Volleyball

The NJSIAA yesterday voted against moving girls' volleyball from the fall to the spring. NJSIAA executive director Boyd Sands said the proposal to move the sport to the spring was defeated, 193-77, during the organization's annual business meeting. A simple majority was needed for a change to be enacted. "The girls will continue to play in the fall," Sands said. "It's been popular in the fall. " The plan to move the sport was cosponsored by Toms River schools athletic director Bill Lundy and East Brunswick athletic director Frank Noppenberger.

For many student athletes, spring means softball, baseball and tennis. But in the girls' Catholic high schools, it also means volleyball, a game that most leagues play in the fall. Girls and their coaches at the schools said that although they liked spring volleyball, it didn't allow them to compete with Public League players or to be active when scouts recruit in the fall. The Catholic League has been playing spring football since 1966, when the league began. The regular volleyball season "begins in March and has been like that for as long as I can remember," said Bridget Fischbein, volleyball coach at Cardinal O'Hara High School.

In only its second year as a varsity program, Palumbo can call itself the District 12 boys' volleyball champion. The Griffins received 45 digs and 10 service points from Sam Tram and 15 kills along with five blocks to beat Southern, 28-26, 15-25, 25-20 and 29-27, on Thursday at Community College of Philadelphia. Palumbo is undefeated and had to work to stay that way, especially in the final game. "Hustle. That's the only word I can give you is nonstop hustle," Griffins coach E.J. Goldstein said.

The team had been playing volleyball continuously for more than 24 hours, but that did not seem to affect its game. One by one, more than 15 teams had stepped up to play these 30 men who seemed never to grow tired. Team member Joseph Cartin said that within 25 hours, he managed only to take a one-hour nap and a shower, but that he did not mind. "It's just good being here and knowing why we're here," said Cartin, a junior at Temple University's Ambler campus. "This makes it all worthwhile.

Bernard J. Billmers, the spirit of volleyball games in the park, died Friday after a sudden illness. He was 63 and lived in Kensington. He was known as "Bernie. " Few even knew his last name. But thousands of Philadelphians over the past two decades have played alongside him at volleyball nets he set up, said a pal of 20 years, Chuck Gallun. No matter what the weather, Daylight Saving Time was official Volleyball- in-the-Park Season as far as Bernie was concerned. For the last decade, he was not only a fixture at weeknight and Sunday afternoon games in Glendenning Rock Garden off Kelly Drive in Fairmount Park, he brought the fixtures.

In one corner of Haverford High's gym Saturday morning, Harry S Truman's Blevin Patel sat transfixed by the volleyball match between two teams from the Allentown area that were unfamiliar to him. At the opposite corner of the gym from Patel, Souderton's Gerry Singer and Brent Lapp and several of their teammates were watching a team they knew by reputation, Emmaus High, the fourth-ranked team in Pennsylvania. Souderton's team is ranked seventh in the state. Having defeated one top-10 team already this season, Singer and Lapp were hoping their team could leapfrog another.

Drexel University announced yesterday that it is dropping baseball and women's volleyball as intercollegiate sports effective immediately. The move is a "strategic decision designed to bring Drexel's athletic program in closer alignment with its Division I Colonial Athletic Association [CAA] competitors," the school said in a statement released yesterday. Because both a men's team and a women's team are being eliminated, Drexel will remain in compliance with the federal Title IX law mandating gender equity in athletics, the statement said.

Look for sports that fit comfortably in the same sentence - such as, say, diving and swimming - and one of the most unlikely combinations would be football and volleyball. Mention the two in the same breath, and you can be sure to draw blank stares from most people. Unless, of course, you're Doug Shobert, former Central Bucks West and Temple quarterback, and now C.B. West volleyball coach. "Being the setter (in volleyball) is the exact same thing as being a quarterback," said Shobert, who still holds football career records at Temple for pass completions and completion percentage.

Villa Maria Academy's volleyball season ended in the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class AAA state tournament yesterday at Shippensburg University. After winning their pool in Thursday's first-day action, the Hurricanes (27-4) dropped three consecutive matches yesterday. Villa Maria lost to Chambersburg, Conestoga Valley and eventual champion Susquehannock. Villa Maria, which has won four consecutive PIAA District 1 titles, won the state championship in 1996. The Hurricanes placed fifth in the state last year and second in 1997.

The Clearview boys' volleyball team made history on Monday, becoming the school's first program to win five consecutive championships, when the Pioneers blanked host Moorestown, 2-0, to clinch the Olympic Conference Patriot Division title. Sam Pisker served two aces to go with 14 kills, Adam Coughlan added seven kills, Zach Hickman recorded 15 assists, Adam Herman made five blocks and John Schnatz chipped in two digs for Clearview (8-5 overall, 7-1 division).   Lacrosse Shawnee, The Inquirer's fifth-ranked team in South Jersey, wrapped up the Olympic Conference Patriot Division crown with an 18-4 home rout of Cherry Hill West.

Brett Campbell, who scored 38 goals as a junior for Haverford School last season, has been named the Gatorade Pennsylvania boys' soccer player of the year for 2011-12. Campbell, who has committed to Georgetown, also had eight assists last year for the Fords, who won the Pennsylvania Independent Schools championship. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound forward led Haverford School to an 18-2-1 record and also was a first-team all-Inter-Academic League selection. The Gatorade program recognizes one winner every year in each of the 50 states that sponsors boys' soccer and in the District of Columbia.

West Chester Henderson sophomore swimmer Tom McCormick showed recently he's up to the task even though older brothers Ken and Dave have set some tough standards for him. In Henderson's 114-71 loss to Methacton on Dec. 12, Tom McCormick set a Methacton pool record in his specialty, the 100-yard breaststroke, with a time of 58.48 seconds. That time was .82 of a second better than the mark set in 1997 by Methacton's Dan Szilier, who went on to swim for Notre Dame. "I aspire to be as good as my brothers," said McCormick, who comes from a family of swimmers.

Two days after winning the first girls' volleyball sectional championship in program history, Sterling's magical run came to an end on Saturday, when the Silver Knights fell to River Dell, 2-0, in the NJSIAA State Group 2 final. River Dell won by scores of 25-14 and 25-11. Anyssa Sanchez and Courtney Cairns combined for six kills, three blocks and one ace, setter Katie Johnson contributed 10 assists and Melanie Kaiser came up with six digs for Sterling (25-4). Girls' Gymnastics A runner-up finish in the uneven bars helped Elana Molotsky of Lenape finish ninth in the all-around at the NJSIAA Individual Championships in Montgomery.

The Masterman dynasty in Public League girls' volleyball continued this season as the Blue Dragons claimed their sixth consecutive league championship with a 25-20, 23-25, 26-16, 25-11 victory over Northeast on Wednesday at Lincoln. The Masterman defense kept the ball in play en route to its 92d straight win in league competition. Camille Green had 34 digs, eight kills, and three aces, and Taneil Ruffin posted 26 assists and three kills. "The girls have a great work ethic," Masterman coach Dave Lieber said, "and they progressed as the season went along.

The Masterman dynasty in Public League girls' volleyball continued this season as the Blue Dragons claimed their sixth consecutive league championship with a 25-20, 23-25, 26-16, 25-11 victory over Northeast on Wednesday at Lincoln. The Masterman defense kept the ball in play en route to its 92d straight win in league competition. Camille Green had 34 digs, eight kills, and three aces, and Taneil Ruffin posted 26 assists and three kills. "The girls have a great work ethic," Masterman coach Dave Lieber said, "and they progressed as the season went along.

Here are the pairings for the NJSIAA boys' soccer, girls' soccer and girls' volleyball tournaments involving South Jersey teams. Seeded position in parentheses.   Boys' Soccer SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 1 Paulsboro (16) at Haddon Township (1); Pitman (9) at Clayton (8); Cedar Creek 912) at Glassboro (5); Pennsville (13) at Palmyra (4); Salem (14) at Schalick (3); Wildwood (11) at Maple Shade (6); Woodbury (10) at Audubon (7); Lindenwold (15) at Gateway (2). SOUTH JERSEY GROUP 2 Cinnaminson (9)

Williamstown's dominance in volleyball continued this season as the Braves claimed their 11th consecutive division championship in the Olympic Conference with a 25-17, 25-12 win over visiting Clearview on Monday. The Braves' (20-1) balanced attack included Christina Barclay's five kills, Meg Kinee's eight digs, Idi Uffen's seven kills and three blocks, Kat Wolf's 22 assists and Ali Barclay's six digs. Williamstown clinched the Patriot Division crown. Soccer Shawnee dominated a meeting of Top 10 soccer teams, dealing No. 4 Washington Township a 5-0 Olympic Conference interdivision loss at Shawnee.

Sydney Allen nearly turned her back on volleyball. She was a freshman at Sterling, playing the sport for the first time and not exactly tearing up the court. "It was really hard for me," Allen said. "I was going to quit, but I decided to stick with it. Now I love it. I want to play forever. " Allen is a senior middle hitter for Sterling, one of South Jersey's top teams. Through Friday, the Silver Knights had a 18-1 overall record, including a 5-0 mark in the Olympic Freedom division, and loomed as a serious contender in the state Group 2 tournament.