunterdon Central.

During the 20-25, 19-25, 26-28 contest, Cali Peterka drilled 14 kills, Patricia Moreno whacked 10 kills, Cassie Gould finished with 20 digs, Alexis Holevas added 11 digs and two aces, and Chloe Tucker and Riley McQuaid totaled 20 and 13 assists, respectively. Jule Platti also scored on a pair of aces, as did Brooke Praschil.

In the 25-13, 25-18, 25-11 drubbing of Oakcrest, Peterka tallied 22 kills, while Gould registered 26 digs, Platti mustered 13 digs to go with two aces, and Holevas and Geneva Blight each added 10 digs and two aces. Ava Vanarelli contributed nine kills, Praschil delivered four aces in addition to eight digs, and Tucker and McQuaid combined for 38 assists.

Against South Plainfield, Peterka led the way with 23 kills, while Gould racked up 30 digs and five aces; McQuaid dealt 19 assists and 10 aces; Holevas finished with 17 digs and four aces; and Blight added seven kills, 15 digs and three aces. Platti also had three aces, and Tucker handed out 23 assists.

As for fourth-seeded Barnegat, a 3-2 win against 13th-seeded Cinnaminson on Nov. 3 was followed by a 3-1 loss to fifth-seeded Sterling two days later.

During the 15-25, 25-20, 14-25, 23-25 loss to the Silver Knights, Melina Linton scored on 13 kills; Camila Chamorro finished with 10 kills and a block; Emme Arriaga mustered 16 digs; and Taliyah Oyemade totaled five kills, four aces and 22 assists. Jessica Harrer added four kills, 11 digs and 15 assists. Amaya Afflick and Carly Manna contributed seven and five kills.

In the win over Cinnaminson, Linton smashed 25 kills and added 18 digs. Chamorro accumulated nine kills, three blocks, 15 digs and four aces; Manna added seven kills and three aces; and Oyemade finished with three kills, 16 digs, 23 assists and an ace. Harrer also gave away 18 assists to go with eight digs.

Colavita, McLennan Reach Meet of Champions

Barnegat junior Angelina Colavita is returning to the NJSIAA Cross Country Meet of Champions for a second straight year, and Southern Regional senior Jack McLennan will make his first appearance in the finale on Saturday, Nov. 14, after the pair finished among the top 10 in their groups on Nov. 7.

Running in Group 2, Colavita finished ninth overall with a time of 19:29.12 to earn her position in the season’s final race at Holmdel Park. McLennan finished seventh overall in 16:31.29 amid the Group 4 field to grab his automatic bid.

As for the Southern boys’ team, Thomas Ball finished 46th with a time of 17:22.61, followed by Liam Lawlor in 71st at 17:46.67, Luke Stansbury in 87th at 17:57.29, and Caleb Warner in 104th place at 18:08.58. In the Group 4 girls’ race, Southern senior Isabella Millard placed 49th overall in 21:01.96.

In Group 2, the Pinelands Regional girls were led by Rory Krier in 64th place with a time of 22:42.39, while Chloe Ward finished 71st in 23:01.73. Megan Barradas was the Wildcats’ third finisher in 118th place at 25:48.42