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The Southern boys volleyball team is getting back to its winning ways and has added another trophy to the mantle.
Senior middle blocker Shane Bent recorded 14 kills with five blocks; senior opposite Arvind Kumar added 11 kills with nine service points; and junior outside hitter Zack Hem posted nine kills to lead top-seeded Southern, No. 3 in the latest NJ.com Top 20 rankings, to a come-from-behind 2-1 (21-25, 25-15, 27-25) victory over second-seeded and No. 12 Christian Brothers in the final of the Shore Conference Tournament last Thursday at Georgian Court University in Lakewood.
Southern (32-4), which has won three straight and five of its last six matches, has posted three consecutive and nine overall SCT titles.
After coming off a 2-0 (25-10, 25-16) no-doubt victory over third-seeded Jackson Memorial in the semifinals earlier in the day, some doubt lingered for the Rams after they dropped the first game, 21-25, to Christian Brothers in the championship match..jpg)
However, the defending champions stormed back with a quick 25-15 second game to tie the match at 1-1 and force a third set. Trailing three times in the final game, Southern responded and dug deep to lay claim to a trophy that has been in their house nine of the last 10 years.
“Last night's win was about sticking together as a team and not giving up. CBA played a fantastic match and forced us to reach down deep. After losing game one, I thought that we had taken control of the match by winning game two, but CBA bounced right back. We trailed, 22-19, 24-22, and 25-24, late in game three, but were able to respond each time. It's stuff like this that prepares you for the most important things to come,” said Southern head coach Eric Maxwell, who is in his 19th season at the helm at the Manahawkin-based school. “We pride ourselves on being a ‘big game’ team and in order to win those games you have to be able to respond to pressure and play as a team. That is what has helped us win six state titles in the last nine years.”
Southern last lost the SCT title in 2015.
“We got a gutsy effort from setter Matt Maxwell last night after it looked like he may not be able to play when he rolled his ankle in warmups. He dished out 39 assists and was our emotionally- charged leader. He is without a doubt one of the toughest competitors I have ever coached. I wonder where he gets that from?,” said the elder Maxwell. Shane (Bent), Arvind (Kumar) and Zach (Hem) were tough at the net, while libero Matt Jones was stellar in service receive and spearheading the defense. I’m very proud of our guys for battling the way they did last night. You have to be very good to win state titles but you also have to be tough. We saw that toughness and will to win last night.”
Christian Brothers (17-9), which has dropped two of its last three and four of its last six matches, advanced to the final with a 2-0 victory over third-seeded Colts Neck in the semifinals.
The top-seeded Rams begin defense of their back-to-back NJSIAA state titles on May 22 in the South Jersey Tournament as they host 16th-seeded St. Augustine with the winner advancing to the quarterfinals to take on the winner between ninth-seeded Moorestown and eighth-seeded Cinnaminson on May 24.
Southern has captured every South Jersey sectional tournament title since 2009.
“We are excited about the journey ahead over the next three weeks. It will be a time of excitement, challenges, and sometimes uneasiness. But we will be prepared for all of that as we always are,” said Maxwell. “We really only have one goal every year and everyone in our program knows what that is.”
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